BCAT Skill Acquisition Procedures 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a learner only responds to one specific therapist and not others, this is called:
- Therapist-specific reinforcement
- Stimulus overselectivity
- Limited stimulus control
- Non-generalized responding (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Non-generalized responding
Non-generalized responding occurs when a skill is performed only with the person who trained it and not with others.
Question 2: Which dimension of ABA is reflected when a technician teaches skills that are functionally useful to the learner in daily life?
- Applied (Correct answer)
- Behavioral
- Analytic
- Technological
Correct answer: Applied
The 'applied' dimension means focusing on behaviors that are socially significant and meaningful in the learner's everyday life.
Question 3: A learner requires a full physical prompt to complete a task at session 1. By session 10, only a light touch is needed. This change reflects:
- Prompt fading (Correct answer)
- Shaping
- Chaining progression
- Extinction
Correct answer: Prompt fading
Prompt fading is the systematic reduction in the intrusiveness of prompts as the learner's independence increases.
Question 4: Which of the following is an example of a 'conditional discrimination'?
- Touching a red card when told 'touch red' (Correct answer)
- Waving when someone waves first
- Saying 'ball' when shown a ball
- Clapping after the therapist claps
Correct answer: Touching a red card when told 'touch red'
A conditional discrimination requires the learner to respond differently based on a contextual cue (the color label), selecting the correct item from an array.
Question 5: Which data collection method is most appropriate for measuring whether a learner independently completes each step of a 10-step hand-washing task?
- Frequency recording
- Duration recording
- Task analysis data sheet (Correct answer)
- Latency recording
Correct answer: Task analysis data sheet
A task analysis data sheet records independent vs. prompted performance on each individual step of a behavior chain.
Question 6: When implementing a skill acquisition program, the BCBA writes that criterion for mastery is '80% across 3 consecutive sessions with 2 therapists.' The '2 therapists' requirement addresses:
- Reliability of data collection
- Generalization across instructors (Correct answer)
- Fidelity of implementation
- Maintenance of the skill
Correct answer: Generalization across instructors
Requiring mastery with multiple therapists ensures the skill generalizes beyond one instructor and is not therapist-specific.
Question 7: A technician is using a 'time delay' prompt fading procedure. Which of the following correctly describes a 'progressive time delay'?
- The delay between the SD and prompt stays the same throughout training
- The delay between the SD and prompt gradually increases across trials or sessions (Correct answer)
- The prompt is removed entirely after the first session
- The SD and prompt are presented simultaneously then the prompt is removed abruptly
Correct answer: The delay between the SD and prompt gradually increases across trials or sessions
In progressive time delay, the interval between the SD and the prompt is incrementally increased over time, allowing the learner to respond independently.
BCAT Skill Acquisition Procedures 5
When a learner only responds to one specific therapist and not others, this is called: