BCAT Behavioral Intervention Techniques 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A child engages in self-injurious behavior every time a preferred item is removed. Which function does this behavior most likely serve?
- Sensory/automatic reinforcement
- Escape from demands
- Access to tangibles (Correct answer)
- Attention-seeking
Correct answer: Access to tangibles
Behavior that occurs when preferred items are removed is typically maintained by access to tangibles (the removed item).
Question 2: Which of the following best describes the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment?
- Negative reinforcement removes a stimulus to increase behavior; punishment adds or removes a stimulus to decrease behavior (Correct answer)
- Both negative reinforcement and punishment decrease behavior
- Punishment removes a stimulus to increase behavior
- Negative reinforcement adds an aversive stimulus to increase behavior
Correct answer: Negative reinforcement removes a stimulus to increase behavior; punishment adds or removes a stimulus to decrease behavior
Negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus to strengthen behavior, while punishment (positive or negative) weakens behavior.
Question 3: During a discrete trial, the technician presents the SD, the learner responds, and the technician delivers reinforcement. What is the recommended inter-trial interval (ITI) purpose?
- To give the technician time to record data
- To allow a brief pause that signals the end of one trial and the start of the next (Correct answer)
- To increase the difficulty of the task
- To allow the child to self-stimulate between trials
Correct answer: To allow a brief pause that signals the end of one trial and the start of the next
The ITI provides a brief, clear demarcation between trials, which reduces confusion and improves stimulus control.
Question 4: A technician is using extinction for attention-maintained problem behavior. The child's behavior temporarily increases in intensity. This is called:
- Spontaneous recovery
- Behavioral contrast
- Extinction burst (Correct answer)
- Satiation
Correct answer: Extinction burst
An extinction burst is the temporary increase in frequency, intensity, or duration of behavior when reinforcement is first withheld.
Question 5: Which prompting strategy involves providing only a portion of the task instruction to guide a correct response?
- Gestural prompt
- Positional prompt
- Partial physical prompt (Correct answer)
- Textual prompt
Correct answer: Partial physical prompt
A partial physical prompt involves guiding only part of the movement needed to complete the response.
Question 6: Token economy systems are most effective when tokens are:
- Delivered on a fixed-ratio schedule only
- Paired with social praise and exchangeable for backup reinforcers (Correct answer)
- Withheld until the session ends
- Delivered randomly to maintain unpredictability
Correct answer: Paired with social praise and exchangeable for backup reinforcers
Tokens gain value when consistently paired with praise and can be exchanged for meaningful backup reinforcers.
Question 7: A BCAT is implementing a behavior intervention plan for escape-maintained aggression. The most appropriate antecedent modification would be to:
- Remove all demands from the learner's schedule
- Use errorless teaching to reduce task difficulty and prevent escape motivation (Correct answer)
- Increase the number of demands to build tolerance
- Ignore all instances of aggression
Correct answer: Use errorless teaching to reduce task difficulty and prevent escape motivation
Errorless teaching reduces errors and frustration, decreasing the motivation to escape tasks.
BCAT Behavioral Intervention Techniques 2
A child engages in self-injurious behavior every time a preferred item is removed.
Which function does this behavior most likely serve?