Look at the contingency and the effect
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.
Distinguish response changes from stimulus changes
Shaping changes the response requirement through successive approximations. Stimulus fading changes an instructional stimulus feature. Forward and backward chaining differ in where independent teaching begins within the task analysis; the task is not physically performed backward. Total-task practice gives an opportunity to perform the whole sequence with the planned assistance.
Separate independence, transfer and retention
A correct prompted response is not an independent response. Record the actual prompt level and follow the written fading and error-correction branches. Generalization probes examine performance beyond trained examples or contexts. Maintenance probes examine a previously acquired skill after time has passed. Neither is proven by repeatedly answering the same teaching item.
A mistake worth catching
A universal prompt ladder does not replace the individual teaching plan.
The matching quiz uses 19 questions from our shared mixed bank. Each answer includes the reasoning for the alternatives.
Practice this topicScope and references
OpenStax learning concepts; BACB outline C.1–C.11 for alignment, not validation of individual teaching programs. These examples are educational, not client-specific clinical instructions. An RBT implements assigned procedures with appropriate supervision.
BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.)
RBT Ethics Code (2.0)
OpenStax: Operant Conditioning
Editorial revision: October 20, 2026.