BCBA Reinforcement Schedules and Contingency Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior (DRO) is defined as delivering reinforcement:
- Only for a specific alternative behavior
- Contingent on the absence of the target behavior during a set interval (Correct answer)
- For low rates of the target behavior
- Only for behaviors incompatible with the target behavior
Correct answer: Contingent on the absence of the target behavior during a set interval
DRO delivers reinforcement at the end of an interval during which the target problem behavior did not occur, reinforcing the absence of the behavior rather than a specific alternative.
Question 2: Which differential reinforcement procedure is MOST appropriate when the goal is to teach a specific replacement behavior that physically cannot occur simultaneously with the problem behavior?
- DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior)
- DRL (Differential Reinforcement of Low rates)
- DRI (Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behavior) (Correct answer)
- DRH (Differential Reinforcement of High rates)
Correct answer: DRI (Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behavior)
DRI reinforces a behavior that is physically incompatible with (cannot co-occur with) the problem behavior, making it ideal for establishing specific replacement skills that prevent the target behavior.
Question 3: Ratio strain is best described as:
- Increased responding when ratio requirements are raised
- A breakdown in responding caused by increasing ratio requirements too rapidly (Correct answer)
- The natural post-reinforcement pause on fixed ratio schedules
- Strong resistance to extinction on dense ratio schedules
Correct answer: A breakdown in responding caused by increasing ratio requirements too rapidly
Ratio strain is a deterioration in responding that occurs when ratio requirements are thinned too quickly, resulting in emotional behavior, irregular responding, or complete cessation.
Question 4: An extinction burst refers to:
- A sudden decrease in behavior when extinction begins
- A temporary increase in response rate, intensity, or variability when extinction is first implemented (Correct answer)
- Spontaneous recovery of behavior after a rest period
- Complete and permanent cessation of behavior during extinction
Correct answer: A temporary increase in response rate, intensity, or variability when extinction is first implemented
An extinction burst is a temporary increase in the frequency, duration, or intensity of behavior that typically occurs at the onset of extinction before the behavior ultimately decreases.
Question 5: Continuous reinforcement (CRF) is MOST appropriate during which phase of learning?
- Maintenance phase to keep behavior stable long-term
- Generalization phase to extend behavior to new settings
- Acquisition phase to initially establish a new behavior (Correct answer)
- Fluency phase to increase response speed
Correct answer: Acquisition phase to initially establish a new behavior
CRF is most effective during acquisition because reinforcing every correct response provides immediate and consistent feedback, rapidly strengthening the new behavior.
Question 6: The Premack Principle states that:
- Any neutral stimulus becomes a reinforcer through repeated pairing with existing reinforcers
- A high-probability behavior can reinforce a low-probability behavior (Correct answer)
- Organisms always prefer variable schedules over fixed schedules
- Behavior is solely controlled by its immediate antecedents
Correct answer: A high-probability behavior can reinforce a low-probability behavior
The Premack Principle (often called 'Grandma's Law') states that access to a higher-frequency preferred behavior can serve as a reinforcer for a lower-frequency less-preferred behavior.
Question 7: The matching law states that organisms on concurrent schedules:
- Always choose the schedule with the highest fixed ratio requirement
- Distribute responding proportional to the relative rate of reinforcement available on each schedule (Correct answer)
- Match the topography of modeled responses before accessing reinforcement
- Respond equally across all simultaneously available schedules
Correct answer: Distribute responding proportional to the relative rate of reinforcement available on each schedule
The matching law holds that the relative rate of responding on concurrent schedules is proportional to (matches) the relative rate of reinforcement available on each alternative.
BCBA Reinforcement Schedules and Contingency Management 2
Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior (DRO) is defined as delivering reinforcement: