Question 1

Manipulating a students chair in a classroom setting to avoid distraction fro the window is an example of a manipulation of a

Accepted Answer

Manipulating a student's chair to avoid distraction from the window is an example of manipulating a context variable, as it involves changing the physical environment to influence behavior.

Question 2

You are designing a treatment program for Susan.  Before getting into details, you wish to identify some ultimate outcomes towards which Susan will progress.  Which of the following is NOT an appropriate ultimate outcome for Susan?

Accepted Answer

Ultimate outcomes should be focused on the individual's quality of life and personal growth, rather than the convenience of staff. Choices A, B, and C focus on areas of personal growth and development for Susan.

Question 3

Sammy is having a difficult time completing his independent math worksheet on two-digit division. He is frustrated and doesn't understand how to solve the equations. Sammy raises his hand and asks for "help." The teacher assists Sammy. Sammy's asking for "help" is?

Accepted Answer

Sammy's request for "help" is a mand, as he is making a request for assistance to meet a specific need, in this case, to complete his math worksheet.

Question 4

If the person gets back on task when he is touched, this is an example of:

Accepted Answer

This is an example of escape behavior because the person is escaping from the aversive stimulus (being touched) by getting back on task.

Question 5

You are working with a child on teaching swimming.  You teach the child to do the front crawl.  After a few weeks of teaching, the child is doing both the front crawl and also starts doing the breast stroke.  What has occurred?

Accepted Answer

The answer of You are working with a child on...

Question 6

Which of the following could NOT function as an unconditioned punisher?

Accepted Answer

Social disapproval is a conditioned punisher - its effectiveness as a punisher depends on previous learning experiences and the behavior it is meant to suppress. The other options (a bitter taste, excessive stimulation, and physical restraint) could all function as unconditioned punishers, meaning they would naturally suppress a behavior without any prior learning necessary.

Question 7

A good behavior analyst always does what before authoring a behavior intervention?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A good behavior analyst always does what...

Question 8

A teacher uses a group contingency with her students.  She states the following rule: "If everyone gets 100% on their spelling test the week, I will turn cartwheels down the hall for you."  What type of group contingency is this?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of an interdependent group contingency because the reward (teacher doing cartwheels) is contingent on the performance of the entire group (everyone getting 100% on their spelling test). The students must work together and support each other to achieve the goal of everyone getting 100% in order to receive the reward.

Question 9

You are working with a client who finds physical touch to be aversive.  When the person is off task, the program calls for you to give a warning by counting to 10; at that point, you gently touch him if he is not back on task.  The touch remains until he returns to task.  Please note that being touched is aversive for this particular individual.  If the person gets back on task during counting, this is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Avoidance. The individual is avoiding the aversive touch by getting back on task before the counting is complete. This can be considered negative reinforcement, as the removal of the possibility of touch is reinforcing the behavior of getting back on task. However, since the person is actively avoiding the touch rather than simply escaping from it once it occurs, avoidance is the more accurate term.

Question 10

Which of the following would not be a type of function of behavior identified during a functional assessment?

Accepted Answer

Frustration is an emotion or state of being, not a specific type of function of behavior identified during a functional assessment. The other answer choices (attention, escape, access to tangibles) are commonly identified as functions of behavior during a functional assessment.

Question 11

In self-control, where does the ultimate control lie? (Or, why is self-control a misnomer?)

Accepted Answer

While self-control may suggest that the control lies solely with the self, it is important to acknowledge that the environment also plays a significant role in influencing behavior. Factors such as social pressure, availability of resources, and situational cues can all impact an individual's ability to exert self-control. Therefore, the ultimate control lies not just with the self, but also with the environment.

Question 12

Joe describes himself as being addicted to video games. He is told that if he does not complete his chores, he will lose access to his computer. On Monday, he refuses to complete his chores and he loses access to his computer for 2 days. From Tuesday on, Joe's refusals cease. The change in Joe's behavior is MOST likely to be the result of.

Accepted Answer

Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus (in this case, access to the computer) after a behavior (refusing to do chores) in order to decrease the frequency of that behavior. In this scenario, Joe's change in behavior (no longer refusing to do chores) indicates that negative punishment was effective in decreasing his behavior of not completing chores.

Question 13

What best defines a discriminative stimulus?

Accepted Answer

A discriminative stimulus is defined by its effect on behavior. It signals to the organism that a certain behavior will have a particular consequence, and the organism responds accordingly. It does not necessarily always elicit a response, as this depends on the history of conditioning for that specific organism, and it can be established using both operant and respondent procedures. Any change in the environment, including non-discriminative stimuli, would not be considered a discriminative stimulus.

Question 14

A person is asked to make his bed.  His caregiver checks 30 minutes later and the bed was made.  No one else was present during that time.  The caregiver records that the client made his bed even though he did not observe the behavior directly.  The data collection method used is:

Accepted Answer

The data collection method used in this scenario is permanent product recording, which involves observing the outcome or end result of a behavior, rather than directly observing the behavior itself. In this case, the caregiver observed that the bed had been made, which serves as a permanent product of the behavior of making the bed. The other options (duration recording, whole-interval recording, and latency recording) are all types of direct observation methods that involve observing the behavior as it occurs, which is not the case in this scenario.

Question 15

A parent reports that her 2-year-old daughter uses a number of stalling techniques to avoid bedtime once she is told to go to bed. What would be a good progress measure for going to bed when told?

Accepted Answer

Latency measures the time between the instruction to go to bed and the child's actual compliance, making it a good measure for assessing progress in reducing stalling techniques.

Question 16

When an observer notes everything the client does or says as well as events before and after the episode of behavior, he or she is using:

Accepted Answer

This type of observation is called ABC recording, which stands for Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence recording. It involves taking note of the events or circumstances that occurred before the behavior (antecedent), the behavior itself, and the events or consequences that occurred after the behavior. This type of recording is useful in identifying patterns and triggers of behavior. Duration recording involves measuring the length of time a behavior occurs, permanent product recording involves observing the end result or product of a behavior, and time sampling involves observing behavior at specific intervals of time.

Question 17

Results of a functional assessment reveal that a child engages in hand-biting when she is in a room by herself.  The likely function of behavior is:

Accepted Answer

Since the child engages in hand-biting when she is alone, it is unlikely that the behavior is maintained by attention, access to tangibles or escape/avoidance. Therefore, the most plausible reason for this behavior is that it serves as a form of automatic reinforcement.

Question 18

Non-contingent reinforcement is this type of intervention:

Accepted Answer

Non-contingent reinforcement is an antecedent intervention because it involves providing reinforcement independent of the individual's behavior, thereby altering the environment before the behavior occurs.

Question 19

To address hitting others, two procedures were compared, differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior and time-out. The outcomes were examined within and across subjects. A withdrawal design was employed. The BEST response measure to use in this study is frequency of:

Accepted Answer

The study is specifically addressing hitting others as a problem behavior, so frequency of hitting others would be the most appropriate response measure to use in evaluating the effectiveness of the two procedures. The frequency of the incompatible behavior may also be measured as it is the target behavior for the differential reinforcement procedure, but it is not as relevant to the main research question. Being sent to time-out is a procedure, not a behavior, and therefore cannot be measured as a response variable. Reinforcer delivery is not being directly manipulated in this study and is not relevant to the research question.

Question 20

The specific, or technical, name for the type of procedure used in the above question is:

Accepted Answer

Over-correction is a behavior modification technique that involves requiring an individual to correct an inappropriate behavior by practicing the correct behavior or an exaggerated form of it.

Exam 2: Board Certified Behavior Analyst