- Applied Behavior Analysis Core ABA Principles Questions and Answers Flashcards

A behavior analyst is conducting a functional analysis and observes that self-injurious behavior occurs at high rates across ALL conditions, including the control condition. Which interpretation is most accurate?

Answer: The behavior is maintained by automatic reinforcement

When problem behavior occurs at elevated rates across all conditions including the control (play) condition — where attention, demands, and tangibles are freely available — the most parsimonious interpretation is automatic (sensory) reinforcement. The behavior persists regardless of social consequences because it produces its own reinforcement independent of the environment.

According to Sidman's (1994) framework, which of the following best illustrates a 'conditional discrimination' rather than a simple discrimination?

Answer: A child selects a circle from an array only when a sample circle is present, but selects a square when a sample square is present

A conditional discrimination requires the organism to respond differently to the same stimuli depending on a contextual (conditional) stimulus — the sample. In this example, the 'correct' comparison stimulus changes based on which sample is presented, meaning the relationship between stimuli, not an absolute stimulus property, controls behavior. The other options represent simple discriminations where a single antecedent controls a single response.

A practitioner implements a DRO schedule to reduce stereotypy. After 3 weeks, the stereotypy is reduced by 85% but a new topography of stereotypy emerges. This phenomenon is BEST explained by which concept?

Answer: Response generalization within the same response class

When a behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement is placed on DRO (which functions as extinction for the targeted topography), other members of the same response class — behaviors that produce the same type of sensory reinforcement — may increase. This is response generalization operating within the same functional response class: a different form of stereotypy produces the same reinforcer (proprioceptive/sensory stimulation) and therefore increases when the original form is suppressed.

In a matching-to-sample procedure, a learner demonstrates reflexivity and symmetry but fails symmetry when novel stimuli are introduced. Which conclusion is MOST defensible?

Answer: The learner's derived relational responding has not generalized beyond trained exemplars

Symmetry demonstrated only with trained stimuli — and not with novel stimuli — indicates that derived relational responding (symmetry) has not generalized; it may reflect memorized associations rather than a true stimulus equivalence class. A genuine equivalence class requires reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity to emerge without explicit training and to generalize across novel exemplars. The failure with novel stimuli signals the behavior is stimulus-specific, not a derived relation.

A therapist is using a progressive ratio (PR) schedule to assess the reinforcing value of a stimulus. The 'break point' occurs at a ratio of 25. A second stimulus yields a break point of 8. Which statement about these data is MOST accurate?

Answer: The first stimulus is a more potent reinforcer than the second

In a progressive ratio schedule, the break point — the ratio at which the organism stops responding — directly indexes reinforcer potency (demand). A higher break point indicates the organism is willing to expend more effort to obtain the stimulus, meaning that stimulus functions as a stronger, more motivating reinforcer. The first stimulus (break point = 25) is therefore the more potent reinforcer relative to the second (break point = 8).

Which of the following scenarios MOST accurately exemplifies the concept of 'motivating operation' (MO) as distinguished from a discriminative stimulus (SD)?

Answer: A child's rate of manding for water increases after 3 hours without fluids, and the value of water as a reinforcer simultaneously increases

A motivating operation (MO) has two defining effects: (1) it alters the value of a reinforcer (value-altering effect) and (2) it alters the frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by that stimulus (behavior-altering effect). Deprivation of water both increases water's value as a reinforcer AND evokes manding for water — this is the hallmark of an MO. Discriminative stimuli signal availability of reinforcement but do not alter the reinforcer's value; they only affect the probability of behavior given an unchanged reinforcer value.