BCBA Exam Prep Questions and Answers Graded A+

BCBA Exam Prep Questions and Answers Graded A+ What are the common attitudes and assumptions of science? determinism, empiricism, experimentation, replication, parsimony, and philosophic doubt Explain the difference between EAB and ABA EAB involves basic research, reporting only on basic behavior experiments whose primary goal is to discover and clarify the basic principles of behavior and determine functional relations between behavior and controlling variables. ABA involves applied research and has the goal of creating a technology for improving socially significant behavior and to determine functional relations between socially significant behavior and controlling variables. Describe the methodological features of EAB rate of response is the most common dependent variable; repeated or continuous measurement is made of carefully defined response classes; within-subject experimental comparisons are used instead of group designs; visual analysis of graphed data is preferred over statistical inference; a description of functional relations is valued over formal theory testing. 5 functions/phases of behavioral assessment a) screening, b) defining and quantifying problems or goals, c) pinpointing the target behavior(s), d) monitoring progress, e) following up 4 main methods for obtaining assessment information interviews, checklists, tests, and direct observation What is an ecological assessment? gathering a large amount of information about the person and the environments in which that person lives and works; this type of assessment is neither necessary nor warranted for most ABA programs What is reactivity? the effects of an assessment procedure on the behavior being assessed, most likely during direct observation when the individual is aware they are being observed What questions should be asked to determine the social significance and habilitative (adjustment, competence) value of a potential target behavior? Will the behavior be reinforced in the person's daily life? Is the behavior a necessary prerequisite for a useful skill? Will the behavior increase the person's access to environments in which other important behaviors can be learned or used? Will the behavior predispose others to interact with the person in a more appropriate and supportive manner? Is the behavior a cusp or pivotal behavior? Is the behavior age appropriate? Does the behavior represent the actual problem or is it only indirectly related? What are the two basic effects that a stimulus change has on behavior? 1. an immediate but temporary effect of increasing or decreasing the current frequency of the behavior (ex: a sudden downpour is likely to immediately increase the frequency of all behavior that has resulted in the person successfully escaping the rain in the past) 2. a delayed but relatively permanent effect in terms of frequency of that type of behavior in the future (ex: if the individual decided not to take an umbrella the downpour will decrease the frequency of that behavior on cloudy days in the future) Explain higher order respondent conditioning the process when a neutral stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus producing a conditioned reflex Describe respondent extinction when a conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus until the conditioned stimulus no longer elicits the conditioned response Define and describe the difference between ontogeny and phylogeny The former is the history of development of an individual organism during its lifetime. The latter is the history of the natural evolution of a species. Explain the multiple ways that consequences affect behavior (operant conditioning) Consequences can affect only future behavior. Consequences select response classes, not individual responses. Immediate consequences are most effective. Consequences select any behavior that precedes them. Operant conditioning occurs automatically. Name the three dimensional quantities of behavior. repeatability (count), temporal extent (duration), and temporal locus (when behavior occurs) Which type of interval recording overestimates behavior and which underestimates behavior. Whole-interval recording usually underestimates behavior and partial interval recording overestimates behavior. What behaviors are most appropriate for whole interval recording? continuous behaviors (i.e. cooperative play) or behaviors that occur at high rates that are difficult to differentiate from one occurrence to another (i.e. rocking or humming) Which behaviors would be best for partial interval recording? lower frequency behaviors with more distinct beginning/ending (if the behavior occurs very frequency this method will misrepresent the occurrence of the behavior). When is momentary time sampling an effective measurement method? when measuring continuous activity behaviors (i.e. task engagement). NOT recommended for low frequency or short-duration behaviors What is a PLACHECK? a version of momentary time sampling in which the observer records whether each individual in a group is engaged in the target behavior. When is a behavior suitable for measurement via permanent product? 1. Each occurrence of the target behavior must produce the same permanent product. 2. The permanent product can only be produced by the target behavior. What are some threats to measurement validity? Indirect measurement (i.e. using response to a questionnaire to determine the frequency of behavior) Measuring the wrong dimension of the behavior Measurement artifacts What can produce measurement artifacts? Discontinuous measurement Poorly scheduled measurement periods (must be an equal opportunity for the occurrence and nonoccurrence of the behavior) Insensitive/Limited measurement scales What are some threats to measurement accuracy and reliability? Poorly designed measurement system Inadequate observer training (i.e. observer drift) Unintended influences on observers (i.e. reactivity) What is the most common version of IOA used? Percentage of agreement How do you calculate total count IOA? Smaller count/Larger count x 100 How do you calculate mean count-per-interval IOA? Interval 1 IOA + Interval 2 IOA + Interval N IOA/ n intervals x 100 How do you calculate exact counter-per-interval IOA? Number of intervals of 100% IOA/ n intervals x 100 How do you calculate trial-by-trial IOA Number of trials agreement/total number of trials x 100 How do you calculate interval-by-interval IOA? Number of intervals agreed/ number of intervals agreed + number of intervals disagreed x 100 How do you calculate total duration IOA? shorter duration/longer duration x 100 How do you calculate mean duration-per-occurrence IOA? Dur IOA R1 + Dur IOA R2 + Dur IOA Rn/ n responses with Dur IOA x 100 Explain scored interval versus unscored interval IOA In scored interval only those intervals in which the occurrence of the target behavior was occurred is used in the IOA calculation; so if the 3 out of 10 intervals showed the occurrence of behavior from either observer and only 1 out of those 3 showed agreement between the two observers IOA would be 33%. Unscored interval IOA is simply the opposite, only those intervals in which one or both observers scored a nonoccurrence of the behavior are used in IOA calculation. When should scored interval IOA be used? for behaviors that occur at relatively low frequencies When should unscored interval IOA be used? for behaviors that occur at relatively high frequencies When and how often should IOA assessments occur? During each condition and phase of a study and be distributed across days of the week, times of day, settings, and observers. What are the two major purposes/functions of bar graphs? 1. for displaying and comparing discrete sets of data that are not related to one another by a common underlying dimension by which the horizontal axis can be scaled. 2. to give a visual summary of the performance of a participant or group of participants during the different conditions of an experiment.