RBT Certification Exam Definitions

Fading

transferring stimulus control from one stimulus to another

Forward chaining

teaching the first step of a behavior until it is mastered, then gradually adding (1 and 2, 1 and 2 and 3, so on and so forth)

Backward chaining

teaching the final step of a behavior until it is mastered, and then gradually working backward to the first step

Shaping

differential reinforcement of successive approximations of a target behavior until the person exhibits the target behavior

Task analysis

the breakdown of a task into its individual components and steps

Motivational operation (M.O.)

temporarily increases the effectiveness or values of a reinforcer. temporarily increases the behavior that has been encouraged by that reinforcer in the past

Discriminative Stimulus (sD)

a stimulus in the presence of which a particular response will be reinforced. (signal that reinforcement is available)

S-Delta

a stimulus in the presence of which a particular response will not be reinforced. (signal that reinforcement is not available)

Conditioned reinforcement

occurs when a stimulus reinforces set behaviors through its association with a primary reinforcer

Unconditioned reinforcement

a reinforcement that is inherent, such as food

Preference assessments

evaluation of child's interests, so that they can be used as reinforcers in the future

Permanent product recording

the teacher observes the product of a student's behavior and not the behavior itself; the most frequently used method of recording behavior in the classroom

Count

a simple tally of the number of occurrences of a behavior

Social validity

refers to the extent to which target behaviors are appropriate, intervention procedures are acceptable, and important significant changes in target and collateral behaviors are produced

Latency

"response ___" duration between the delivery of a stimulus and the response

Generalization of skills

must occur across various settings, people and stimuli as well as over time. This is a crucial component of skill acquisition

Maintenance

the endurance of a behavior after the intervention has been removed

Schedule of reinforcement

a schedule for the delivery of reinforcers for the purpose of increasing or maintaining behavior

Variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement

reinforcement of variables on a random schedule; the last response in an average number of responses will result in reinforcement

Variable-interval schedule of reinforcement

reinforcement of the first response after an average amount of time has elapsed

Continuous reinforcement

a reinforcer follows each response

Fixed ratio

a response-based schedule of reinforcement that delivers reinforcement after a fixed number of responses are made

Fixed interval

schedule of reinforcement in which the reinforcer is contingent on the first response after a fixed interval of time since the last opportunity for reinforcement

Probe Data

doing one trial to make sure a child can do something (i.e. spell his or her name) - record yes or no

Reinforcement

presentation of a reinforcing stimulus or a removal of an aversive stimulus (contingent on the occurrence of a behavior) resulting in an increased or maintained rate of the behavior in the future

Intermittent Reinforcement

periodic reinforcement; subject does not know when reinforcement will occur for a specific behavior.

Most powerful schedule of reinforcement

Intermittent Reinforcement

Rate

a measure, quantity, or frequency, typically one measured against some other quantity or measure

Positive Reinforcement

the presentation of a stimulus contingent on the occurrence of a behavior that results in an increase in the rate of that behavior over time

Negative Punishment

the decrease in rate or future probability of a behavior that occurs when there is a removal of a reinforcing stimulus contingent on a response

Operant conditioning

conditioning in which the desired behavior or increasingly closer approximations to it are followed by a rewarding or reinforcing stimulus

Discrete trial teaching

a method of teaching in simplified and structured steps. Instead of teaching an entire skill at once, it is broken down and built back up using trials that teach one step at a time.

Continuous measurement

measurement conducted in a manner such that all instances of the response class(es) of interest are detected during the observation period

Functions of behavior

refers to the source of environmental reinforcement for behavior

Tangibles

function of behavior that is motivated by desire for an object

Sensory Stimulation "Stimming"

function of behavior that is motivated by self stimulation --only purpose is as a vehicle for internal pleasure

Tact

a label

Intraverbal

a class of verbal operants regulated by verbal discriminative stimuli

Feature Function Class (FFC)

used to describe and understand objects further than just their label.

Autoclitic

a single unit of verbal behavior (a verbal operant) that depends on other verbal behavior and changes the effect on a listener

Frequency

number of behavior instances over time, often used when things do not happen often, like # of tantrums per session

Duration

the amount of time in which something occurs

Mastery

performing skills at high, successful levels

Graphing Data

client's name, program information, therapist initials

Punishment

presentation of an aversive stimulus or removal of a positive reinforcer as a consequence for behavior that reduces the future rate of behavior

Negative Reinforcement

the increase in rate or future probability of a behavior that occurs when there is a removal of a reinforcing stimulus contingent on a response.

Extinction

the process by which a behavior reverts to pre-reinforcement levels; the permanent removal of the reinforcing stimulus

Behavior

an act that can be clearly defined and observed. Examples include: laughing, crying, jumping, smiling etc.

Dead man test

"if a dead man can do it, it ain't behavior, and if a dead man can't do it, then it is behavior"

Natural Environment Training (NET)

when specific skills are worked on within the context in which they naturally occur.

Partial-interval recording

a procedure used to record behavior if it occurs at any point during an interval

Whole-interval recording

a procedure used to record behavior only if it consistently occurred the entire interval

____ interval recording underestimates behavior

Whole-interval

____ interval recording overestimates behavior

Partial-interval

Momentary time sampling

a procedure that records behavior only if it occurs during the last 5 seconds of an interval

Differential reinforcement

reinforcing a behavior in the presence of one stimulus while not reinforcing in the presence of another stimulus

Social attention

function of behavior that is motivated by desire for attention from another person

Escape or Avoidance

function of behavior that is motivated by desire to get away from a situation

Mand

request for reinforcement (verbal, pointing etc)

Echoic

repeating something that is heard

Example of a feature, function and class

An apple: red, for eating, is a fruit

Fixed time

a schedule of reinforcement that is delivered at a certain time, consistently - irrespective of good/bad behavior

Stimulus discrimination

any event in the presence of which a target behavior is likely to have consequences that affect its frequency

Prompting

the procedure of providing antecedents that provoke a target behavior

Prompting hierarchy

the so-called "pyramid" of the various levels of prompting.

Prompting levels, from least to most

a natural cue, a gesture, a verbal prompt, visual, model, and physical contact, either partial or full

Incidental teaching

creating opportunities that increase child's motivation to learn something, within the natural environment

Task analyzed chaining procedures

used to break complex tasks into a sequence of smaller steps or actions