RBT Exam Prep

ABC

Antecedent, behaviour, consequence. AKS 3-term contingency

Abolishing Operation

Can decrease reinforcer effectiveness. Usually associated with satiation.

Acquisition

A target that is in the process of being taught. This behaviour is not yet a known skil.. 

Antecedent Interventions

Recognizing environmental factors that can attribute to problematic behaviour and making changes necessary to promote appropriate behaviour and reduce possible triggers for maladaptive. 

Antecedent

Events that occur before a behaviour

Backward Chaining

Teaching skill steps one at a time from the last step to the first and prompting all steps before the step being taught. Reinforcement after teaching step and at the end of the task. 

Behaviour Intervention Plan

Once the function of behaviour has been determined, BIPs are used for antecedent strategies, responding to maladaptive behaviour, teaching replacement behaviour, and what interventions to use (verbal and physical). 

Behaviour Skills Training

Procedure consisting of instruction, modeling, behavioural rehearsal, and feedback that is used to teach new behaviours or skills. Instructions, model, rehearsal, and feedback. 

Behaviour & 4 Functions

Anything that someone does that can be observed and measured.

The four functions include: automatic/sensory (providing self-stimulation and is automatically reinforced), escape (avoiding or escaping a demand or undesirable task), attention (can be socially mediated and seeks attention in any way from others), and access (tangible, wanting a preferred item).

Chaining

Used to teach multi-step skills in which the steps involved are defined through task analysis. Each separate step is taught to link together the total “chain” that can be done either backward, forward, or total task analyses. 

Consequence

Something that follows a behaviour

Continuous Measurement

Records every single occurence of a behaviour. Examples include frequency, duration, rate, and per opportunity.

Continuous Reinforcement

The target behaviour occurs and is reinforced after every occurence.

Deprivation

Not having something often enough and in return increases the effectiveness of it when used as a reinforcer.

Differential Reinforcement

A procedure in which one behaviour is reinforced while others are extinguished.

DRA - Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behaviours

Reinforce behaviour that is an appropriate alternative (replacement) for the undesirable behaviour.

DRI - Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behaviours

Reinforce behaviour incompatible with an undesirable behaviour.

DRO - Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviours

Reinforce any other behaviour than the undesirable behaviour.

Discontinuous Measurement

Used to measure some instances of behaviour but not all. Typically associated with partial and whole interval recording and momentary time sampling.

Discrete Trial

A learning opportunity initiated and controlled by the teacher in which the correct response will be reinforced. This is also breaking a skill into smaller parts and teaching it while using reinforcement. Allows for presentation of many learning opportunities in a short amount of time. Following the 3-term contingency. 

Discrimination Training

The procedure in which a behavior is reinforced in the presence of one stimulus and extinguished in the presence of another stimulus. Assists with learning how to respond in different environments or different conditions. Allows the client to learn the differences between stimuli.

Discriminative Stimulus

A cue that signals reinforcement is available if the subject makes a particular response (Demand or Instruction)

Dual Relationsihp

A situation where multiple roles exist between a therapist and a parent or client. Dual relationships are also referred to as multiple relationships. 

Duration

The amount of time that someone engages in a behaviour

Echoic

Verbal imitation that repeats the speaker

Error Correction

When a client makes a mistake on a target that has been previously mastered, do not acknowledge the mistake. Re-present the trial and be ready to prompt to get a correct answer. Follow ECTER. 

ECTER

Error - child touches car when prompted to touch bike

Correction - re-present the sd with prompt

Transfer - re-present the sd without a prompt 

Expand - place easy/mastered demands

Return - return to sd of incorrect response “touch bike” reinforcement is provided for the correct response 

Errorless teaching

Prompt the correct response as soon as you give the Sd. Essentially, you are not giving the client a chance to make an error.

Establishing Operation

Increases the current effectiveness of a stimulus. Usually deprivation is associated with this operation.

Ethics

Must follow the BACB’s code of ethics. Failure to follow the mandatory code of ethics can lead to loss of employment and certification. Please review the Code of Ethics outline.

Expressive Language

The ability to communicate. This is the ability to express one’s thoughts, ideas, wants, and needs. Identifying and labeling the objects in the environment, putting words together to form sentences, describing events and actions, answering questions and making requests are all examples of expressive language skills.

Extinction

The withholding of reinforcement for a previously reinforced behaviour, resulting in reduction of that behaviour. 

Extinction Burst

The increase in frequency and/or intensity of a behaviour in the early stages of extinction.

Fixed Interval (FI)

This schedule of reinforcement is used for a set amount of time

Fixed Ratio (FR)

This schedule of reinforcement is used for a set amount of responses

Forward Chaining

Teaching skill steps one at a time from the first step to the last and prompting all steps after the step being taught. Reinforcement after teaching step and at the end of the task.

Frequency

The amount of times, or count, a behaviour response happens.

Functional Behaviour Assesment (FBA)

This is the process by which behavioral interventions are created. An FBA is intended to determine the function (or the reason for a behavior, and then create an intervention based on that function. A Functional Analysis (FA) involves manipulating the environment to understand the behavior, while a Functional Behavior Assessment involves things like observation, interview, and collecting ABC data.

Functional Relationship

How a person’s behaviors change the world around him/her, and how those changes affect the future likelihood on the same behaviors.

Functions of Behaviour

Used when determining why an individual engages in certain behavior. ABA identifies 4 functions of a behavior: Escape, Access (tangibles), Attention and Sensory (automatic reinforcement).

Generalization

Change occurs when that behavior occurs outside of the learning environment. Generalization can happen across settings, time and across people and exists when the behavior occurs in these various environments.

HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: HIPAA provides federal protection for individual health information, including the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected information.

Imitation

Copying someone else’s motor movements

Incidental Teaching

A teaching technique used in naturally occuring environments and can create natural incidents of learning. Social, communication, play, and other forms of interaction. 

Instructional Control

Developing a history of reinforcing compliance. Placing task demands and other instructions following a pairing. 

Intermittent Reinforcement

Schedule of reinforcing some but not all desirable behaviour.

Inter-response Time

The time between two responses given

Intraverbal

This is a Verbal Behavior term. Basically, intraverbals are building blocks to conversation skills as it’s the ability to discuss, describe, or answer a question about something that isn’t physically present. Like if someone asks you „ What did you do on your vacation?”

Latency

The time between when the sd is presented and the response is given

Listener Responding

Following a direction given. Receptive language goal.

Listener Responding Feature Function Class (LRFFC)

Used to describe and receptively find an object when given the feature, function or class of that item. Appearance, what it is used for and the category it falls under.

Magnitude

The force or intensity with which a response is emitted. 

Maintence

The ability of a child to demonstrate previously acquired skills over time and durations when reinforcement has been faded.

Mand

Asking for something/a request with motivation. Demand, reprimand, command, etc. 

Measurement

Collecting data on various skills or behaviours

Momentary time sample

Looking for a behavior’s occurrence during a specific part of the interval and recording if it is occurring at that precise moment. Ex: setting a timer to go off every minute for a 30-minute interval, only checking for behavior and marking it down as the timer goes off.

Motivating Operation

Change in environment that increases or decreases the effectiveness of a given reinforcer that is used with EO or AO.

Natural Environment Teaching

Naturalistic teaching is when the learner initiates a learning opportunity and the reinforcer is a result of the activity or learning opportunity. 

Negative Reinforcement

Removing a stimulus to increase/strengthen a behaviour

Operational definition

Definitions of a behaviour that are measurable, objective, and observable

Pairing

Establishing yourself as a reinforcer or the deliverer of reinforcement while building a positive relationship

Partial Interval Recording

Involves checking off an interval if the behavior occurs at ANY point within the interval - even if it only occurred for 1 second. You can use this for selfstimulatory behaviors or behaviors that don’t look the same every time. An over exaggeration of the behavior, you use this method to decrease behavior.

Permanent Product

Tangible product or environmental outcome that proves a skill

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a stimulus to strengthen/increase behaviour

Preference Assessment

Assessment to determine what a child is motivated by

Primary Reinforcer

Items or activities that are naturally reinforcing

Principles of Reinforcement/DISC

Deprivation: The withholding of a stimulus (The more deprived an individual is of a reinforcer, the more effective it will be)

Immediacy: How quickly a reinforcer is presented after the correct response is emitted (A reinforcer should be delivered immediately following a behavior to make sure you are reinforcing that specific behavior)

Size: The amount of reinforcement given after a correct response is emitted (must be an appropriate size for the task given, not too much or too little)

Contingency: If_________ then__________ statement is used to set the expectation for reinforcement to occur (The reinforcement should ONLY be delivered when a desired behavior occurs).

Prompt

Form of assistance that you add in order to achieve a desired response or behaviour that is not occurring. Used to evoke the correct response so it can be reinforced. Stimulus and Response prompts. 

Prompt Hierarchy

Levels of prompts used from greatest to least or least to greatest.

Expressive language hierarchy: full verbal, partial verbal, independent; Receptive language hierarchy: full physical, partial physical, model, gestural, independent

Prompt Fading

Gradually removing prompt levels needed or fading out of the instrusiveness

Punishment (Pos vs Neg)

Anything that is added or removed after a behaviour that decreases it, making it less likely to happen again. 

Positive Punishment: A stimulus presented after a behavior occurs which decreases the behavior. Negative Punishment: A stimulus removed after a behavior occurs which decreases the behavior.

Rate

Ratio of count per observation time

Reactive Strategies

Techniques used in an emergency or crisis situation to gain control of dangerous, out of control behaviour

Receptive Language

Receptive is listener behavior and refers to tasks that require a non-vocal action or motor response such as touch, imitation, or pointing

Reinforcement (Pos vs Neg)

Anything that is added or removed after a behavior that decreases it, makes it less likely to happen again.

Positive Reinforcement: A stimulus presented after a behavior occurs which increases the behavior. Negative Reinforcement: A stimulus removed after a behavior occurs which increases the behavior.

Replacement Behaviour

A behaviour you want to replace an unwanted target behaviour

Response Prompt

Any prompt that is used in expressive or receptive language such as a gestural, model, or verbal prompt

Role of the RBT

Program implementation, data collection, communicating with stakeholders, work directly with BCBA and following written program including BIP.

Satiation

When a reinforcer loses its effectiveness due to overuse

Secondary Reinforcer

Items/activities that acquire reinforcing properties when paired with primary reinforcers

Setting Events

The context or circumstance in which an environment-behaviour relationship occurs. The event changes the strengths of stimuli and responses involved in an environment-behaviour interaction.

Shaping

The process of reinforcing gradual changes in a behaviour so that behaviour begins to look like the target behaviour while no longer reinforcing the previous accepted response. 

Skill Acquisition

Developing of new skills, habits, quality

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of the extinguished behaviour after a period without reinforcing the behaviour

Stimulus

Anything that elicits a response followed by a consequence

Stimulus Control

Precedes the behaviour but affects the outcome, which has influence over behaviour

Stimulus Control Transfer

A process in which prompts are removed in order to bring the behaviour under the control of the sd and is achieved by prompt fading. 

Stimulus Prompt

Stimuli that are used to help evoke correct responses. Positional cues, environmental, moving items or changing features/color and size/proximity. 

Tact

A form of verbal behaviour where the speaker sees, hears, smells, tastes something and then comments about it

Task Analysis

The process of breaking a skill down into smaller, more manageable components.

Token Economy

TA method used to try and reinforce (increase) the frequency of a target behaviour

Topography

The physical form or shape of a behaviour

Total Task Chaining

Teaching behaviour chain steps all at once. Reinforcement delivered for independence and at the end of the task. 

Variable Interval

Schedule of reinforcement is sued for a variable amount of responses

Variable Ratio

This schedule of reinforcement is used for a variable amount of responses

Whole Interval Recording

Involves checking off an interval if the behaviour occurs within the entirety of the interval. 

Feedback and Reflection

Respond appropriately to feedback and maintain or improve performance. Take feedback and be a reflective practitioner.

Skill Acquisition Plan’s 7 Components

1. Identify the skill deficit
2. Create a goal to address the deficit
3. Establish a data measurement system
4. Take baseline data (Assess current skill level)
5. Select and implement an acquisition procedure.
6. Collect data to assess effectiveness of the procedure.
7. Modify existing plan based on assessment data. (Modify, if necessary) to maintain/increase effectiveness)

5 Dimensions we can Shape

1. Topography
2. Frequency
3. Latency
4. Duration
5. Amplitude/Intensity

Applied Behavior Analysis

The science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for behavior change. The scientific study of principles of learning and behavior.