What are Positive Reinforcement and Negative Reinforcement in Applied Behavior Analysis? Reinforcement is a principle of behavior change. All behavior change plans should begin with a careful consideration of how to use reinforcement properly. Reinforcement occurs when a response is followed by a stimulus change (a consequence) that results in similar responses occurring more often …
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In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), there are two types of prompts: stimulus prompts and response prompts.
Stimulus prompts are external cues that remind the individual of what they should be doing. For example, a picture of a drink may be a stimulus prompt for an individual to ask for a drink.
Response prompts are cues that help the individual to respond correctly. For example, if an individual is asked to name a color, a response prompt might be to say “red” if the color red is presented.
Both stimulus and response prompts are important in ABA, as they help the individual to learn new skills and to generalize those skills to new situations.
Continuous Measurement on the RBT Exam The first thing you should study and learn for the RBT exam is continuous measurement. Not only does it appear first on the task list, but it’s straightforward and easy to grasp. A registered behavior technician should know the following continuous measurement terms: frequency, rate, duration, IRT (interresponse time), …
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What is Generalization and Maintenance in Applied Behavior Analysis? Generalization and maintenance are essential to providing quality treatment as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) or a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). You could argue that if you are not teaching for generalization then you are not providing quality ABA service. Generalization occurs when a trained …
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The simplest way to explain extinction is withholding reinforcement from a previously reinforced behavior. When something used to exist but is no longer available, it is said to have become extinct. Extinction in applied behavior analysis simply refers to the gradual elimination of unappealing and undesirable behaviors. This is accomplished through a series of therapeutic …
Three-Term Contingency in ABA Your work as an RBT should be guided by just two words: if and then. If and then are used to set up contingencies that lead to opportunities for reinforcement, and, at times, punishment. An if-then statement is called a contingency. You might hear some people refer to it as “first-then.” …
The Simple Way to Remember MOs vs SDs First things first, don’t think you’re alone when it comes to struggling with motivating operations and discriminative stimuli. Other than single subject design, my BCBA friends and my friends preparing to become BCBAs have an extremely difficult time wrapping their heads around motivating operations. It’s easy to …
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Learn Differential Reinforcement Once and For All What’s the difference between DRO, DRA, and DRI? There is nothing that gives my students more trouble than differential reinforcement and the acronyms that go along with it. This hasn’t changed since the day I started teaching the RBT exam. To be fair, I also see BCBAs struggling …
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