RBT STUDY GUIDE 2026

scope of practice

task and responsibilities that RBT are trained, qualified and authorized to perform under a BCBA or BCaBA

ABA

a scientific approach to understanding and modifying behavior

Premack principle

Access to preferred activity/ item is provided only after a client completes a less preferred activity or task

Behavioral momentum

Starting with a easy task before presenting more difficult/ less preferred task

Antecedent intervention

Strategies put in place before a challenging behavior occurs. They reduce the likelihood of problem behavior and increase appropriate behavior

High probability task (high p)

Task the client almost always does without resistance

Low probability task (low p)

A harder lesson preferred task that the client is less likely to do without resistance

Non contingent reinforcement (NCR)

Giving the client access to reinforcement on a fixed schedule- whether or not problem behavior occurs

Demand fading

Gradually increasing the amount, length or difficulty of demand placed on a client over time

Consequence based strategy

What we do after a behavior occurs. These strategies change the likelihood that the behavior will happen in the future

Extinction

Occurs when you stop providing the reinforcer that has been maintaining a behavior

Extinction burst

A temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, or duration of a behavior once it no longer produces reinforcement

Spontaneous recovery

A behavior that had decreased or even stopped can suddenly reappear after some time has passed

Extinction- induced variability

A new behavior that serves the same purpose, or the same function, as the challenging behavior

Ex: If whining no longer gain attention, the learner my switch to tapping, shouting etc- may be a more appropriate behavior

Functionally equivalent replacement behavior FERB

A new behavior that serves the same purpose, or the same function, as the challenging behavior

Differential reinforcement

A family of strategies where we reinforce some behaviors while placing other under extinction

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)

Reinforce the absence of the problem behavior for a set amount of time

Learner earns reinforcement when they go a certain interval of time w/o engaging in targeted behavior

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA)

Reinforce only a specific target behavior that is an appropriate alternative to the problem behavior withhold reinforcement for the problem behavior

Extinction SR + reinforcement

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA)

Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)

Reinforce a behavior that cannot physically happen at the same time as the problem behavior

Ex: A child that runs around the classroom is reinforced for sitting in classroom chair- running and sitting cannot occur at the same time

Differential reinforcement of low rate behavior (DRL)

Reinforce the behavior, but only when it occurs at a lower rate than before

Is ABA an evidence-based practice?

It is- it has been rigorously researched and proven effective

what are the 7 dimensions of ABA

applied

behavioral

analytic

conceptually systematic

effective

generalized

technological

Applied ABA

focus on behaviors that have real world significance and improve an individual quality of life

Example: Teaching a child to ask for help instead of crying

Behavioral ABA

focus on observable and measurable behaviors- not on internal thoughts/ feelings

Example: Counting how many times a student raises their hand in class

Analytic ABA

relies on data to demonstrate that interventions lead to behavior change

Example: Showing that using reinforcement increased homework completion

Conceptually systematic ABA

interventions are based on established principles of behavior analysis

Example: Using positive reinforcement because it is grounded in behavior theory

Effective ABA

only uses strategies that actually work for the individual receiving service

Example: Reducing aggression from 10 incidents per day to 1 per day

Generalized ABA

skills should work in different places, with different people, and last a long time

Example: A child uses polite greetings at home, school, and in the community

Technological ABA

procedures are clearly defined and replicable

Example: Writing step-by-step instructions for a token reward system

compassionate care

clinicians understand and respect the client’s needs, preferences, and emotions while implementing interventions

phase

a distinct period or segment of a treatment or behavior intervention plan (baseline intervention, generalization, maintenance)

baseline phase

information collected before treatment

intervention phase

strategy to teach new skills, reduce problem, improve overall functioning

generalization phase

learned skills applied across settings

maintenance phase

learned skills performed even after teaching has been reduced

x-axis

horizontal axis

represents time

(days, sessions, weeks of service)

y-axis

vertical axis

represents the behavior being measured

data points on a graph show

how often or how well a behavior happened during a specific day or session

data path on a graph show

trends in the behavior over time

phase change line mark

a shift from one phase of treatment to another

(moving from baseline to intervention)

condition labels on a graph describe

the phase of treatment

Stimulus

Anything around you that you can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste — basically anything that can get your attention or make you react.

Response

What you actually do in the presence of a stimulus.

Consequence

What happens right after the response. They can make it more likely (or less likely) that you’ll do the behavior again in the future.

Antecedent

Stimulus that occurs immediately before a target behavior.

Behavior

A response that can be observed &/or measured.

3-Term Contingency

Antecedent → Behavior → Consequence. This chain of events is the foundation for understanding behavior.

Reinforcement

Something happens after a behavior that makes that behavior more likely to happen again in the future.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing something unpleasant after the behavior to increase the behavior.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Rules about when a behavior gets reinforced.

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Schedule of reinforcement where reinforcement happens after a set number of responses.

Variable Ratio (VR)

Schedule of reinforcement where reinforcement happens after an unpredictable (but around an average) number of responses.

Fixed Interval (FI)

Schedule of reinforcement where the first correct response after a set amount of time gets reinforced.

Continuous Schedule

Reinforcement is provided every time the behavior occurs.

Intermittent Schedule

Reinforcement is only provided some of the time the behavior occurs.

Variable Interval (VI)

Schedule of reinforcement where reinforcement happens after an unpredictable (but around an average) amount of time.

Dimensions of Reinforcement

Features of reinforcement delivery that can affect the motivational value of the reinforcer.

Immediacy

A dimension of reinforcement that refers to how quickly the reinforcement is delivered after the behavior.

Magnitude

A dimension of reinforcement that refers to how big or powerful the reinforcer is.

Quality

A dimension of reinforcement that refers to how preferred or important the reinforcer is to the client.

Rate

A dimension of reinforcement that refers to how often reinforcement is delivered.

Topography

What a behavior looks like—its form. The action we observe.

(A child laughing)

Function

The “why” behind behavior. What the person is trying to achieve.

Attention Function

When someone behaves in a certain way to get social contact.

Escape Function

When someone behaves in a certain way to avoid or get away from something unpleasant or difficult.

Access to Tangibles Function

When someone behaves in a certain way to get something they want - an item, activity, or experience.

Automatic Function

When someone behaves in a certain way because the behavior is reinforcing all on its own - not because of something someone else does.

Setting Events

Prior conditions that don’t occur immediately before the behavior, or directly cause it, but they set the stage for it to happen.

Motivating Operation (MO)

Temporary changes to the environment that affect how much someone wants a certain consequence in the moment.

Establishing Operation (EO)

A type of MO that temporarily increases the value of a reinforcer and increases the likelihood of behaviors that result in access to that reinforcer.

Abolishing Operation (AO)

A type of MO that temporarily decreases the value of a reinforcer and decreases the likelihood of behaviors that result in access to that reinforcer.

Verbal Operants

The building blocks of language in ABA.

Mand

A type of verbal behavior that occurs when someone wants or needs something. In everyday language, it’s a request.

Tact

A type of verbal behavior where the speaker labels something in their environment. In short, it’s a label.

Echoic

A type of verbal behavior where the speaker repeats what they hear (point-to-point correspondence).

Intraverbal

A type of verbal behavior that occurs in response to another person’s verbal behavior, but without directly copying it.

IOA

Interobserver agreement refers to the degree to which two or more independent observers record the same data after observing the exact same event.

Reliability

Refers to the consistency of measurement or the extent to which the same behavior is recorded in the same way.

Operational Definition

A description of behavior or an environmental event that outlines what to observe and which responses to record data. These descriptions must be object

Frequency

number of times a behavior occurs

Rate

how many times a behavior occurs in set time

duration

refers to how long a behavior occurs

interresponse time (IRT)

refers to time between two responses

A student raises their hand at 10:00:15. The student raises their hand again at 10:00:45. IRT = 30 seconds

trial- by- trial

recording data on how someone responds after the presentation of a discrete learning opportunity

Partial-interval recording

behavior is marked as occurring if it happens at any time during the interval, even briefly

Whole- interval recording

behavior is marked as occurring only if it happens for the entire duration of the interval.

Momentary- time sampling (MTS)

refers to recording whether the target behavior occurs right at the end of each interval

Permanent product recording

refers to measuring a physical product produced by the target behavior

continuous data

refers to data collected on all behavior as it occurs in real time during an observation

discontinuous data

refers to data reoccurrence as an estimate of occurrence of behavior during an observation

line graph

a type of chart that shows how something changes over time. points connected by lines

bar graph

chart uses bars of different lengths or heights to show and compare data

level

refers to the value on the vertical axis around which the data points are on the graph

variability

refers to the bounce or how much the data go up or down from one data point to the next

trend

refer to the overall direction taken by a data

Skill Acquisition Plan (SAP)

a roadmap. it outlines what skill to teach how to teach it and how to know if its working

environment

everything around a person that influence behavior

presession pairing

building a positive connection with your learner before beginning demands/ structured teaching

joint attention

when two people share focus on smart object or event