ABA Exam Coach

G.16: Design and evaluate procedures to maintain desired behavior change following intervention (e.g., schedule thinning, transferring to naturally occurring reinforcers).

Free practice questions for this part of the BCBA, with an explanation for every option.

A client reliably completes vocational tasks with reinforcement after every task (CRF). The team wants the skill to persist when reinforcement becomes less frequent at a community job. What is the best next step?
  1. A. Gradually thin to an intermittent schedule (for example, VR 2, then VR 5)
    Correct. Gradual schedule thinning to intermittent reinforcement increases resistance to extinction and moves toward natural schedules.
  2. B. Switch to a fixed-time schedule
    Fixed-time delivery removes the response-reinforcer contingency, which would weaken task completion.
  3. C. Keep CRF indefinitely to make sure the skill is not lost
    CRF is unlike natural workplace contingencies and produces behavior that extinguishes more easily.
  4. D. Stop reinforcement immediately to test maintenance
    Abruptly ending reinforcement amounts to extinction and is likely to produce response loss.
A student's high rates of work completion fade quickly after the token program ends, because the general education teacher rarely notices good work. Which strategy best promotes maintenance in that setting?
  1. A. Increase the number of practice trials in the resource room
    More practice in a different setting does not deal with the lack of reinforcement in the target setting.
  2. B. Add response cost for incomplete work
    Punishment does not provide the reinforcement needed to maintain the behavior.
  3. C. Reintroduce the token economy permanently in the general education classroom
    Permanent artificial contingencies do not transfer control to natural reinforcers.
  4. D. Teach the student to recruit reinforcement (for example, showing completed work and asking "How did I do?")
    Correct. Teaching the learner to recruit natural reinforcement helps bring behavior into contact with naturally occurring contingencies, which supports maintenance.
A shy 8-year-old earns tokens for joining peers in a game of catch at recess. Once he starts playing regularly, the peers' laughter, high-fives, and invitations keep him playing, and his participation continues after the token program ends. This outcome best illustrates:
  1. A. A contingency contract
    A contingency contract is a written agreement that specifies behavior and consequences. Nothing here describes such an agreement.
  2. B. A behavioral trap
    Correct. In a behavioral trap, a contrived contingency gets the behavior started, and naturally occurring reinforcers (here, peer social interaction) then take over and maintain it.
  3. C. Positive practice overcorrection
    Overcorrection is a punishment procedure that requires effortful related behavior after misbehavior. It is not relevant here.
  4. D. Response generalization
    Response generalization is the emission of untrained responses that are functionally similar to trained ones. The same behavior (playing catch) continued; no new responses appeared.

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