FREE Foundational Knowledge Questions and Answers Flashcards

A behavior analyst is reviewing data and notices that a target behavior decreased during the intervention phase but returned to baseline levels when the intervention was briefly removed during an ABAB reversal design. The behavior then decreased again when the intervention was reintroduced. Which of the following conclusions is MOST justified?

Answer: The intervention caused the behavior change, establishing experimental control

The ABAB reversal design demonstrates experimental control when the behavior covaries with the introduction and withdrawal of the intervention across multiple phase changes. The replication of the effect (decrease → return to baseline → decrease again) provides strong evidence that the intervention, not extraneous variables, caused the behavior change.

During a discrete trial training session, a technician provides a vocal prompt immediately after delivering the discriminative stimulus (SD), before the learner has an opportunity to respond. Over time, the learner only responds correctly when the prompt is present. This pattern BEST illustrates:

Answer: Prompt dependency resulting from prompt delivery that violates the response latency window

When prompts are delivered before the learner has a chance to respond to the SD alone, the learner fails to develop stimulus control under the SD. The result is prompt dependency — the learner's response comes under control of the prompt rather than the SD. This violates the principle of allowing sufficient response latency before prompting.

Which of the following scenarios BEST exemplifies the concept of a conditioned motivating operation (CMO-R)?

Answer: A warning signal preceding an aversive event, thereby increasing the value of escape from the warning signal itself

A CMO-R (reflexive conditioned motivating operation) is a stimulus that has been reliably paired with worsening conditions, making it an MO in its own right — it increases the value of escape/avoidance and evokes behavior that has produced that escape. A warning signal paired with an aversive event classically fits this definition, as the signal itself becomes aversive and evokes escape behavior.

A behavior analyst is conducting a preference assessment and observes that a client consistently approaches Item A first across multiple trials but avoids re-engaging with it after brief contact. Item B is approached second but the client engages with it for extended durations. Which preference assessment format would MOST accurately capture the relative reinforcing value of these stimuli?

Answer: Free operant (FO) preference assessment

The free operant preference assessment measures the percentage of time a client engages with stimuli across an unrestricted period, capturing both approach and sustained engagement. Unlike approach-based methods (SS, PS, MSWO), it distinguishes between initial approach and actual reinforcing value, making it superior when approach frequency and engagement duration diverge.

In the context of the experimental analysis of behavior, 'orderliness of behavior' refers to:

Answer: The lawful, systematic relationship between environmental variables and behavior that allows replication and prediction

Orderliness of behavior is a foundational assumption of behavior analysis, referring to the idea that behavior is lawfully determined by identifiable environmental variables. This deterministic relationship enables prediction and replication — if conditions are the same, behavior will be the same — which is the bedrock of the natural science approach to ABA.

A client's self-injurious behavior (SIB) is maintained by automatic reinforcement. The behavior analyst implements a competing stimulus assessment and identifies a highly preferred item that reduces SIB by 90% during the assessment. However, the client's SIB returns to baseline when the preferred item is present but the client has had it for more than 10 minutes. This pattern MOST likely reflects:

Answer: Satiation of the competing stimulus's reinforcing value, reducing its abolishing operation effect on SIB

Competing stimuli suppress automatically reinforced behavior by serving as an abolishing operation (AO) — they reduce the momentary value of the sensory reinforcement maintaining SIB. When a preferred item is available for extended periods, satiation occurs: the item's own reinforcing value diminishes, weakening its AO effect on SIB and allowing the automatically reinforced behavior to re-emerge.