40-Hour RBT Course Glossary Flashcards

A comprehensive vocabulary list from the 40-hour RBT Course Glossary defining core behavioral concepts, teaching procedures, and ethical standards.

ABC Recording

A form of descriptive functional assessment and data collection method that documents the antecedent (what happened just before), the behavior (what response was observed), and the consequence (what happened immediately after).

Abolishing Operations (AO)

A type of motivating operation that decreases the value of a reinforcer and makes behaviors that produce that reinforcer less likely.

Accuracy

The degree to which recorded data matches what actually occurred during observation. Accurate data is free from errors and reflects observed behavior precisely.

Acquisition Procedures

Procedures used when teaching new skills or strengthening emerging behaviors.

Active Certification Status

A BACB designation meaning an RBT is authorized to practice, bill for services, and use the RBT title because they have a qualified supervisor on record and have met all certification requirements.

Activity Schedule

A visual, written, or object-based system that shows a sequence of upcoming activities, helping learners know what to expect and promoting independent transitions.

Advocacy

Actively supporting or speaking up for something that improves the quality of behavior-analytic services, such as requesting clarification, feedback, or training needed to implement procedures correctly.

Affidavit

A sworn written statement describing events you directly observed or have personal knowledge of, including a factual account, supporting documents, and a signed declaration that the information is true.

Agency

The ability to make choices and influence outcomes in one’s environment, to act rather than be acted upon.

Alone Condition

Also called the automatic reinforcement condition; a test condition within a functional analysis in which the client is observed without social attention, demands, or preferred items provided to test for sensory maintenance.

Applied Behavior Analysis

A scientific and evidence-based approach that applies the principles of learning and behavior to understand and improve human behavior.

Assent

Observable behavior that indicates a client is willing to participate in services, such as approaching activities, following instructions, or staying engaged without signs of distress.

Assessment Integrity

The ethical requirement that assessments are conducted with both accuracy and honesty, following protocols carefully and avoiding shortcuts.

Average / Mean

A type of summary calculated by dividing the total of all data points by the number of points: $\frac{\text{Total Of All Data Points}}{\text{Number Of Points}}$

Backup Reinforcer

An item, activity, or privilege that can be obtained in exchange for tokens within a token economy.

Backward Chaining

A teaching method where the instructor completes all steps except the final one, and the learner is taught to perform the last step independently first.

Baseline Logic

The reasoning process in ABA that compares intervention data to baseline data to evaluate the effects of treatment.

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

A formal document that describes which behaviors should be reduced, why they happen, how to respond, and the kind of data to collect.

Behavioral Contrast

A phenomenon in which a behavior decreases in the setting where punishment occurs but increases in other settings where it does not.

Behavioral Skills Training (BST)

A systematic teaching procedure that includes instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback.

Behavioral Trap

A situation where a behavior, once established, is maintained by naturally occurring reinforcement without continued teaching.

Chaining

Teaching a sequence of linked behaviors where the completion of one step signals the start of the next.

Clinical Direction

Guidance provided by a qualified supervisor about how to respond to client needs, implement procedures, modify strategies, or address unexpected situations.

Condition Change Line

A solid vertical line on a graph that marks a change in the overall treatment condition, such as switching from baseline to intervention.

Conditioned Reinforcer

A previously neutral stimulus that becomes reinforcing after being paired with another reinforcer.

Confidentiality

The ethical and legal obligation to protect private information about clients and their families, including identifying details.

Conflict of Interest

A situation in which personal, financial, or relational factors may interfere with objective, client-centered professional judgment.

Continuous Reinforcement Schedule (CRF)

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is given for every correct response.

Crisis Plan

A written protocol that specifies exactly what to do when a crisis occurs, including safety procedures often individualized for a specific client.

Criterion / Criteria

The target level of performance; what the learner needs to demonstrate in order for the team to consider the skill learned.

Data Integrity

The degree to which the data collected are complete, accurate, reliable, and recorded exactly as the behavior happened.

Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA)

Reinforcement is delivered for a specific, socially appropriate behavior that serves the same function as the behavior targeted for reduction, while reinforcement is withheld for the target behavior.

Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior (DRI)

Reinforcement is delivered for a behavior that cannot physically occur at the same time as the behavior targeted for reduction.

Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO)

Reinforcement is delivered when a specific behavior targeted for reduction does not occur during a defined interval of time.

Discrete Trial

A single teaching opportunity with a clear start and end, beginning with a specific discriminative stimulus ($S^D$).

Discriminative Stimulus (SD)

A stimulus that signals that reinforcement is available for a particular behavior.

Duration

The total amount of time that a behavior occurs, measured from the moment it begins until it ends.

Echoic

A verbal operant in which a person repeats what someone else says; typically reinforced by social attention.

Errorless Learning

A teaching approach where prompts are used to prevent errors during skill acquisition, ensuring the learner practices correct responses consistently.

Establishing Operations (EO)

Factors that make something more or less reinforcing at a particular moment.

Extinction Burst

A temporary increase in responding that occurs when reinforcement is withheld from a behavior that has a strong reinforcement history.

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; a U.S. federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

Fixed Interval (FI) Schedules of Reinforcement

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is delivered for the first correct response after a set amount of time has passed.

Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedules of Reinforcement

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is delivered after a set number of correct responses.

Functional Analysis (FA)

A highly controlled assessment that tests different environmental conditions to determine which one causes the behavior to occur most often.

Functional Communication Training (FCT)

A form of DRA in which reinforcement is delivered for a communication response that replaces a behavior targeted for reduction and is functionally equivalent.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; a U.S. federal law that protects the privacy and security of a person’s health information.

Interobserver Agreement (IOA)

The extent to which two or more independent observers record the same values for the same behavior under the same conditions.

Intraverbal

A verbal response to someone else’s words that is not an exact match, allowing for conversations and answering questions.

Latency

The time between an instruction or cue and the initiation of the behavior.

Mand

A verbal operant in which a person requests a need or want; reinforced by access to what is requested.

Negative Punishment

The removal of a stimulus following a behavior that decreases the future probability of that behavior occurring.

Negative Reinforcement

When something is removed from the environment immediately after a behavior and, as a result, the behavior increases in the future.

Operational Definition

A clear, objective, and concise description of a behavior that is both observable and measurable.

Partial Interval Recording

A discontinuous measurement method where the observer records whether the behavior occurred at any time during the interval.

Percent Correct

A summary of accuracy calculated by dividing correct responses by total trials and multiplying by 100: $\frac{\text{Correct Responses}}{\text{Total Trials}} \times 100$

Positive Punishment

The presentation of a stimulus following a behavior that decreases the future probability of that behavior occurring.

Positive Reinforcement

When something is added to the environment immediately after a behavior and, as a result, the behavior increases in the future.

Prompt Fading

The systematic process of gradually reducing the intensity or frequency of prompts to transfer stimulus control to the natural $S^D$.

Response Cost

A procedure involving removing tokens (or other reinforcers) contingent on the occurrence of behavior targeted for reduction.

Satiation

A reduction in the effectiveness of a reinforcer after it has been delivered repeatedly in a short period of time.

Shaping

The procedure of reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior until the final behavior is achieved.

Stimulus Control

A condition in which behavior reliably occurs in the presence of the $S^D$ and not in the presence of other stimuli.

Tact

A verbal operant in which someone labels or identifies the name for something in the environment; reinforced by social attention.

Task Analysis (TA)

A written or visual breakdown of a complex skill into smaller, teachable steps that are observable, measurable, and logically ordered.

Token Economy

A systematic reinforcement program in which tokens are delivered contingently for target behaviors and later exchanged for backup reinforcers.

Trial-and-Error Learning

A teaching approach where learners contact reinforcement for correct responses and learn from mistakes when incorrect responses do not produce reinforcement.

Variable Ratio (VR) Schedules of Reinforcement

A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is delivered after an average number of correct responses.

Whole Interval Recording

A discontinuous measurement method where the behavior must occur for the entire interval to be scored.