Defining Behavior (A1-A5)
What are two key characteristics that an operational definition of behavior must include?
It must be observable and measurable (e.g., frequency, duration, latency, etc.).
A child gets a toy after earning 5 stars for saying “thank you” to classmates. The behavior increases. What contingency is this? Positive/Negative | Social/Automatic Mediated
Positive reinforcement, socially mediated.
A client receives a token after every 5 correct responses. What schedule is this?
Fixed Ratio (FR-5)
What is the difference between a motivating operation (MO) and a discriminative stimulus (SD)?
MO = changes value of reinforcer (alters motivation)
SD = signals availability of reinforcement
What is the difference between a mand and a tact?
Mand = under MO, requests something
Tact = labels something, under control of nonverbal stimulus
Which of the following is not a behavior?
A. Running
B. Writing
C. Feeling sad
D. Clapping
C. Feeling sad (it’s a private event, not directly observable or measurable)
A student yells during a fire drill and is immediately taken to a quiet room. Yelling increases in the future. What type of reinforcement is this?
Negative reinforcement — the behavior increases because it removes the aversive sound.
A child gets a snack every 2 minutes, regardless of behavior. What schedule is this?
Fixed Time (FT) — not true reinforcement unless it's contingent on a behavior.
A client who just ate a salty snack drinks water right after. What type of MO is at play? Unconditioned Establishing Operation or Conditioned Motivating Operation
Unconditioned Establishing Operation (UEO) — increased value of water due to dehydration.
A client follows a rule from a sign (“No food in the pool”) without ever being punished for eating in the pool. What type of behavior is this? Rule-governed or Contingency Based
Rule-governed behavior
What’s the difference between a topography-based and a function-based definition, and which is better for generalization?
Topography-based = describes what the behavior looks like
Function-based = describes the effect on the environment
Function-based is better for generalization because it focuses on why the behavior occurs.
A child spins in circles multiple times a day. No adults intervene. The behavior persists. What kind of reinforcement is this? Positive/Negative | Social/Automatic
Automatic positive reinforcement — the spinning itself produces a pleasurable sensory effect.
What is the difference between a multiple and mixed schedule?
Multiple = distinct SDs signal different reinforcement schedules.
Mixed = same as multiple but no SDs signal the change.
A child only responds to instructions from the teacher, not the RBT. What concept does this reflect? Stimulus Discrimination or Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus discrimination — behavior occurs in presence of specific SD.
A learner recites the pledge of allegiance from memory after hearing the first line. What schedule controls this? Chained or Mixed?
Chained schedule — verbal behavior is controlled by previous verbal stimuli in sequence.
A behavior analyst defines a child’s “meltdown” as “when they’re overwhelmed and upset.” Why is this definition problematic?
It’s vague, subjective, and not measurable. It should describe specific, observable actions (e.g., “screaming louder than 70dB, crying, flopping to floor”).
A teen is disrespectful and loses their phone for a week. The behavior decreases. What kind of contingency is this? Positive/Negative | Social/Automatic Mediated
Negative punishment, socially mediated.
Completing a multi-step art project earns reinforcement only after all steps are finished. What schedule is this? Chained or Mixed?
Chained schedule — reinforcement contingent on sequence of behaviors.
A child sees a cookie and says “cookie.” What verbal operant is this and what concept is demonstrated? (Tact, Mand, etc.)
Tact under stimulus control — labeling under control of a non-verbal SD (the cookie).
A client spends 75% of their time with Teacher A, who gives more reinforcement. What explains this?
A. Behavioral momentum
B. Response generalization
C. Matching law
D. Stimulus equivalence
C. Matching law
Write an operational definition for “tantrum” in a classroom and identify the likely function if it occurs only during math tasks.
“Tantrum is defined as yelling, dropping to the floor, and refusing to comply for >10 seconds.”
Function: Likely escape (from demands).
A learner hits their head when presented with tasks. New staff don’t respond, but the task is removed after head-hitting. What’s the likely reinforcement type? Positive/Negative | Social/Automatic
Automatic negative reinforcement — task removal follows behavior, not dependent on social interaction.
A client is reinforced inconsistently based on the number of responses. What kind of schedule could this be? Variable Ratio or Fixed Ration?
Variable Ratio (VR) — reinforcement delivered after a varying number of responses.
A child calls a real dog “dog” after learning to tact pictures of dogs. What does this demonstrate? Stimulus Discrimination or Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus generalization — same response to different but similar stimuli.
A child claps after watching another child do it, without being reinforced. What is this?
A. Operant conditioning
B. Observational learning
C. Manding
D. Discrete trial training
B. Observational learning