RBT Reinforcement Principles and Schedules 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During extinction, which phenomenon involves a temporary increase in the frequency or intensity of the target behavior?
- Spontaneous recovery
- Extinction burst (Correct answer)
- Behavioral contrast
- Ratio strain
Correct answer: Extinction burst
An extinction burst is the temporary increase in behavior that often occurs when reinforcement is first withheld.
Question 2: A teacher stops responding to a student's hand-raising (which was previously reinforced) until the student stops raising their hand. Later, the hand-raising reappears briefly without re-training. This is called:
- Extinction burst
- Spontaneous recovery (Correct answer)
- Behavioral contrast
- Resurgence
Correct answer: Spontaneous recovery
Spontaneous recovery is the temporary reappearance of an extinguished behavior after a period of time without training.
Question 3: Ratio strain is most likely to occur when:
- Reinforcement is delivered too frequently
- The ratio requirement is increased too rapidly (Correct answer)
- A variable schedule is introduced suddenly
- Extinction is implemented slowly
Correct answer: The ratio requirement is increased too rapidly
Ratio strain results from increasing the response requirement too quickly, causing the behavior to break down or cease.
Question 4: Which schedule produces a steady, consistent rate of responding with no post-reinforcement pause?
- Fixed ratio
- Fixed interval
- Variable ratio (Correct answer)
- Variable interval
Correct answer: Variable ratio
Variable ratio schedules produce high, steady response rates because the next reinforcer could come after any number of responses.
Question 5: To gradually transition a learner from continuous to intermittent reinforcement without losing the behavior, an RBT should:
- Switch directly to a thin variable ratio schedule
- Gradually increase the response or time requirement in small steps (Correct answer)
- Stop reinforcing for one session, then resume
- Introduce punishment to maintain the behavior
Correct answer: Gradually increase the response or time requirement in small steps
Thinning reinforcement schedules gradually in small increments prevents ratio strain and maintains responding during the transition.
Question 6: Which of the following is true about negative reinforcement?
- It always involves the addition of something to the environment
- It decreases the future probability of behavior
- It increases behavior by removing an aversive stimulus (Correct answer)
- It is the same as punishment
Correct answer: It increases behavior by removing an aversive stimulus
Negative reinforcement strengthens behavior by removing, reducing, or avoiding an aversive stimulus contingent on that behavior.
Question 7: An RBT notices that a client's problem behavior is maintained by escape from demands. The RBT then teaches the client to request a break instead. This uses which reinforcement-based principle?
- Punishment
- Extinction only
- Functional Communication Training using negative reinforcement (Correct answer)
- Noncontingent reinforcement
Correct answer: Functional Communication Training using negative reinforcement
Functional Communication Training (FCT) replaces problem behavior with a communicative response that accesses the same reinforcer — in this case, escape (negative reinforcement).
RBT Reinforcement Principles and Schedules 5
During extinction, which phenomenon involves a temporary increase in the frequency or intensity of the target behavior?