22 Skill Acquisition Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. A client's plan teaches him to hand a break card to the RBT during work tasks. Each time he hands over the card, the RBT removes the worksheet for a short break. Over several weeks, handing the card has become much more frequent. Which principle accounts for the increase?

   • A.Punishment, because the work task was taken away from him
   • B.Extinction, because the worksheet no longer produces responding
   • C.Negative reinforcement, because removing the work task made handing the card increase✓ Answer
   • D.Positive reinforcement, because a break card was added to the session materials

   Reinforcement is defined by its effect on future behavior, not by whether the consequence seems pleasant. Here the behavior increased, so it is reinforcement, and it is negative reinforcement because a stimulus (the work task) was removed contingent on the response. Negative reinforcement always increases behavior; punishment is what decreases it.

   Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - positive and negative reinforcement proceduresReport a problem with this question

2. 2. During discrete trial teaching, a learner answers correctly, but the RBT first finishes writing on the data sheet and delivers the token about eight seconds later. Correct responding has become inconsistent. What should the RBT change?

   • A.Withhold the token after the next several correct responses to build resistance to extinction
   • B.Deliver the token immediately after the correct response, then record the data✓ Answer
   • C.Save all the tokens and deliver a large reward at the end of the session instead
   • D.Repeat the instruction until the learner answers a second time

   Reinforcement is most effective when it follows the target response immediately, because the contingency between that response and the consequence stays clear. In a delay of several seconds, other behavior can occur and be strengthened instead. Data recording is not time-sensitive and can wait until after the reinforcer is delivered.

   Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - immediate and contingent delivery of reinforcementReport a problem with this question

3. 3. A skill has been mastered and the supervisor wants responding to persist even through long stretches without reinforcement. Which schedule generally produces the highest, steadiest rate of responding and the greatest resistance to extinction?

   • A.A fixed ratio schedule, in which reinforcement follows a set number of responses
   • B.Continuous reinforcement, in which every response is reinforced
   • C.A variable ratio schedule, in which reinforcement follows an unpredictable number of responses✓ Answer
   • D.A fixed interval schedule, in which the first response after a set time is reinforced

   On a variable ratio schedule the learner cannot discriminate which response will produce reinforcement, so responding stays high and steady and does not drop off quickly when reinforcement is unavailable. Fixed schedules make the payoff predictable, which produces pausing after reinforcement, and continuous reinforcement makes the shift to no reinforcement very easy to detect.

   Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - schedules of reinforcement; Cooper, Heron and Heward, Applied Behavior AnalysisReport a problem with this question

4. 4. An RBT is introducing a brand-new labeling target. The written plan calls for reinforcing every correct response at this stage of teaching. Which statement best explains this arrangement?

   • A.Continuous reinforcement is used because it makes a response maximally resistant to extinction
   • B.Continuous reinforcement is used whenever the learner seems to enjoy the reinforcer
   • C.Continuous reinforcement should be replaced with an intermittent schedule as soon as the learner responds correctly one time
   • D.Continuous reinforcement strengthens a new response quickly during acquisition; the schedule is thinned later to support maintenance✓ Answer

   Dense, continuous reinforcement is the standard arrangement while a skill is being acquired because every correct response contacts the contingency and the new response strengthens rapidly. Intermittent schedules, not continuous ones, build resistance to extinction, so the plan thins the schedule gradually once the skill is established; thinning abruptly can cause responding to break down.

   Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - continuous and intermittent schedules in acquisition and maintenanceReport a problem with this question

5. 5. A client normally works hard for crackers. Today the caregiver reports he ate a large bowl of crackers right before the session, and crackers no longer maintain his responding. Which best accounts for this?

   • A.Satiation has temporarily reduced the value of crackers as a reinforcer✓ Answer
   • B.Crackers were never a reinforcer, so his responding is now under extinction
   • C.Deprivation has temporarily increased the value of crackers as a reinforcer
   • D.The crackers have become a conditioned reinforcer through pairing

   Motivating operations change the momentary value of a consequence. Recent free consumption of an item is an abolishing operation: it decreases the value of that item and decreases behavior that has produced it, which is satiation. Deprivation works in the opposite direction, raising the item's value.

   Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - motivating operations (satiation and deprivation)Report a problem with this question

6. 6. Which of the following is best classified as a conditioned (secondary) reinforcer?

   • A.Water for a learner who has not had a drink all morning
   • B.Food for a learner who has not eaten since breakfast
   • C.Warmth for a learner who has just come in from the cold
   • D.Behavior-specific praise delivered by the RBT✓ Answer

   Unconditioned reinforcers such as food, water and warmth function without any learning history. A conditioned reinforcer acquires its value by being paired with stimuli that already reinforce, which is how social praise comes to work. Because that value depends on pairing, praise can lose effectiveness if it is never paired again.

   Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - establishing and using conditioned reinforcersReport a problem with this question

7. 7. An RBT is starting services with a new client who moves away whenever the RBT comes near and cries when materials are placed on the table. Consistent with the plan's pairing procedures, what should the RBT do first?

   • A.Sit apart and record data only, and tell the caregiver the client is not ready for teaching
   • B.Deliver preferred items and enjoyable interaction without placing demands, so the RBT becomes associated with reinforcement✓ Answer
   • C.Present the first instruction right away and physically prompt the client through it
   • D.Withhold all preferred items until the client complies with an instruction

   Pairing works by repeatedly presenting a neutral stimulus, here the RBT and the teaching setting, together with established reinforcers delivered without demands, until the RBT becomes a conditioned reinforcer. Starting with demands instead keeps the RBT associated with effortful tasks and strengthens moving away.

   Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - pairing to establish conditioned reinforcersReport a problem with this question

8. 8. In discrete trial teaching, what is the function of the inter-trial interval?

   • A.It is a brief pause that separates the consequence of one trial from the instruction of the next, keeping trials distinct✓ Answer
   • B.It is the time the learner is allowed to respond after the instruction is delivered
   • C.It is the delay inserted between the instruction and the prompt so the learner can respond independently
   • D.It is the period during which the reinforcer is consumed and praise is delivered

   The inter-trial interval is the short break between the end of one trial and the instruction that starts the next, and it keeps each trial a discrete learning unit rather than one long blur of instructions. The time allowed to respond and the delay inserted before a prompt are different components; the latter is a time delay procedure used to transfer stimulus control.

   Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - components of discrete trial teachingReport a problem with this question

9. 9. During free play a child pulls the bubble jar toward the RBT. The RBT holds the jar, waits, prompts the word "bubbles," and blows bubbles when the child says it. Which teaching arrangement is described?

   • A.Naturalistic (incidental) teaching, because the episode was learner-initiated and the reinforcer was the item requested✓ Answer
   • B.Discrimination training, because the child chose the bubbles instead of another toy
   • C.Total task chaining, because blowing bubbles involves several steps
   • D.Discrete trial teaching, because a prompt was delivered before the response

   Naturalistic teaching is embedded in the learner's ongoing activity, follows the learner's lead, and uses the natural reinforcer directly related to the response, so asking for bubbles produces bubbles. Prompts are used in both arrangements, so the presence of a prompt does not make it discrete trial teaching; the giveaways for discrete trials are adult-led massed trials at a structured work area with reinforcers that need not relate to the response.

   Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - naturalistic and incidental teaching proceduresReport a problem with this question

10. 10. A plan targets manding for "open." Which arrangement best contrives a motivating operation for that mand?

    • A.Place a preferred snack inside a clear container the child cannot open and keep it in sight✓ Answer
    • B.Give the child free access to the already-open snack container before the trial
    • C.Say the word "open" every few minutes during an activity the child dislikes
    • D.Ask "what do you want?" repeatedly at the table with no items present

    A mand is evoked by a motivating operation, so the teaching arrangement must make the item momentarily valuable and make the learner's own response the way to get it. A visible but inaccessible preferred item creates exactly that condition, whereas free access abolishes the value of the item and an empty table gives the learner nothing to want.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - contriving motivating operations in naturalistic teachingReport a problem with this question

11. 11. A supervisor selects backward chaining to teach a task-analyzed dressing routine. Which is the strongest rationale for that choice?

    • A.The learner is taught the first step to criterion before any further step is added
    • B.The learner performs the final step and therefore contacts the natural reinforcer of task completion on every trial✓ Answer
    • C.It removes the need to write a task analysis at all
    • D.The learner attempts every step of the chain in every session with prompting as needed

    In backward chaining the instructor completes the earlier steps and the learner independently performs the last step, so the trial always ends with the learner producing the completed outcome and contacting the natural reinforcer. The other descriptions define total task presentation and forward chaining, and every chaining variation still requires a validated task analysis.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - task analysis and chaining proceduresReport a problem with this question

12. 12. An RBT teaches hand washing by having the learner independently turn on the water while the RBT completes all the remaining steps. Once turning on the water meets criterion, the learner performs the first two steps and the RBT completes the rest. Which procedure is this?

    • A.Backward chaining
    • B.Shaping
    • C.Total task presentation
    • D.Forward chaining✓ Answer

    The reliable discriminator among chaining variations is which step the learner performs independently. Here teaching starts at the beginning of the task analysis and adds steps in order, which is forward chaining; backward chaining would start with the last step, and total task presentation would have the learner attempt every step each session.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - forward, backward and total task chainingReport a problem with this question

13. 13. A learner says "ba" when he wants a ball. The plan has the RBT reinforce "ba," then reinforce only "baw," then only "ball." Which procedure is this, and why is it not chaining?

    • A.Shaping, because one behavior is refined through differential reinforcement of successive approximations rather than linking separate behaviors✓ Answer
    • B.Prompt fading, because the RBT is gradually changing an antecedent stimulus
    • C.Discrimination training, because reinforcement is eventually withheld for "ba"
    • D.Chaining, because each sound is a separate step joined into a sequence

    Shaping refines a single response by reinforcing closer approximations while placing earlier approximations on extinction, so the topography of one behavior changes over time. Chaining is different in kind: it links several distinct behaviors into a sequence in which each step cues the next, and prompting works on the antecedent side rather than the consequence side.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - shaping by successive approximationReport a problem with this question

14. 14. During shaping, when should the RBT move to reinforcing only a closer approximation?

    • A.As soon as the learner emits the closer approximation one time
    • B.Only after the terminal behavior has already occurred independently
    • C.When the current approximation is occurring consistently, so raising the criterion does not cause responding to break down✓ Answer
    • D.After a set number of trials, regardless of how the learner is performing

    Shaping advances on the learner's data, not on a fixed timetable: the criterion is raised once the current approximation is stable so there is a strong response to differentially reinforce. Raising it too quickly puts responding on extinction before the next approximation is available and the behavior deteriorates, while lingering too long at one level stalls progress.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - shaping procedures and criterion advancementReport a problem with this question

15. 15. Data across several sessions show no progress on an acquisition target, and the RBT believes a more intrusive prompt would help. What should the RBT do?

    • A.Ask the caregiver whether the prompt level should be increased
    • B.Continue implementing the plan as written, keep collecting data, and report the lack of progress to the supervisor✓ Answer
    • C.Switch to a full physical prompt and note the change in the session notes
    • D.Move the target to maintenance and choose a different target to teach

    The technician's role is to implement the skill acquisition plan with procedural fidelity and to document what happens; designing and modifying the plan, including prompt level, targets and mastery criteria, is the supervisor's responsibility. Changing the procedure unilaterally also makes the data uninterpretable, because the results no longer describe the plan that was written.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List - implementing skill acquisition plans with procedural fidelity under supervisionReport a problem with this question

16. 16. In a field of two cards, a learner selects the card on the left on nearly every trial, whether the instruction is "touch dog" or "touch cup." What is the most likely problem and the appropriate response?

    • A.The reinforcer is too weak; the RBT should substitute a reinforcer of their own choosing
    • B.Responding is under the control of position rather than the instruction; counterbalance where the target is placed across trials✓ Answer
    • C.The learner has generalized the response; move immediately to a much larger array
    • D.The learner has mastered the discrimination; begin maintenance probes

    Discrimination training works only if reinforcement follows responding to the discriminative stimulus and not to irrelevant features. A left-side pattern that ignores the instruction is a position bias, a form of faulty stimulus control, and the fix is to rotate and counterbalance the target's position so location no longer predicts reinforcement. Selecting a different reinforcer is a plan change and is not the technician's decision.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - discrimination training and stimulus controlReport a problem with this question

17. 17. A plan targets a new safety-related skill for a learner who becomes upset and stops working after making errors. Which prompting strategy best fits?

    • A.Most-to-least prompting arranged so the correct response occurs from the first trial, with prompts then faded systematically✓ Answer
    • B.Reinforcing errors so the learner keeps responding and stays engaged
    • C.No prompting at all, so the instruction alone gains control faster
    • D.Least-to-most prompting, so the learner has many chances to make errors and self-correct

    Errorless teaching arrangements start with enough assistance to guarantee the correct response and then fade it, which is indicated for brand-new skills, safety-critical skills, and learners whose errors reliably produce frustration or escape. Least-to-most deliberately allows errors and suits skills already partly in the repertoire, and errors should never be reinforced.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - errorless teaching and most-to-least prompt fadingReport a problem with this question

18. 18. A learner reliably imitates the RBT's model but sits with his hands still and waits for the model even on targets he has performed independently before. Following the plan's fading procedures, what should the RBT do?

    • A.Keep delivering the model at the same moment as the instruction so that errors stay low
    • B.Repeat the instruction until the learner responds
    • C.Deliver the model twice in each trial to make it clearer
    • D.Insert a delay between the instruction and the model, and reinforce independent responses more richly than prompted ones✓ Answer

    Waiting for a prompt that is no longer needed is prompt dependence, which develops when prompts are not faded. A time delay opens a window in which the learner can respond to the instruction alone, and reinforcing unprompted responses more richly than prompted ones transfers stimulus control from the prompt to the natural instruction.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - time delay and transfer of stimulus controlReport a problem with this question

19. 19. To help a learner select a target letter, the RBT prints it much larger and bolder than the comparison cards, then over sessions makes it look just like the others. How is that added help best described?

    • A.An extra-stimulus prompt, because a separate cue was placed beside the card
    • B.A response prompt, because the learner's movement was physically guided
    • C.A conditioned reinforcer, because the card was paired with praise
    • D.A within-stimulus prompt, faded by gradually changing a physical dimension of the stimulus✓ Answer

    Stimulus prompts act on the teaching materials rather than on the learner's behavior. Altering the target stimulus itself, such as making it larger or bolder, is a within-stimulus prompt, whereas adding something separate like an arrow or a point is extra-stimulus. Gradually returning that physical dimension to normal is stimulus fading, which shifts control to the unaltered stimulus.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - stimulus prompts and stimulus fading; Cooper, Heron and Heward, Applied Behavior AnalysisReport a problem with this question

20. 20. A learner names community signs accurately with one RBT at one table, but not with other staff, with different picture sets, or at home. What is the most appropriate programming step?

    • A.Return to continuous reinforcement in the original setting only
    • B.Move the target to maintenance, since it already meets criterion with one instructor
    • C.Keep training only in the original setting until responding is error free, and expect the skill to transfer on its own
    • D.Program multiple exemplars: teach across several instructors, settings, and sets of materials✓ Answer

    Generalization has to be programmed rather than hoped for, and teaching under one narrow set of conditions is the classic reason a skill does not appear elsewhere. Using multiple exemplars, varying irrelevant features, and building in features of the natural environment broaden the range of stimuli that control the response.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - programming for generalization across settings, people and stimuliReport a problem with this question

21. 21. A skill that met mastery criterion months ago is no longer performed, even with the same RBT, in the same room, with the same materials. This is best described as a failure of which outcome?

    • A.Maintenance, which concerns responding that persists over time, while generalization concerns responding across new settings, people and materials✓ Answer
    • B.Generalization, which concerns responding over time, while maintenance concerns responding across new settings
    • C.Acquisition, because the skill was never actually learned in the first place
    • D.Discrimination, because the learner can no longer tell the materials apart

    Maintenance is responding that continues after teaching has ended, so it is measured across time; generalization is responding that spreads to new settings, people and materials. Here nothing about the conditions changed except elapsed time, which makes it a maintenance problem, typically addressed with periodic probes and interspersed practice rather than treating the target as newly unlearned.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - distinguishing maintenance from acquisition and generalizationReport a problem with this question

22. 22. A token economy that had been working well is now failing: the learner earns tokens but stops working before the exchange, and at exchange time chooses the same small toy and drops it right away. Which is the most likely problem and the indicated fix?

    • A.Tokens should be taken away for off-task behavior, because response cost always strengthens a token system
    • B.The learner simply needs more tokens for each correct response
    • C.The backup reinforcers have lost their value; re-assess preferences and rotate the backup menu as the plan directs✓ Answer
    • D.The tokens have lost their own intrinsic value; switch to shinier, more attractive tokens

    Tokens are generalized conditioned reinforcers with no value of their own; they work only because they are exchanged for backup reinforcers, so a stale or satiated backup menu collapses the whole system. The fix is to refresh and vary the backups, not to hand out more tokens. Removing earned tokens is a reduction procedure that may be used only when it is written into the plan and authorized, never added by the technician.

    Source: BACB RBT Task List, Behavior Acquisition - token economies, generalized conditioned reinforcers and backup reinforcersReport 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 →