BCAT Behavioral Intervention Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which reinforcement schedule typically produces the highest and most consistent rate of responding?
- Fixed-ratio schedule
- Variable-ratio schedule (Correct answer)
- Fixed-interval schedule
- Variable-interval schedule
Correct answer: Variable-ratio schedule
Variable-ratio schedules produce high, steady rates of responding because reinforcement is unpredictable after a varying number of responses.
Question 2: A technician wants to teach a child to brush teeth independently. She breaks the task into small steps and teaches them in sequence from the first step onward. This is called:
- Backward chaining
- Total task chaining
- Forward chaining (Correct answer)
- Simultaneous chaining
Correct answer: Forward chaining
Forward chaining teaches the first step first and progresses through steps in order from start to finish.
Question 3: Functional Communication Training (FCT) replaces problem behavior by teaching the learner to:
- Suppress all communication attempts
- Use an appropriate communicative response that accesses the same reinforcer (Correct answer)
- Tolerate delays to reinforcement without any alternative response
- Engage in incompatible behavior only
Correct answer: Use an appropriate communicative response that accesses the same reinforcer
FCT teaches a functionally equivalent communicative response so the learner obtains the same reinforcer without problem behavior.
Question 4: In a multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment, items are:
- Presented one at a time in randomized order
- Presented all at once and chosen items are removed after selection (Correct answer)
- Presented two at a time repeatedly
- Presented with their labels to prompt choice
Correct answer: Presented all at once and chosen items are removed after selection
MSWO presents all items simultaneously and removes each selected item so all options are ranked from most to least preferred.
Question 5: A child consistently reaches toward the door when asked to do work, indicating escape motivation. The MOST appropriate consequence-based intervention is:
- Deliver a preferred item when reaching occurs
- Ignore the behavior and continue the demand
- Immediately allow the child to leave as a break
- Implement extinction by blocking escape while demand remains (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Implement extinction by blocking escape while demand remains
For escape-maintained behavior, extinction involves not allowing the escape consequence that was previously reinforcing the behavior.
Question 6: When using a least-to-most prompting hierarchy, the technician begins with:
- Full physical guidance
- The most intrusive prompt available
- The least intrusive prompt and increases intrusiveness only if errors occur (Correct answer)
- A verbal prompt paired with a model simultaneously
Correct answer: The least intrusive prompt and increases intrusiveness only if errors occur
Least-to-most prompting starts with minimal support and adds more intrusive prompts only when the learner does not respond correctly.
Question 7: Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) provides reinforcement when:
- The target behavior occurs at a lower rate
- Any behavior other than the target behavior occurs during a set interval (Correct answer)
- A physically incompatible behavior is performed
- The learner requests a break appropriately
Correct answer: Any behavior other than the target behavior occurs during a set interval
DRO delivers reinforcement contingent on the absence of the target behavior during a specified time interval.
BCAT Behavioral Intervention Techniques 3
Which reinforcement schedule typically produces the highest and most consistent rate of responding?