ABA Exam Coach

G.5: Incorporate motivating operations and discriminative stimuli into behavior-change procedures.

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

A therapist runs mand training for snacks right after a client finishes a large lunch, and the client rarely mands. Which change best uses motivating operations?
  1. A. Increase the size of the snack given for each mand
    Larger portions after a full meal do not address satiation. They may make it worse.
  2. B. Prompt the mand on every trial until the client responds
    Prompting can produce responses, but without an EO those mands are not under the control of motivation.
  3. C. Schedule snack mand sessions before lunch, when the client has had limited recent access to food
    Correct. Limited recent access works as an establishing operation, which increases the value of food and evokes mands for it.
  4. D. Use a more salient picture card as the discriminative stimulus
    A more salient SD does not create motivation for a reinforcer the client currently does not value.
A child asks for juice often when her grandmother is present, because the grandmother usually provides it. She rarely asks when her father is present, because he usually does not. In this situation, the grandmother's presence best functions as:
  1. A. An abolishing operation for asking in the father's presence
    The father's presence relates to the absence of reinforcement (S-delta), not a change in the value of juice.
  2. B. A discriminative stimulus, because it signals that asking for juice is likely to be reinforced
    Correct. A stimulus correlated with differential availability of reinforcement is an SD. An MO alters the effectiveness of the reinforcer.
  3. C. A conditioned motivating operation-reflexive
    A CMO-R is a stimulus that signals worsening or improvement. The grandmother does not do that here.
  4. D. An establishing operation, because it increases the value of juice
    The grandmother does not change how valuable juice is. She changes the availability of reinforcement.
In a home program, a BCBA wants a 4-year-old to mand for toys more often. Which arrangement best uses a motivating operation to evoke mands?
  1. A. Letting the child play freely with all of his favorite toys right before each session
    Free access to the toys right before the session works as an abolishing operation. It reduces the value of the toys and makes mands for them less likely.
  2. B. Asking "What do you want?" over and over while no items are in view
    Repeated questions are verbal prompts, not a motivating operation. With no items in view and no restricted access, there may be little motivation to mand.
  3. C. Praising every vocalization he makes, no matter what form it takes
    Praising every vocalization changes consequences, not motivation. It also fails to strengthen the specific mand form being taught.
  4. D. Placing his favorite toys in a clear container that he can see but cannot open
    Correct. Toys that are visible but out of reach create an establishing operation: access to them gains value, which evokes mands that have produced the toys in the past. This is a common way to contrive motivation for mand training.

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