BCBA Exam Master Set — 6th Edition (270 Cards)

Comprehensive, application-focused BCBA study set aligned to the BACB 6th Edition Test Content Outline. Covers all nine domains with concepts, comparisons, calculations, ethics, assessment, intervention, and supervision scenarios. Use alongside graduate coursework, supervised fieldwork, the current BACB Ethics Code, and novel practice questions.

What are the three scientific goals of behavior analysis?

Description identifies and measures events; prediction shows reliable covariation; control demonstrates that changing an independent variable reliably changes behavior.

How does prediction differ from control?

Prediction establishes that two events reliably covary. Control requires experimental evidence that manipulating one event produces a change in the other.

What is determinism in behavior analysis?

The assumption that behavior is lawful and influenced by identifiable variables rather than occurring randomly or through free will alone.

What is empiricism?

Objective observation and measurement of behavior and environmental events; conclusions are based on data rather than authority or intuition.

What is parsimony?

Rule out simpler, already established explanations before adopting more complex explanations for behavior.

What is pragmatism?

Evaluate an explanation by whether it helps predict and influence behavior effectively; the practical outcome matters.

What is selectionism?

Behavior is shaped by selection at phylogenetic, ontogenetic, and cultural levels: evolution, individual learning history, and cultural practices.

How does radical behaviorism treat private events?

Thoughts and feelings are behavior subject to the same natural laws as public behavior, but they are not treated as independent inner causes that end explanation.

A clinician says, “He hits because he is angry.” What is the radical-behaviorist concern?

The statement may be circular if anger is inferred from hitting. Analyze observable antecedents, consequences, learning history, and relevant private events without using a label as the cause.

Distinguish behaviorism, EAB, ABA, and professional practice.

Behaviorism is the philosophy; EAB is basic experimental research; ABA applies principles to socially significant behavior while demonstrating control; professional practice delivers services guided by the science.

What are the seven dimensions of ABA?

Applied, behavioral, analytic, technological, conceptually systematic, effective, and generality.

What makes an ABA target “applied”?

It is selected because it is socially significant to the client and stakeholders, not merely because it is convenient to measure.

What makes an intervention “analytic”?

A believable demonstration shows that the intervention, rather than an uncontrolled variable, produced the behavior change.

What makes a procedure “technological”?

It is described with enough detail and clarity that a trained reader could implement it accurately.

What does “conceptually systematic” mean?

Procedures are linked to established behavioral principles rather than presented as a collection of disconnected tricks.

What does “generality” mean?

Behavior change lasts over time, appears in relevant settings or with relevant people, or spreads to related behaviors.

A program changes behavior substantially, but the target does not matter to the client. Which dimension is weakest?

Applied. Effectiveness alone does not establish social significance.

A report says only “use praise often.” Which ABA dimension is weakest?

Technological, because the procedure lacks replicable detail about what to do, when, and how.

Distinguish behavior, response, and response class.

Behavior is the activity of an organism; a response is one instance; a response class is a group of responses with a shared function or defining form.

A learner says “water,” points to a cup, or hands over a picture to obtain water. What unites these responses?

They may form a functional response class because different topographies produce the same consequence.

Distinguish stimulus and stimulus class.

A stimulus is an environmental event affecting receptors; a stimulus class is a group of stimuli sharing physical features, temporal relations, or behavioral functions.

What are three bases for stimulus classes?

Formal similarity, temporal relation, and common behavioral function.

Respondent vs. operant conditioning

Respondent behavior is elicited by antecedent stimuli through stimulus-stimulus relations. Operant behavior is selected by its consequences through response-consequence relations.

A tone is repeatedly paired with air puff; later the tone evokes blinking. What occurred?

Respondent conditioning: the tone became a conditioned stimulus and blinking to the tone became a conditioned response.

Positive reinforcement

A stimulus is added following behavior and the future frequency of that behavior increases.

Negative reinforcement

A stimulus is removed, reduced, postponed, or avoided following behavior and the future frequency of that behavior increases.

Buckling a seat belt stops an alarm and buckling becomes faster next time. What contingency is this?

Negative reinforcement; alarm removal follows buckling and increases future buckling.

Positive punishment

A stimulus is added following behavior and the future frequency of that behavior decreases.

Negative punishment

A stimulus is removed following behavior and the future frequency of that behavior decreases.

A teen loses game access after missing curfew, and missed curfews decrease. What contingency is this?

Negative punishment, specifically response cost if a conditioned reinforcer is removed contingent on behavior.

Automatic vs. socially mediated contingencies

Automatic consequences occur directly from the response itself; socially mediated consequences require another person to deliver or remove a stimulus.

Scratching relieves an itch without anyone responding. What kind of reinforcement may maintain it?

Automatic negative reinforcement because the response directly reduces an aversive stimulation.

Unconditioned, conditioned, and generalized conditioned reinforcers

Unconditioned reinforcers depend little on learning; conditioned reinforcers acquire value through pairing; generalized conditioned reinforcers are paired with many backup reinforcers.

Why are tokens often generalized conditioned reinforcers?

They can be exchanged for varied backup reinforcers, making their value less dependent on one specific motivating operation.

Unconditioned, conditioned, and generalized conditioned punishers

Unconditioned punishers require little learning; conditioned punishers acquire suppressive effects through pairing; generalized conditioned punishers are paired with many forms of punishment or loss.

Fixed-ratio schedule

Reinforcement follows a fixed number of responses; often produces high rates with a postreinforcement pause.

Variable-ratio schedule

Reinforcement follows a varying number of responses around an average; often produces high, steady rates and strong resistance to extinction.

Fixed-interval schedule

The first response after a fixed time interval is reinforced; often produces a postreinforcement pause followed by accelerating responding.

Variable-interval schedule

The first response after varying time intervals is reinforced; often produces moderate, steady responding.

Ratio vs. interval schedules

Ratio schedules require a number of responses; interval schedules require time to pass before a response can produce reinforcement.

Concurrent vs. multiple schedules

Concurrent schedules are simultaneously available and require choice; multiple schedules alternate components signaled by different stimuli.

Mixed vs. chained schedules

A mixed schedule alternates unsignaled components; a chained schedule requires completing components in sequence, with each component signaled and the last producing terminal reinforcement.

What is a tandem schedule?

Two or more schedule requirements occur successively without distinctive stimuli, and reinforcement follows completion of the final component.

Operant extinction vs. respondent extinction

Operant extinction withholds the maintaining reinforcer for a previously reinforced response. Respondent extinction repeatedly presents the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus.

Common effects when operant extinction begins

Temporary increases in rate, intensity, or variability; possible emotional responding; and resurgence of previously reinforced responses.

Spontaneous recovery

A previously extinguished response briefly reappears after time has passed without exposure to the extinction context.

Stimulus control

A response occurs more often in the presence of an antecedent stimulus because that response has a history of reinforcement in its presence.

SD vs. S-delta

An SD signals that reinforcement is available for a response; an S-delta signals that reinforcement is unavailable for that response.

Stimulus discrimination

Differential responding to different stimuli based on different histories of reinforcement.

Stimulus vs. response generalization

Stimulus generalization is the same response across similar stimuli; response generalization is different but functionally equivalent responses under the same conditions.

Response maintenance

A learned behavior continues after teaching ends or programmed supports are withdrawn.

Establishing operation vs. abolishing operation

An EO temporarily increases a consequence’s value and evokes behavior that produced it; an AO decreases its value and abates such behavior.

Unconditioned vs. conditioned motivating operations

UMOs have value-altering effects without learning; CMOs acquire those effects through learning history.

Three conditioned motivating operations

Surrogate CMO (paired with an MO), reflexive CMO (signals worsening or improvement), and transitive CMO (makes another stimulus effective as reinforcement).

Motivating operation vs. discriminative stimulus

An MO changes how valuable a consequence is and alters relevant behavior; an SD signals whether a particular response will contact that consequence.

Rule-governed vs. contingency-shaped behavior

Rule-governed behavior is controlled by a verbal description of contingencies; contingency-shaped behavior develops through direct contact with consequences.

Mand

A verbal operant controlled by an MO and reinforced by a specific consequence; it functions as a request.

Tact

A verbal operant controlled by a nonverbal stimulus and maintained by generalized conditioned reinforcement; it labels or describes.

Echoic

A verbal response with point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity to an auditory verbal stimulus.

Intraverbal

A verbal response evoked by a verbal stimulus without point-to-point correspondence, such as answering a question or completing a phrase.

Textual and transcription relations

Textual behavior is vocal responding to written stimuli with point-to-point correspondence but no formal similarity; transcription produces written responses controlled by spoken or written verbal stimuli.

Multiple control in verbal behavior

One verbal response may be influenced by multiple antecedent variables, and one variable may influence multiple responses.

Stimulus equivalence

Untaught relations emerge after training conditional relations, showing reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity.

Derived relational responding

Responding to relations among stimuli that are not solely based on their physical properties and may emerge without direct teaching.

Behavioral momentum

Behavior with a denser history of reinforcement in a context tends to persist more when disrupted, even if its baseline rate is not higher.

Matching law

Relative response allocation tends to match relative rates of reinforcement available across alternatives.

A student spends about 75% of free-choice responses on an activity providing 75% of reinforcement. What principle fits?

The matching law.

Imitation vs. observational learning

Imitation matches a model’s behavior and is evoked by it; observational learning is a broader change in behavior after observing others and their consequences.

What makes an operational definition strong?

It is objective, clear, complete, and includes observable boundaries so independent observers can identify occurrences consistently.

Improve “aggressive behavior” as a target definition.

Example: any instance of hitting, kicking, biting, or pushing another person with enough force to move the person or produce audible contact; specify onset, offset, and exclusions.

Direct, indirect, and permanent-product measurement

Direct measures observe behavior as it occurs; indirect measures rely on reports; permanent products measure lasting environmental effects produced by behavior.

Frequency and count

Count is the number of responses; frequency often refers to count per unit of observation and should be interpreted with observation time.

How is response rate calculated?

Rate = number of responses divided by observation time. Example: 24 responses in 2 hours = 12 per hour.

How is percentage of opportunities calculated?

Responses meeting criterion divided by total opportunities, multiplied by 100.

Duration

The time from response onset to response offset; useful when episode length is the critical dimension.

Latency

The time from a specified antecedent or opportunity to response onset.

Interresponse time (IRT)

The elapsed time between two successive responses; shorter IRTs correspond to higher response rates.

Continuous vs. discontinuous measurement

Continuous systems attempt to record every response; discontinuous systems sample behavior during selected intervals or moments.

Partial-interval recording

Score an interval if behavior occurs at any time; tends to overestimate total duration, especially with longer intervals.

Whole-interval recording

Score an interval only if behavior occurs throughout; tends to underestimate total duration.

Momentary time sampling

Score whether behavior is occurring at the exact observation moment; accuracy depends on sampling interval and behavior pattern.

When is PLACHECK useful?

Planned activity check samples how many people in a group are engaged at a moment, allowing efficient group measurement.

Trials to criterion

The number of teaching opportunities required for performance to reach a defined mastery criterion; a measure of learning efficiency.

Cost-benefit analysis in ABA

Compare resources required by an intervention with the value and magnitude of outcomes, without reducing decisions to money alone.

Validity vs. reliability in measurement

Validity asks whether data represent the behavior and dimension of interest; reliability asks whether measurement is consistent across observers, occasions, or instruments.

Interobserver agreement (IOA)

The extent to which two or more independent observers report the same observed values.

Total-count IOA

Smaller total divided by larger total, multiplied by 100. It may hide interval-by-interval disagreements.

Mean count-per-interval IOA

Compute smaller/larger count for each interval, multiply by 100, then average across intervals.

Exact count-per-interval IOA

Intervals with identical counts divided by total intervals, multiplied by 100; a stringent agreement measure.

Trial-by-trial or interval-by-interval IOA

Number of agreements divided by agreements plus disagreements, multiplied by 100.

Scored-interval IOA

Intervals both observers scored occurrence divided by intervals either observer scored occurrence, multiplied by 100; useful for low-rate behavior.

Unscored-interval IOA

Intervals both scored nonoccurrence divided by intervals either scored nonoccurrence, multiplied by 100; useful for high-rate behavior.

A behavior occurs too rapidly to count but produces worksheets. What measure may fit?

A permanent-product measure, if the product uniquely and reliably reflects the behavior and products cannot be altered by other routes.

Which measure best captures delayed task initiation after an instruction?

Latency from the instruction to task initiation.

When should you use a line graph, bar graph, or cumulative record?

Line graphs show change over continuous time; bar graphs compare discrete categories; cumulative records show total responses accumulating and never decrease.

What does slope show on a cumulative record?

Response rate: steeper slope means faster responding; a flat line means no responses.

Six visual-analysis features

Level, trend, variability, immediacy of effect, overlap, and consistency of data patterns across similar phases.

Level, trend, and variability

Level is the typical magnitude; trend is direction and rate of change; variability is the degree of fluctuation around the pattern.

Why avoid relying only on phase means?

Means can conceal trend, variability, overlap, delayed effects, outliers, and within-phase patterns important to single-case interpretation.

Procedural integrity

The extent to which an intervention or assessment is implemented as planned.