- Applied Behavior Analysis Skill Acquisition Programming Questions and Answers Flashcards

A mand in Skinner's verbal behavior framework is a verbal operant that:

Answer: Specifies its own reinforcer — the speaker requests something they need or want

A mand is a request controlled by a motivating operation, and its reinforcement is specifically the item or event requested.

A tact in verbal behavior is a verbal operant controlled by:

Answer: A non-verbal antecedent stimulus (an object, action, or property in the environment)

A tact is essentially a label or comment about something in the environment, under the control of the non-verbal stimulus it describes.

An intraverbal is a verbal operant in which:

Answer: The verbal response is evoked by a prior verbal stimulus without point-to-point correspondence

An intraverbal is produced in response to another's verbal stimulus, but the response does not match (repeat) the prior verbal behavior — it's a fill-in or conversational response.

In forward chaining, instruction is delivered by:

Answer: Starting with the first step of the task analysis and adding subsequent steps as each prior step is mastered

Forward chaining teaches the first step first, then the second, and so on, with the trainer completing remaining unlearned steps.

Which of the following is an example of natural reinforcement used in skill acquisition programming?

Answer: Allowing the learner to use a requested toy immediately after correctly manding for it

Natural reinforcement aligns the consequence with the learner's communicative intention — requesting the toy and receiving it is both the mand and its natural reinforcer.

Which principle supports collecting baseline data before starting an intervention?

Answer: It provides a reference against which the effects of the intervention can be compared

Baseline data establishes the pre-intervention level of the behavior, allowing comparison to determine whether the intervention produced a meaningful change.