Lecture Practice MCQs

Behaviour Analysts/Psychologists change someone's values to change their behaviour.

A) True

B) False

B) False

Which of the following is part of the four-term contingency?

A) Antecedents: Motivating Operations and Discriminitive Stimuli (SD)

B) Consequences: Reinforcement, Punishment

C) Behaviour

D) All of the above

D) All of the above

What is the best definition of parsimony?

A) The perspective that the simplest consequence is the most probable cause.

B) When analysing we must look at the events as they happen in order.

C) The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations before considering more complex or abstract explanations.

C) The practice of ruling out simple, logical explanations before considering more complex or abstract explanations.

Which best describes behavioural psychology?

A) Seeks to understand the role operant learning has on human behaviour.

B) Seeks to understand overt behaviour only.

C) Takes the perspective that covert behaviour plays a secondary role in affecting observable behaviour.

A) Seeks to understand the role operant learning has on human behaviour.

Antecedent stimuli ______________ respondent beheaviour.

A) Evoke

B) Occasion

C) Elicit

C) Elicit

Sneezing and blinking are examples of...

A) Unconditioned stimulus

B) Conditioned response

C) Unconditioned response

C) Unconditioned response

Explain the process of respondent conditioning.

Respondent conditioning is the process where a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus alone can elicit a conditioned response.

Behaviour primarily determined by its history of consequences is known as....

A) Operant behaviour

B) Respondent behaviour

C) Free will

A) Operant behaviour

Reinforcement is....

A) The process by which a behaviour occurs and is immediately followed by a consequence.

B) The process by which an immediate consequence to behaviour has no effect on its future frequency.

C) The process by which a behaviour is strengthened by the immediate consequence that reliably follows its occurrence.

C) The process by which a behaviour is strengthened by the immediate consequence that reliably follows its occurrence.

Explain the similarities and differences between reinforcement and reward.

Reinforcement and reward are similar because both involve giving something after a behaviour, but reinforcement specifically increases the future likelihood of the behaviour, while a reward might not.

The fuel light comes on in your car whilst driving so you put fuel into it. The light goes off. A week later the light comes on again and you out fuel into it again. Putting fuel into your car has been...

A) Positively reinforced by the light coming on again a week later.

B) Negatively reinforced by the light going off.

C) Negatively reinforced by you being able to get into your car from the cold after putting fuel in.

B) Negatively reinforced by the light going off.

Which of the following factors affect reinforcement?

A) Quality.

B) Durability.

C) Learning history.

C) Learning history.

Explain why ethically, behaviour analysts must be cautious around the purposeful use of extinction in clinical provision.

Behaviour analysts must be cautious when using extinction because it can lead to an initial increase in the behaviour (known as an extinction burst) and may cause emotional distress. Ensuring that it is used appropriately and safely is crucial to avoid unintended harm.

Punishment is the process by which a behaviour is _____________ by the immediate consequence that reliably follows its occurrence.

A) Strengthened

B) Circumnavigated

C) Weakened

C) Weakened

Negative Punishment entails...

A) The adding a stimulus following a behaviour

B) The removal of a stimulus following a behaviour

C) The removal of a stimulus prior to a behaviour

B) The removal of a stimulus following a behaviour

Parking tickets, fines and incarceration are examples of...

A) Conditioned punishers

B) Conditioned reinforcers

C) Conditioned consequences

A) Conditioned punishers

Punishment as an intervention may only be considered when....

A) All possible reinforcement based interventions have been found to be ineffective

B) The behaviour of concerns poses physical threat to the person themselves and/or others

C) Appropriate supervision is provided for its implementation

D) Including but not limited to all of the above

D) Including but not limited to all of the above

Which of the following is a factor that affects punishment effectiveness for reducing behaviour...

A) Generality

B) Immediacy

B) Immediacy

The four-term contingency is comprised of....

A) Motivating operations, antecedent discriminative, behaviour, consequence

B) Motivating operations, discriminative stimulus, behaviour, consequence

C) Motivating operations, discriminative stimulus, behaviour, reinforcement

B) Motivating operations, discriminative stimulus, behaviour, consequence

Effective antecedent interventions bring about an immediate change in behaviour

A) True

B) False

A) True

Antecedent interventions are rarely used in combination with other interventions

A) True

B) False

B) False

Which of the following is a method for stimulus control manipulations?

A) Non-contingent reinforcement

B) Increase reinforcement for desirable behaviour

C) Increase or decrease response effort

C) Increase or decrease response effort

For non-contingent reinforcement to be effective, which of the following are true?

A) Reinforcement must match the reinforcement that is maintaining the behaviour

B) Reinforcement must initially be delivered more frequently than natural environment

C) Reinforcement can be positive or negative depending on the reinforcement maintaining the behaviour

D) All of the above

D) All of the above

Schedules of reinforcement describe the conditions of reinforcement that maintain undesirable behaviour and to design interventions that have a higher likelihood of increasing desirable behaviour

A) True

B) False

A) True

Schedules of reinforcement...

A) Determine whether or not someone will engage in a behaviour

B) Specify the occurrence or non-occurrence of behaviour

C) Specify the probability that an occurrence of behaviour will produce reinforcement

C) Specify the probability that an occurrence of behaviour will produce reinforcement

Between continuous reinforcement and extinction are...

A) Intermittent schedules of reinforcement

B) FR1 schedules of reinforcement

C) Discontinuous schedules of reinforcement

A) Intermittent schedules of reinforcement

Fill in the blanks: the two types of ratio schedules of reinforcement are ___ and ___.

Fixed ratio (FR) and Variable ratio (VR)

The two types of ratio schedules are both based on

A) The passage of time

B) The number of responses

C) The effort of the responses

B) The number of responses

Scalloping is commonly identified in

A) Fixed interval schedules of reinforcement

B) Fixed ratio schedules of reinforcement

C) Variable interval schedules of reinforcement

A) Fixed interval schedules of reinforcement

Post-reinforcement pause is commonly observed in variable interval schedules of reinforcement

A) True

B) False

B) False

Devonia hits her head with a closed fist when her teacher leaves her side to interact with another student. Usually, when Devonia does this her teacher returns to her side, asks her to stop hitting herself, and soothes her. She rarely engages in head hitting when her teacher works directly with her. What is the most likely function of Devonias problem behaviour?

A) Escape

B) Attention

C) Automatic reinforcement

D) Tangible

E) Escape and/or tangible

B) Attention

A good behaviour definition should be ___________, __________, and ____________.

A) Objective, clear, complete

B) Concise, specific, limited

C) Functional, clear, socially valid

D) Measurable, mentalistic, meaningful

A) Objective, clear, complete

ONE topography can serve ________ function(s); ONE function can be obtained through ________ behaviour(s).

A) One, multiple

B) One, one

C) Multiple, multiple

D) Multiple, one

C) Multiple, multiple

New parents put a child to bed. The child begins to cry, so the parents comfort the child and allow the child to sleep in bed with them. Thus, when they put the child to bed in the future, she is more likely to cry.

A) The parents have negatively reinforced crying.

B) The parents have positively reinforced crying.

C) The parents have punished crying by removing the child's bed.

D) The parents have punished crying by presenting a stimulus.

B) The parents have positively reinforced crying.

The parents of the child are very tired and they are trying to sleep. When they put the crying child in their own bed, the child stops crying. In the future, they are more likely to put the child in their own bed.

A) The parents have been reinforced for putting the child in their bed via positive reinforcement.

B) The parents have been reinforced for putting the child in their bed via negative reinforcement.

C) The parents have been punished for putting the child in their bed via punishment by removal.

D) The parents have been punished for putting the child in their bed via punishment by presentation.

B) The parents have been reinforced for putting the child in their bed via negative reinforcement.

Problem behaviour can be maintained by:

i. Social positive reinforcement

ii. Automatic reinforcement

iii. Tangible reinforcement

iv. Automatic tangible reinforcement

A) All of the above

B) None of the above

C) i, ii, iii only

D) ii and iv only

C) i, ii, iii only

Which of the following examples illustrates socially-mediated negative reinforcement:

A) Alice scratches her arm to alleviate an itch.

B) Marge closes her eyes when the wind picks up on the beach to avoid getting sand in her eyes.

C) Sandy asks her mother for help washing the dishes to reduce the amount of time she has to spend in the kitchen doing chores.

D) Paul uses the remote control to mute the television during commercials to avoid listening to the commercial hype.

C) Sandy asks her mother for help washing the dishes to reduce the amount of time she has to spend in the kitchen doing chores.

A major goal of most behaviour change programs is the development of

A) Naturally occurring activities

B) Stimuli

C) Events to function as reinforcement

D) All of the above

D) All of the above

One of the fundamental questions to answer before initiating behavioural assessment is:

A) Where will observations be conducted?

B) Who will conduct the assessment?

C) What is the nature of the problem behaviour?

D) Who has the authority and skill to intervene with the behaviour?

D) Who has the authority and skill to intervene with the behaviour?

In addition to a control condition, a functional analysis typically consists of what test conditions?

A) Contingent attention

B) Contingent escape

C) Alone

D) All of these

D) All of these

The principle of ________ determines the degree to which a person's behavior repertoire maximizes short and long-term reinforcers for that individual and for others, and minimizes short and long-term punishers.

A) Normalization

B) Habilitation

C) Functionality

D) Justification

B) Habilitation

Charles spits on his teacher when he prompts him to complete a toothbrushing task. This behaviour really grosses out the teacher, who refuses to work with him when he behaves like this. When Charles spits on him, the teacher walks away and allows Charles to leave the toothbrushing task and go to the computer to calm down. As long as Charles is playing on the computer, he rarely spits on his teacher. What is the most likely function of Charles' behaviour?

A) Escape

B) Automatic reinforcement

C) Tangible

D) Escape and/or tangible

D) Escape and/or tangible

There are at least three forms of FBA. They are:

A) Functional analysis, standardized assessment, and descriptive assessment

B) Indirect assessment, descriptive assessment, and behavioural observation

C) Functional analysis, descriptive assessment, and indirect assessment

D) Behavioural observation, standardized assessment, and curriculum-based assessment

C) Functional analysis, descriptive assessment, and indirect assessment

All of the following are assessment methods used in applied behaviour analysis except:

A) Direct observation

B) Interview

C) Medical evaluations

D) Checklists

C) Medical evaluations

Functional communication training is considered to be:

A) Consequent intervention

B) Punishment strategy

C) Antecedent intervention

D) Behavioural momentum technique

E) Combination of antecedent and DRA

E) Combination of antecedent and DRA

You are working with a student who is frequently out of his seat. You decide to provide the student with reinforcement every time he is in his seat for 5 consecutive minutes. If he does not stay in his seat for 5 consecutive minutes, you withhold the reinforcer. What type of intervention have you implemented?

A) DRI

B) DRO

C) DRL

D) DRH

A) DRI

You would like to implement an interval DRO procedure with one of your students with autism to decrease hand flapping (so that you can get the student to attend to her work eventually). You conduct some baseline observations and find that the student stops flapping her hands for about 2 minutes on average. What would an appropriate initial DRO interval be?

A) 2 seconds

B) 2 minutes, 30 seconds

C) 1 minute, 45 seconds

D) 4 minutes

C) 1 minute, 45 seconds

The behaviour selected as an alternative behaviour in a DRA:

A) Should already be in the learner's repertoire.

B) Should require more effort than the problem behaviour.

C) Should be emitted at a very low rate prior to intervention.

D) Should require extensive training for practitioners to learn how to reinforce it.

A) Should already be in the learner's repertoire.

Match the correct answer to either DRA, DRO, or DRI

1. Provide reinforcement for incompatible behaviour.

2. Provide reinforcement for a desirable alternative

3. Provide reinforcement for the absence of problem behaviour OR behaviour other than problem behaviour.

1. Provide reinforcement for incompatible behaviour — DRI

2. Provide reinforcement for a desirable alternative behaviour — DRA

3. Provide reinforcement for the absence of problem behaviour OR behaviour other than problem behaviour — DRO

Before you use a chaining procedure, it is recommended that you task analyse the skill to be taught. What does it mean to task analyse a skill?

A) Make a sequential list of all the smaller sub-steps of the task to be trained.

B) Plan your prompting strategy carefully.

C) Conduct a reinforcer assessment prior to beginning training.

D) Analyse the response class and reinforce successive approximations to the terminal behaviour.

A) Make a sequential list of all the smaller sub-steps of the task to be trained.

A teacher says: "Everyone, you have math homework tonight. Tomorrow, I will draw a name from a hat. If that person has completed his/her homework and remembered to bring it back to school, everyone will get extra recess." What type of group contingency is this?

A) Independent group contingency

B) Dependent group contingency

C) Interdependent group contingency

B) Dependent group contingency

Shaping involves:

A) Reinforcing successive approximations to a terminal behaviour

B) Creating response differentiation between responses that are closer to the terminal behaviour and those that are not

C) Placing responses that are not a closer approximation of the terminal behaviour on extinction

D) All of these

D) All of these

Which of the following is an example of shaping an individual to swing a golf club correctly (ie take the appropriate backswing, swing the club down to the ball and follow through with the swing).

A) Stand behind the person and physically help make the correct golf swing. Over time, slowly provide less physical assistance until the individual makes a correct swing independently.

B) Start with verbal prompts to do each step. If this is not effective, provide a model. If this is not effective provide some physical assistance. If this is not effective stand behind the person and help the person make the correct golf swing.

C) Provide positive reinforcement for any swing that resembles a golf swing. Then provide reinforcement for closer and closer approximations of a correct golf swing and withhold reinforcement for poorer approximations of a correct golf swing.

C) Provide positive reinforcement for any swing that resembles a golf swing. Then provide reinforcement for closer and closer approximations of a correct golf swing and withhold reinforcement for poorer approximations of a correct golf swing.

Behaviour chains and chaining procedures are important because:

A) There are many behaviours that are considered behaviour chains, and these behaviours lead to more independence in life.

B) Chaining can be combined with many other teaching procedures so that behaviours can be taught in a variety of contexts.

C) Chaining is an efficient training procedure-it can be used to combine already existing repertoires of behaviour into new behaviours.

D) All of these

D) All of these