- Applied Behavior Analysis Skill Acquisition Programming Questions and Answers Flashcards

A therapist teaches a child to wash hands by first teaching the last step (turning off the faucet), then adding each preceding step one at a time. This is an example of:

Answer: Backward chaining

Backward chaining begins instruction with the last step of the task analysis, allowing the learner to complete the chain and contact the terminal reinforcer from the start.

Which prompting hierarchy is considered 'least-to-most' and begins with the least intrusive prompt before escalating?

Answer: Verbal → gestural → model → partial physical → full physical

Least-to-most prompting starts with the most independent level (verbal) and escalates to more intrusive prompts only if the learner does not respond correctly.

Stimulus generalization in skill acquisition programming is considered successful when a learner:

Answer: Emits the target behavior in the presence of novel stimuli not present during training

Stimulus generalization occurs when a behavior trained under one set of stimuli also occurs in the presence of similar, untrained stimuli.

A behavior analyst is using a constant time delay procedure. After mastering 0-second delay trials, the prompt is now delivered exactly 4 seconds after the discriminative stimulus on every trial. This describes:

Answer: Constant time delay with a fixed 4-second interval

Constant time delay uses a single fixed delay interval (here, 4 seconds) after baseline 0-second trials, unlike progressive time delay which increases the delay in steps.

Which of the following best describes 'stimulus control transfer' in skill acquisition?

Answer: Shifting control of a behavior from a prompt to the natural discriminative stimulus

Stimulus control transfer is the process of systematically fading prompts so that the natural SD, rather than the prompt, comes to control the target behavior.

In a Discrete Trial Training (DTT) session, the inter-trial interval (ITI) primarily serves to:

Answer: Ensure the discriminative stimulus from the previous trial does not interfere with the next

The ITI functions to reduce carry-over effects from the previous trial so that the learner can respond to the new SD without stimulus interference.

A learner can label a dog when shown a photo but not when seeing a real dog. A behavior analyst programs training across multiple examples of real dogs in different settings. This procedure targets:

Answer: Stimulus generalization

Training across multiple exemplars of real dogs promotes stimulus generalization so the tact 'dog' transfers from photos to real animals in varied environments.