BACB Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the BACB exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 BACB Exam Format at a Glance
📚 BACB Topics to Study (21)
✍️ Sample BACB Questions & Answers
1. Social validity assessment in ABA research addresses which three dimensions proposed by Wolf (1978)?
Wolf (1978) proposed that social validity should assess whether the goals, procedures, and outcomes of an intervention are acceptable and meaningful to consumers and society.
2. A free operant observation preference assessment is conducted by:
Free operant observations allow the client unrestricted access to an array of items and use duration of engagement as the index of preference.
3. Which punishment procedure involves removing access to positive reinforcers contingent on a problem behavior?
Response cost is a form of negative punishment in which a specified amount of a reinforcer is removed contingent on a target behavior, decreasing that behavior.
4. Which approach to staff management involves identifying and reinforcing specific staff behaviors that produce desired client outcomes?
Behavioral (OBM) performance management applies ABA principles to staff behavior, targeting observable work behaviors and using reinforcement to increase desired performance.
5. Which of the following is an example of a conditioned reinforcer?
A conditioned reinforcer is a stimulus that has acquired its reinforcing properties through association with a primary (unconditioned) reinforcer or other conditioned reinforcers. Unlike primary reinforcers like food or water, which are inherently satisfying, praise is learned to be reinforcing through experience. For example, a child learns that praise often accompanies other desirable outcomes.
6. When conducting a task analysis assessment, the behavior analyst presents each step of the task and records whether the learner can complete each step independently. This is an example of:
Multiple opportunity probing assesses each step regardless of whether prior steps were completed correctly, providing a full picture of which steps in a chain are mastered.