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19 free questions · domain C

RBT skill acquisition practice test

Reinforcement, teaching trials, chaining, prompts, generalization and maintenance. Answer first, then check what separates the choices.

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A focused subset of the 75-question mixed bank, not 19 additional unique items. Independent practice; no readiness prediction.

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What to look for

Reinforcement concerns an increase in future responding, not simply whether an item seems pleasant. Positive and negative describe addition and removal. A preference assessment identifies candidates; it is not itself proof that a consequence increases the target response. Ratio requirements count responses. Interval requirements depend on elapsed time.

Worked exampleEight earned tokens are available. One activity costs five and the plan retains unused tokens. After the exchange, three remain. Resetting the balance to zero would change the specified contingency.

Common trap: A universal prompt ladder does not replace the individual teaching plan.

Study the full skill acquisition guide, or practice all six domains.

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Question-and-answer reference

Answers are available here for study. Use the interactive practice above if you want to answer before seeing the reasoning. These are not secure or official exam items.

1. In a supervised teaching program, a learner’s appropriate break requests are followed by a short pause in work. Requests increase over later comparable opportunities. Which process is illustrated?
  1. Negative punishment of requesting.
  2. Negative reinforcement of requesting. — Correct
  3. Positive punishment of requesting.
  4. Extinction of requesting.

A work demand is removed after requesting, and requesting increases. Removal plus increased future behavior describes negative reinforcement, not punishment.

  • A. Punishment would decrease the future response.
  • C. No added consequence decreasing requesting is described.
  • D. The maintaining consequence is delivered rather than withheld.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.1
OpenStax Psychology 2e: Operant Conditioning · Negative reinforcement

Item rpt75-v2-contingent-break · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

2. A learner initially ignores a new token. Under the written program, tokens are repeatedly exchangeable for selected activities. Later, earning tokens supports more completed tasks. What best explains the token’s acquired role?
  1. It proves that every learner will prefer the same token.
  2. It was necessarily an unconditioned reinforcer from the start.
  3. It is a punisher because access is delayed.
  4. It has become a conditioned reinforcer through its exchange history. — Correct

The learned relation between tokens and other reinforcers can give tokens reinforcing value. The observed effect is specific to this learning history, not an inherent property for every learner.

  • A. Another learner may have a different history.
  • B. The question describes value acquired through learning.
  • C. Task completion increases rather than decreases.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.2
OpenStax Psychology 2e: Operant Conditioning · Conditioned reinforcers

Item rpt75-v2-tokens-conditioned · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

3. An approved program delivers a token after every fourth completed response, then restarts the count. Which schedule matches this response requirement?
  1. Variable interval averaging 4 minutes.
  2. Fixed ratio 4. — Correct
  3. Variable ratio averaging 4.
  4. Fixed interval 4 minutes.

The requirement is a fixed number of responses. An interval schedule would require elapsed time rather than simply counting four responses.

  • A. Neither a varying interval nor a time unit is specified.
  • C. The response requirement does not vary.
  • D. No four-minute elapsed-time condition is specified.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.1
OpenStax Psychology 2e: Operant Conditioning · Ratio versus interval schedules

Item rpt75-v2-fixed-ratio-count · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

4. A programmed sequence requires 3, 7, 4 and 6 responses for successive reinforcers. What is the mean ratio requirement for these four deliveries?
  1. 20 responses.
  2. 7 responses.
  3. 4 responses.
  4. 5 responses. — Correct

The four requirements total 20 responses; 20 divided by four deliveries is five. The numbers vary, so a mean does not make the schedule fixed.

  • A. Twenty is the sum of the requirements.
  • B. Seven is the largest requirement, not the mean.
  • C. Four is the number of deliveries, not their mean requirement.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.1
OpenStax Psychology 2e: Operant Conditioning · Variable ratio; arithmetic 20/4

Item rpt75-v2-variable-ratio-average · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

5. A discrete-trial plan requires recording independent correct and model-prompted correct separately. The RBT models the response, the learner responds correctly, and the RBT marks “independent.” What should be corrected?
  1. The response must be counted as no response.
  2. All correct responses are independent regardless of assistance.
  3. The model should be omitted from the record to simplify percentages.
  4. The response must be recorded with the model assistance that occurred. — Correct

Correctness and independence are separate dimensions in this program. Accurate prompt-level recording supports decisions about fading and progress.

  • A. A response did occur; its assistance level is the issue.
  • B. Correct topography does not remove the assistance.
  • C. Omitting assistance misrepresents the trial.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.3
BACB RBT Ethics Code (2.0) · 2.02; accurate trial records

Item rpt75-v2-dtt-record-assistance · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

6. The teaching plan specifies instruction, a three-second opportunity to respond, then a model if needed. The learner responds correctly after one second without a prompt. What should the RBT do?
  1. Record the response as model-prompted because a model was planned if needed.
  2. Follow the independent-correct consequence and data rule in the plan. — Correct
  3. Repeat the instruction until three seconds have elapsed.
  4. Add the model anyway before crediting the response.

The learner responded during the independent opportunity. A conditional prompt is not a prompt that actually occurred; follow the specified correct-response branch.

  • A. Planned conditional assistance is not delivered assistance.
  • C. The independent response already met the stated condition.
  • D. An unnecessary prompt changes the programmed sequence.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.3
BACB RBT Ethics Code (2.0) · 2.02; conditional teaching branches

Item rpt75-v2-dtt-next-trial · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

7. During a planned play routine, a learner asks “open” for a closed bubble container and receives help opening it. Why is this a naturalistic teaching opportunity?
  1. The request and its consequence are embedded in the ongoing activity. — Correct
  2. The learner receives an unrelated worksheet after requesting.
  3. Naturalistic teaching excludes systematic data collection.
  4. All spontaneous requests must be ignored until table work starts.

Opening the container is directly related to the learner’s play request. Naturalistic instruction can still follow a planned procedure and include data.

  • B. An unrelated worksheet does not describe the stated consequence.
  • C. Data collection is compatible with naturalistic teaching.
  • D. Ignoring the request is not a defining naturalistic feature.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.4
BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · C.4; classification from the stated play routine

Item rpt75-v2-natural-consequence · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

8. An approved play-teaching plan lets the learner choose among activities. The learner stops approaching the blocks and begins exploring the art materials. What is most consistent with that plan?
  1. Embed an authorized opportunity in the chosen art activity. — Correct
  2. Remove all choices because the original activity lost interest.
  3. Require the learner to finish all block trials before any new choice.
  4. Assume that art can never support teaching.

The plan explicitly permits following activity choice. Teaching can be arranged within the new activity without independently changing goals or creating unnecessary access requirements.

  • B. Removing choices contradicts the stated plan.
  • C. That completion requirement was not specified.
  • D. Teaching can be embedded in varied activities.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.4
BACB RBT Ethics Code (2.0) · 2.02; following the specified learner-choice arrangement

Item rpt75-v2-net-changing-interest · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

9. A four-step dressing program uses forward chaining. The learner independently performs step 1; the RBT assists with steps 2–4 as written. The supervisor advances the target. Which step is next for independent teaching?
  1. Teach step 2 while retaining step 1. — Correct
  2. Step 4 only, with the RBT doing steps 1–3.
  3. All steps must become independent simultaneously.
  4. Step 1 must be removed permanently.

Forward chaining progresses from the beginning of the task analysis toward later steps. Assistance and advancement still follow the individual program.

  • B. Starting with the final step describes a different chaining arrangement.
  • C. Forward chaining does not require simultaneous acquisition of all steps.
  • D. The mastered first step remains part of the chain.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.5
BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · C.5; stipulated four-step forward chain

Item rpt75-v2-forward-chaining-step · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

10. In a backward-chaining handwashing program, the RBT assists with earlier steps and teaches the learner to discard the paper towel independently. Which feature makes this backward chaining?
  1. Reinforcement is prohibited at task completion.
  2. The sequence is physically performed in reverse order.
  3. Every step is taught independently on the first opportunity.
  4. Independent teaching begins with the last step of the sequence. — Correct

The task still occurs in its ordinary order. Backward chaining initially concentrates independent performance on the final step, then expands to earlier links.

  • A. Task completion can provide the programmed consequence.
  • B. Backward chaining does not mean performing handwashing in reverse.
  • C. Teaching all steps independently is a different arrangement.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.5
BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · C.5; final-link teaching

Item rpt75-v2-backward-chain-opportunity · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

11. A written task analysis has six steps. During each practice opportunity the learner attempts all six, receiving only the planned assistance needed at each step. Which arrangement is described?
  1. Total-task chaining. — Correct
  2. Forward chaining limited to the first unmastered step.
  3. Shaping without a task analysis.
  4. Backward chaining limited to the final step.

The learner practices the complete sequence on each opportunity. Prompting within a total-task arrangement does not turn it into a final-link-only or first-link-only program.

  • B. The opportunity is not limited to one early target link.
  • C. A defined multi-step sequence is explicitly present.
  • D. The learner attempts earlier steps as well.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.5
BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · C.5; whole-chain practice

Item rpt75-v2-total-task · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

12. Under a discrimination program, touching the blue card produces the programmed consequence, while touching the red card does not. Touching blue increases relative to red. What is being established?
  1. A response chain with no antecedent differences.
  2. A change in the learner’s diagnosis.
  3. Differential responding to the two antecedent stimuli. — Correct
  4. The same response equally in every stimulus condition.

Different consequences in the blue and red conditions can establish stimulus control. This description concerns responding in those conditions, not a diagnostic conclusion.

  • A. The different colored cards are relevant antecedents.
  • B. No diagnostic assessment is described.
  • D. Equal responding would not demonstrate the stated discrimination.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.6
BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · C.6; stated discrimination contingency

Item rpt75-v2-discrimination-context · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

13. The program permits reducing a model prompt only after three consecutive correct prompted trials. The learner has two correct trials, followed by one error. What should the RBT do next?
  1. Change the mastery requirement to two trials.
  2. Record the error as correct to maintain the sequence.
  3. Advance because two correct trials are close enough to three.
  4. Follow the written error/retry branch rather than advance the prompt level. — Correct

The stated criterion has not been met. The RBT follows the authorized response to errors and seeks clarification if the plan is unclear, rather than altering criteria.

  • A. Changing the criterion is not authorized.
  • B. Reclassifying an error falsifies performance data.
  • C. The required consecutive sequence was interrupted.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.7
BACB RBT Ethics Code (2.0) · 2.02; explicit advancement criterion

Item rpt75-v2-prompt-fading-rule · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

14. To teach matching, a program initially highlights the relevant printed border and gradually reduces that highlight while leaving the target response unchanged. What procedure is described?
  1. Increasing the highlight indefinitely.
  2. Stimulus fading. — Correct
  3. Backward chaining a sequence.
  4. Shaping a new response form.

The physical salience of an instructional stimulus changes gradually. Shaping would instead arrange successive approximations of the response itself.

  • A. The highlight is reduced, not increased indefinitely.
  • C. No multi-step response sequence is described.
  • D. The response form is not being progressively changed.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.7
BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · C.7; changing an added stimulus feature

Item rpt75-v2-stimulus-fading · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

15. A learner labels a spoon correctly with the teaching card. The supervisor arranges unprompted probes using different spoons in the kitchen. What is the main purpose of those probes?
  1. Prove maintenance over a long delay without observing it.
  2. Replace the target label with a new response.
  3. Guarantee that the learner will label every possible object.
  4. Check performance beyond the original teaching card. — Correct

New exemplars and a different context test generalization of this skill. Success in selected probes is useful evidence but not a guarantee about every untested condition.

  • A. A long-delay maintenance test is not described.
  • B. The target response remains naming a spoon.
  • C. Finite probes cannot establish every possible future performance.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.8
BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · C.8; novel exemplar/context probes

Item rpt75-v2-generalization-probe · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

16. A previously mastered skill is checked two weeks after daily teaching ended, using the same materials and no extra teaching before the check. What does this probe primarily examine?
  1. Initial acquisition of an untrained target.
  2. Generalization to different materials.
  3. Maintenance of the learned skill over time. — Correct
  4. A functional analysis of problem behavior.

The key variation is the delay after acquisition. Because the materials remain the same, the probe primarily concerns persistence over time, not transfer to new exemplars.

  • A. The question states the skill was previously mastered.
  • B. Different materials were not introduced.
  • D. No problem-behavior contingencies are tested.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.9
BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · C.9; delayed mastered-skill probe

Item rpt75-v2-maintenance-delay · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

17. A supervised shaping plan initially reinforces a quiet audible word and later requires an audible two-word request. What is changing across these steps?
  1. The response requirement toward a specified final form. — Correct
  2. The definition of a reinforcer into a punisher.
  3. The order of links in a task analysis.
  4. Only the printed size of an instructional stimulus.

Shaping differentially reinforces successive approximations toward a target response. Here the progression concerns the request form, not a chain of separate task steps.

  • B. The consequence’s behavioral function is not redefined by a new criterion.
  • C. A sequence of task-analysis links is not described.
  • D. No printed stimulus feature is being faded.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.10
OpenStax Psychology 2e: Operant Conditioning · Shaping; successive approximations

Item rpt75-v2-shaping-next-criterion · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

18. The written token plan says five tokens buy one activity and unused tokens remain available. A learner has eight tokens and buys one activity. How many remain?
  1. 3 tokens. — Correct
  2. 0 tokens.
  3. 5 tokens.
  4. 13 tokens.

Subtract the five-token exchange cost from eight earned tokens. The stated carryover rule preserves the remaining three; the RBT must not erase them.

  • B. Erasing the remainder violates the carryover rule.
  • C. Five is the cost, not the remaining balance.
  • D. The exchange subtracts tokens rather than adding them.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.11
BACB RBT Ethics Code (2.0) · 2.02; stated exchange and carryover rules

Item rpt75-v2-token-exchange-balance · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.

19. Responses meet a written reinforcement schedule, but an RBT thinks the learner is doing “too well” and wants to skip the next earned reinforcer. What should happen?
  1. Replace the consequence with a reprimand to keep the learner focused.
  2. Withhold it because good performance automatically authorizes thinning.
  3. Deliver the earned consequence as written and discuss possible schedule changes with the supervisor. — Correct
  4. Increase response requirements immediately without recording a change.

Meeting a criterion does not authorize independently changing the contingency. Implementation stays consistent until the supervisor provides a revised plan.

  • A. No punishment-based change is authorized.
  • B. Good performance alone does not authorize an unplanned contingency change.
  • D. An undisclosed schedule change compromises fidelity and interpretation.

BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · Task C.1
BACB RBT Ethics Code (2.0) · 2.02 and 2.05; accurate supervised implementation

Item rpt75-v2-schedule-not-autonomous · Question bank updated October 20, 2026.