RBT Behavior Reduction 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client repeatedly slaps their leg when asked to complete non-preferred tasks. The RBT notices the behavior only occurs during demands and never during free play. What is the most likely function of this behavior?
- Attention
- Escape/avoidance (Correct answer)
- Sensory/automatic reinforcement
- Access to tangibles
Correct answer: Escape/avoidance
Behavior that occurs exclusively during demands and ceases during free play is typically maintained by escape or avoidance of the aversive task.
Question 2: When implementing a DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior) schedule, reinforcement is delivered when:
- The target behavior occurs at a lower rate
- Any appropriate alternative behavior is performed
- The target behavior has not occurred during the entire interval (Correct answer)
- The client engages in a specific replacement behavior
Correct answer: The target behavior has not occurred during the entire interval
DRO delivers reinforcement contingent on the absence of the target behavior for the entire specified interval.
Question 3: A supervisor asks the RBT to implement response blocking during a session. This procedure involves:
- Removing the reinforcer immediately after the behavior occurs
- Physically preventing the completion of the problem behavior (Correct answer)
- Redirecting the client to a different activity
- Delivering a prompt before the behavior can occur
Correct answer: Physically preventing the completion of the problem behavior
Response blocking is a safety procedure where the practitioner physically intervenes to prevent the behavior from being completed.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'behavioral momentum' and how it can be used in behavior reduction?
- Building rapport so the client trusts the RBT
- Presenting several high-probability requests before a low-probability request to increase compliance (Correct answer)
- Gradually increasing task difficulty to build tolerance
- Using preferred activities as reinforcers for non-preferred tasks
Correct answer: Presenting several high-probability requests before a low-probability request to increase compliance
Behavioral momentum involves delivering high-p requests to increase the likelihood that the client will comply with subsequent low-p requests, thereby reducing escape-motivated behavior.
Question 5: An RBT is using extinction to reduce self-injurious behavior maintained by attention. The client initially increases the rate and intensity of self-injury. This phenomenon is called:
- Behavioral contrast
- Spontaneous recovery
- Extinction burst (Correct answer)
- Resurgence
Correct answer: Extinction burst
An extinction burst is the temporary increase in frequency, duration, or intensity of a behavior when extinction is first implemented.
Question 6: A client engages in property destruction when told 'no.' The behavior plan calls for the RBT to maintain the demand and withhold attention. Two weeks later, the problem behavior suddenly reappears after a period of near-zero rates. This is an example of:
- Extinction burst
- Behavioral contrast
- Resurgence
- Spontaneous recovery (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Spontaneous recovery
Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinguished behavior after a rest period, without additional reinforcement.
Question 7: When collecting data on behavior reduction targets, the RBT should record a behavior only if it meets the operationally defined criteria. This practice ensures:
- The client's privacy is protected
- Data are reliable and inter-rater agreement can be established (Correct answer)
- The supervisor can observe the behavior directly
- Reinforcement is delivered consistently
Correct answer: Data are reliable and inter-rater agreement can be established
Recording behavior only when it meets operational definitions ensures data reliability and allows different observers to agree on when the behavior occurred.
RBT Behavior Reduction 5
A client repeatedly slaps their leg when asked to complete non-preferred tasks.
The RBT notices the behavior only occurs during demands and never during free play.
What is the most likely function of this behavior?