ABA Exam CoachLessons · G. Behavior-Change Procedures
G.15 · Promoting stimulus and response generalization
Your learner nails a skill in the clinic, then it seems to disappear at home or at school. Today we'll look at how to plan for generalization from day one, so the skill shows up in the places where it counts.
Key takeaway
If the trained response shows up with new people, places, or materials, that's stimulus generalization. If an untrained response with the same function shows up, that's response generalization. Maintenance is different: the behavior keeps going after the intervention is withdrawn. Plan for generalization from the start with strategies like multiple exemplars, programming common stimuli, training loosely, indiscriminable contingencies, and self-management. Then test it with probes that leave out the training prompts and contrived consequences.
If the trained response shows up with new people, places, or materials, that's stimulus generalization. If an untrained response with the same function shows up, that's response generalization. Maintenance is different: the behavior keeps going after the intervention is withdrawn. Plan for generalization from the start with strategies like multiple exemplars, programming common stimuli, training loosely, indiscriminable contingencies, and self-management. Then test it with probes that leave out the training prompts and contrived consequences.
Members get the full lesson video, notes and a 5-question test
The video walks through the idea, worked examples, the trap people fall into and an exam-style question. The notes and the checkpoint come with it, and your results feed your Where to focus plan.