22 Behavior Reduction Practice Questions & Answers

Every Behavior Reduction practice question from the RBT Practice Test, with the correct answer and a short explanation.

1. During a math worksheet, a student rips the paper and pushes it off the desk. Each time this happens, the adult takes the worksheet away and the student sits quietly until the next activity begins. Which function is MOST likely maintaining the paper-ripping?
- A.Escape from the task demand✓ Answer
- B.Automatic (sensory) reinforcement
- C.Access to adult attention
- D.Access to a preferred tangible item
Function is determined by the consequence that immediately follows the behavior, not by what the behavior looks like. Here the worksheet (an aversive demand) is REMOVED after the behavior, which is negative reinforcement, so the behavior is escape-maintained. Attention and tangible functions involve something being ADDED after the behavior.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — identify common functions of behavior; Cooper, Heron & Heward, Applied Behavior Analysis (negative reinforcement)Report a problem with this question
2. A client hums and rocks at a steady rate whether he is alone in his room or in a busy group, and the rate does not change when staff talk to him or when they say nothing. No item or activity is delivered afterward. Which function does this pattern MOST suggest?
- A.Access to tangible items
- B.Automatic (sensory) reinforcement✓ Answer
- C.Escape from demands
- D.Social attention
Behavior that occurs at similar rates when the person is alone and when others are present, with no social consequence following it, is most consistent with automatic reinforcement: the behavior itself produces the reinforcing stimulation and does not depend on another person delivering anything. Automatic reinforcement is not 'behavior for no reason' — it is still reinforcement, just not socially mediated.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — identify common functions of behavior (automatic reinforcement)Report a problem with this question
3. A child is playing with blocks. When the RBT puts the blocks away, the child screams; the screaming stops as soon as the blocks are handed back. Which function is MOST likely maintaining the screaming?
- A.Escape from a demand
- B.Access to a tangible item✓ Answer
- C.Social attention from the RBT
- D.Automatic (sensory) reinforcement
The screaming begins when a preferred item is removed and ends when that specific item is returned, so the maintaining consequence is access to the tangible. Attention would be indicated if any form of social interaction, including reprimands, reliably followed and maintained the behavior regardless of the item.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — identify common functions of behavior (tangible function)Report a problem with this question
4. A behavior plan directs the RBT to give the learner brief social attention every two minutes on a timer, whether or not disruptive behavior has occurred. Which procedure is being described?
- A.Response cost
- B.Differential reinforcement of other behavior
- C.Extinction of attention-maintained behavior
- D.Noncontingent reinforcement delivered on a time-based schedule✓ Answer
Noncontingent reinforcement delivers the maintaining reinforcer on a time-based schedule that is independent of behavior, which weakens the motivation to engage in the problem behavior because attention is already freely available. Differential reinforcement of other behavior would require the behavior to be absent for the interval before reinforcement is delivered.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement antecedent interventions (noncontingent reinforcement)Report a problem with this question
5. A plan calls for time-based delivery of attention on a fixed schedule and contains no instruction to delay delivery. The timer sounds at the exact moment the learner starts to yell. What should the RBT do?
- A.Deliver the attention on the timed schedule as written, because in this procedure delivery depends on the clock and not on the learner's behavior✓ Answer
- B.Deliver the attention and explain to the learner that it is not because he yelled
- C.Skip that delivery entirely so the learner learns that yelling costs attention
- D.Withhold the attention until the learner has been quiet for a while, since giving it now would reinforce yelling
Time-based (noncontingent) delivery is defined by being independent of behavior; making the delivery depend on whether the problem behavior just occurred converts it into a contingent consequence and changes the written procedure. RBTs implement plans as designed and take any concern about accidental pairing to the supervisor, who may add a delay rule to the plan.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement antecedent interventions; RBT implements the behavior plan as written and consults the supervisor about changesReport a problem with this question
6. Before presenting a difficult writing task, the RBT quickly asks the learner to clap, give a high five, and touch his nose — all easy responses he performs readily — praising each one, and then immediately presents the writing request. Which antecedent intervention is the RBT using?
- A.Demand fading
- B.High-probability request sequence✓ Answer
- C.Noncontingent reinforcement
- D.Differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior
A high-probability request sequence presents several easy, already-mastered requests that the learner reliably follows, reinforcing each, and then delivers the difficult (low-probability) request while the momentum of compliance is still high. Demand fading would instead start with an easier version of the writing task itself and gradually increase its difficulty or length.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement antecedent interventions (high-probability request sequence)Report a problem with this question
7. Why are antecedent interventions generally preferred over waiting to respond after the problem behavior has already occurred?
- A.They punish the problem behavior more quickly than consequence procedures do
- B.They remove the need for the supervisor to write a behavior plan
- C.They change the conditions before the behavior occurs, reducing the motivation for it so the learner is less likely to engage in the behavior or contact its reinforcer at all✓ Answer
- D.They are the only procedures an RBT is permitted to use without a written plan
Antecedent interventions act on motivating operations and evocative stimuli before responding occurs, so the problem behavior is less likely to be emitted and less likely to be reinforced; nobody has to be exposed to the behavior or its risks. They do not replace the written plan, and they are still implemented only as the plan specifies.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement antecedent interventions; Cooper, Heron & Heward, Applied Behavior Analysis (antecedent interventions and motivating operations)Report a problem with this question
8. Whenever a student raises his hand, the RBT calls on him and answers his question; when he shouts out the same question, the RBT does not respond. Which differential reinforcement procedure is the RBT implementing?
- A.Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior✓ Answer
- B.Differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior
- C.Differential reinforcement of other behavior
- D.Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior
A specific appropriate alternative response — hand raising — is reinforced with the same consequence that maintained shouting out (teacher attention), while shouting out is placed on extinction. It is not differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior because a learner could physically raise a hand and shout at the same time, and it is not differential reinforcement of other behavior because a particular response is required rather than the mere absence of the problem behavior.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement differential reinforcement procedures; Cooper, Heron & Heward, Applied Behavior Analysis (DRA)Report a problem with this question
9. A learner frequently slaps her own leg with her hand. Her plan directs the RBT to praise her and deliver a token when her hands are folded in her lap, and to withhold reinforcement when slapping occurs. Which differential reinforcement procedure is this?
- A.Differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior
- B.Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior✓ Answer
- C.Differential reinforcement of other behavior
- D.Noncontingent reinforcement
The reinforced response (hands folded in the lap) physically cannot occur at the same time as the problem behavior (slapping the leg with the hand), which is what makes it incompatible rather than merely alternative. Differential reinforcement of other behavior would reinforce the absence of slapping without requiring any particular hand position.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement differential reinforcement procedures; Cooper, Heron & Heward, Applied Behavior Analysis (DRI)Report a problem with this question
10. A plan directs the RBT to start a timer; if the learner has not spat at all when the timer ends, she earns a token, and if spitting occurs the timer is restarted. Which procedure is described?
- A.Escape extinction
- B.Differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior
- C.Differential reinforcement of other behavior with a reset provision✓ Answer
- D.Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior
Reinforcement is delivered for the complete absence of the target behavior throughout an interval, and the reset provision restarts the interval whenever the behavior occurs — this is differential reinforcement of other behavior. Nothing specific is required of the learner, which is what separates it from procedures that reinforce a named replacement response.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement differential reinforcement procedures; Cooper, Heron & Heward, Applied Behavior Analysis (DRO, reset provision)Report a problem with this question
11. A student asks appropriate questions, but so often that the group cannot move forward. The team decides the questions are acceptable at a lower rate, and the plan states that he earns a preferred activity at the end of the session if he asked no more than five questions. Which procedure is described?
- A.Response cost
- B.Differential reinforcement of other behavior
- C.Differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior✓ Answer
- D.Extinction of question asking
Differential reinforcement of low rates is used when the behavior itself is appropriate and should be reduced in frequency rather than eliminated; reinforcement is delivered at the end of the session because the total number of responses stayed at or below the stated criterion. Differential reinforcement of other behavior would require zero questions, which is not the goal here.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement differential reinforcement procedures; Cooper, Heron & Heward, Applied Behavior Analysis (full-session DRL)Report a problem with this question
12. A learner screams to get out of chores. The team teaches him to hand a staff member a card that means 'break, please,' which immediately produces a short break, while screaming no longer produces a break. Which procedure BEST describes this?
- A.Response cost, in which a break is taken away after screaming
- B.Noncontingent escape, in which breaks are delivered on a timer
- C.Functional communication training, in which a communication response produces the same reinforcer the problem behavior produced✓ Answer
- D.Differential reinforcement of other behavior, in which the absence of screaming is reinforced
Functional communication training is a form of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior in which the learner is taught a communication response that is functionally equivalent to the problem behavior — it produces the same reinforcer, here escape from the task. The communication response must take less effort than the problem behavior and be reinforced immediately, while the problem behavior no longer produces the reinforcer.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement differential reinforcement procedures (functional communication training)Report a problem with this question
13. A learner's plan places screaming that is maintained by escape from tasks on extinction. During a task the learner begins screaming. What should the RBT do?
- A.Keep the task in place and continue prompting the learner through it as the plan specifies, so screaming no longer produces escape✓ Answer
- B.Give a short break now and present the task again later when the learner is calm
- C.Turn away, say nothing, and allow the learner to leave the work area
- D.Remove the task materials and wait quietly until the learner stops screaming
Extinction means withholding the specific reinforcer that has maintained the behavior, so it must match the function. For escape-maintained behavior the maintaining reinforcer is removal of the demand, so the demand must stay in place and the learner is guided through the task as the plan specifies. Ignoring the learner or removing the task would deliver escape and strengthen the screaming.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement extinction procedures (escape extinction)Report a problem with this question
14. An RBT is implementing planned ignoring for yelling that is maintained by attention, but occasionally responds when the yelling becomes very loud. What is the MOST likely effect on the yelling?
- A.The yelling will change function from attention to escape
- B.Loud yelling will become more persistent and harder to reduce, because it is now being reinforced intermittently✓ Answer
- C.The yelling will decrease faster because the learner receives occasional feedback
- D.There will be no meaningful effect as long as most instances are ignored
Occasionally 'giving in' places the behavior on an intermittent schedule of reinforcement, which makes responding more resistant to extinction, and because the RBT responds only to the loudest instances it also shapes more intense behavior. Extinction works only when it is applied consistently and every time.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement extinction procedures (consistency and resistance to extinction)Report a problem with this question
15. On the first two days after an extinction procedure begins, a learner's tantrums are longer and louder than they were during baseline, and then they start to decline. What does this pattern describe?
- A.Behavioral contrast
- B.An extinction burst✓ Answer
- C.Spontaneous recovery
- D.Resurgence
An extinction burst is a temporary increase in the frequency, duration, or intensity of the behavior immediately after the maintaining reinforcer is first withheld, before responding decreases. Spontaneous recovery happens later, after the behavior has already dropped away, and resurgence involves a different, previously reinforced response returning.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — describe secondary effects of extinction (extinction burst)Report a problem with this question
16. A learner's screaming was reduced to zero and stayed at zero for several weeks. After a week away from the program, she screams several times on her first day back, and screaming falls away again as the team continues the procedure unchanged. What does this MOST likely illustrate?
- A.Spontaneous recovery✓ Answer
- B.An extinction burst
- C.Loss of the reinforcer's effectiveness through satiation
- D.Resurgence of an earlier response
Spontaneous recovery is the brief reappearance of a previously extinguished behavior after a period during which it had not occurred, typically following a break; if the procedure continues to be implemented consistently, responding subsides again. An extinction burst occurs immediately at the start of extinction rather than weeks after the behavior has stopped.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — describe secondary effects of extinction (spontaneous recovery)Report a problem with this question
17. A learner had been taught to hand over a picture card to request a break, and head-hitting had stopped. A staff member who does not know the plan ignores the card and keeps the task going, and within the session head-hitting returns. Which phenomenon does this BEST illustrate?
- A.Resurgence, in which a previously reinforced response returns when a more recently reinforced response stops producing reinforcement✓ Answer
- B.Spontaneous recovery after a long period without the behavior
- C.Behavioral contrast produced by a change in setting
- D.Stimulus generalization to a new staff member
Resurgence occurs when a recently taught response — here the card exchange — stops producing its reinforcer, and an earlier response from the same functional class returns. The practical implication is that everyone working with the learner must honor the communication response consistently, and any staff member who is unsure should check with the supervisor before proceeding.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — describe secondary effects of extinction (resurgence)Report a problem with this question
18. Two days into an extinction procedure written into the behavior plan, the target behavior increases sharply. Everyone in the room is safe. What is the BEST action for the RBT to take?
- A.Discontinue the procedure, since the increase shows it is making the behavior worse
- B.Continue implementing the procedure as written, keep collecting data, and report the increase to the supervisor✓ Answer
- C.Deliver the reinforcer once to settle the learner and resume the procedure the next day
- D.Add a consequence the RBT believes will reduce the behavior more quickly
A temporary increase early in extinction is an expected side effect, and delivering the reinforcer during the spike would intermittently reinforce the most intense responding and make it far harder to reduce. The RBT maintains procedural fidelity, keeps everyone safe, continues data collection, and reports promptly so the supervisor — not the RBT — decides whether the plan should change.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement extinction procedures and describe secondary effects; Lerman, Iwata & Wallace, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (extinction side effects are less likely when extinction is part of a treatment package)Report a problem with this question
19. A learner's hitting is maintained by escape from group work. A classroom aide suggests that each time he hits, he should be sent to sit alone in the hallway. Why is this suggestion MOST likely to be a problem?
- A.Removing him from the group lets him avoid the work, so the consequence would reinforce hitting rather than reduce it✓ Answer
- B.Hitting would decrease so quickly that data could not be collected
- C.Time-out procedures are never appropriate for any learner in any circumstance
- D.Time-out is effective only for behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement
Time-out is time out from positive reinforcement and only decreases behavior when the setting the learner leaves is genuinely reinforcing. For escape-maintained behavior, removal from the task is exactly the reinforcer, so the procedure delivers negative reinforcement and strengthens hitting. The RBT should also not add any consequence that is not in the written plan and should raise the aide's suggestion with the supervisor.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement punishment procedures such as time-out; function-based intervention selectionReport a problem with this question
20. A learner begins throwing chairs in a classroom where other students are present. What should the RBT do FIRST?
- A.Begin recording an antecedent-behavior-consequence description to determine the function
- B.Continue presenting the task so that the learner does not escape the demand
- C.Telephone the caregiver to ask how the family prefers this behavior to be handled
- D.Follow the organization's crisis protocol to make the area safe, moving the other students away and clearing hazards✓ Answer
In a crisis the immediate priority is safety, and the RBT implements the organization's pre-established emergency protocol exactly as trained rather than improvising. Data collection, contacting the family, and any decisions about the treatment program come after the situation is safe, and program decisions belong to the supervisor.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement crisis/emergency procedures according to protocolReport a problem with this question
21. An RBT has been implementing a behavior reduction procedure exactly as written, but over several weeks the target behavior has steadily increased and the learner has begun to show aggression during sessions. What should the RBT do?
- A.Modify the procedure based on what seems to be working better in session
- B.Keep implementing the plan as written while maintaining safety, and report the data and concerns to the supervisor promptly so the supervisor can decide whether to revise the plan✓ Answer
- C.Stop the procedure entirely until the behavior settles down on its own
- D.Ask the caregiver which parts of the plan they would like changed
An RBT implements the plan designed by the supervisor and does not add, alter, or discontinue procedures on their own authority; changing a procedure mid-course also makes the data uninterpretable. Objective data and safety concerns are reported promptly so the supervisor, who is responsible for assessment and plan design, can make the clinical decision.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement behavior reduction plans as written; RBT scope of practice and supervisor communicationReport a problem with this question
22. An RBT is given a new written behavior reduction plan to implement. Which of the following would you expect the plan to contain so that the RBT can carry it out as designed?
- A.A record of the RBT's supervision meetings and training history
- B.A list of additional consequences the RBT may invent if the written ones do not appear to be working
- C.The learner's medical diagnosis and expected long-term prognosis
- D.An observable definition of the target behavior, the antecedent strategies, the replacement behavior to reinforce, the consequence procedures, and how data are to be collected✓ Answer
A behavior reduction plan has to tell the implementer exactly what behavior is targeted in observable terms, what to do before the behavior, what appropriate behavior to reinforce instead, what to do when the behavior occurs, and how to measure it — otherwise the procedure cannot be applied consistently across people and sessions. Diagnoses and prognoses are outside the RBT's role, and no plan authorizes an RBT to invent consequences.
Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Reduction — implement written behavior reduction plans as designedReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the BACB RBT Task List and standard applied behavior analysis practice. RBT and BACB are marks of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BACB. Requirements, training rules, and the task list itself are revised periodically — confirm current requirements with the BACB and your supervisor before testing. About the RBT credential →

1. During a math worksheet, a student rips the paper and pushes it off the desk. Each time this happens, the adult takes the worksheet away and the student sits quietly until the next activity begins. Which function is MOST likely maintaining the paper-ripping?

2. A client hums and rocks at a steady rate whether he is alone in his room or in a busy group, and the rate does not change when staff talk to him or when they say nothing. No item or activity is delivered afterward. Which function does this pattern MOST suggest?

3. A child is playing with blocks. When the RBT puts the blocks away, the child screams; the screaming stops as soon as the blocks are handed back. Which function is MOST likely maintaining the screaming?

4. A behavior plan directs the RBT to give the learner brief social attention every two minutes on a timer, whether or not disruptive behavior has occurred. Which procedure is being described?

5. A plan calls for time-based delivery of attention on a fixed schedule and contains no instruction to delay delivery. The timer sounds at the exact moment the learner starts to yell. What should the RBT do?

6. Before presenting a difficult writing task, the RBT quickly asks the learner to clap, give a high five, and touch his nose — all easy responses he performs readily — praising each one, and then immediately presents the writing request. Which antecedent intervention is the RBT using?

7. Why are antecedent interventions generally preferred over waiting to respond after the problem behavior has already occurred?

8. Whenever a student raises his hand, the RBT calls on him and answers his question; when he shouts out the same question, the RBT does not respond. Which differential reinforcement procedure is the RBT implementing?

9. A learner frequently slaps her own leg with her hand. Her plan directs the RBT to praise her and deliver a token when her hands are folded in her lap, and to withhold reinforcement when slapping occurs. Which differential reinforcement procedure is this?

10. A plan directs the RBT to start a timer; if the learner has not spat at all when the timer ends, she earns a token, and if spitting occurs the timer is restarted. Which procedure is described?

12. A learner screams to get out of chores. The team teaches him to hand a staff member a card that means 'break, please,' which immediately produces a short break, while screaming no longer produces a break. Which procedure BEST describes this?

13. A learner's plan places screaming that is maintained by escape from tasks on extinction. During a task the learner begins screaming. What should the RBT do?

14. An RBT is implementing planned ignoring for yelling that is maintained by attention, but occasionally responds when the yelling becomes very loud. What is the MOST likely effect on the yelling?

15. On the first two days after an extinction procedure begins, a learner's tantrums are longer and louder than they were during baseline, and then they start to decline. What does this pattern describe?

16. A learner's screaming was reduced to zero and stayed at zero for several weeks. After a week away from the program, she screams several times on her first day back, and screaming falls away again as the team continues the procedure unchanged. What does this MOST likely illustrate?

17. A learner had been taught to hand over a picture card to request a break, and head-hitting had stopped. A staff member who does not know the plan ignores the card and keeps the task going, and within the session head-hitting returns. Which phenomenon does this BEST illustrate?

18. Two days into an extinction procedure written into the behavior plan, the target behavior increases sharply. Everyone in the room is safe. What is the BEST action for the RBT to take?

19. A learner's hitting is maintained by escape from group work. A classroom aide suggests that each time he hits, he should be sent to sit alone in the hallway. Why is this suggestion MOST likely to be a problem?

20. A learner begins throwing chairs in a classroom where other students are present. What should the RBT do FIRST?

21. An RBT has been implementing a behavior reduction procedure exactly as written, but over several weeks the target behavior has steadily increased and the learner has begun to show aggression during sessions. What should the RBT do?

22. An RBT is given a new written behavior reduction plan to implement. Which of the following would you expect the plan to contain so that the RBT can carry it out as designed?