Unit 4 - B

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true regarding the likelihood for a BCBA to conduct a preference assessment, according to the survey conducted by Graff and Karsten (2012)? BCBAs are most likely to

a. Conduct full preference assessments or mini preference assessments once week
b. Generally avoid conducting direct preference assessments or reinforcer assessments of any kind
c. Conduct full-scale preference assessments daily, and mini-preference before each trial
d. Conduct full preference assessments less than once a month, but mini preference assessments far more often

Answer 1

d. Conduct full preference assessments less than once a month, but mini preference assessments far more often

Question 2

Dr. Deleon presented data indicating that individuals with a diagnosis of _____ tend to display more stability in preferences over time.

a. ASD
b. IDD
c. ADHD
d. OCD

Answer 2

a. ASD

Question 3

Preferences for ________ have been demonstrated as more likely to be stable over time.

a. Toys
b. Task activities
c. Videos
d. Food items

Answer 3

d. Food items

Question 4

Which of the following has been most closely correlated with changes in reinforcer value?

a. Changes in assessed preferences
b. Justification and overjustification
c. Diagnostic criteria
d. Discriminative control

Answer 4

a. Changes in assessed preferences

Question 5

A study conducted by DeLeon et al. (2001) indicated that conducting frequent preference assessments is most necessary when an individual:

a. Has a general preference for edible items
b. Demonstrates stable preferences
c. Has been diagnosed with ASD
d. Demonstrates unstable preferences

Answer 5

d. Demonstrates unstable preferences

Question 6

The term, “effectiveness of a reinforcer” refers to all of the following characteristics of a stimulus, except its

a. Appetitive characteristics for the organism
b. Momentary capacity to support responses that produced it
c. Utility in producing long-term behavior change
d. Capacity to strengthen responses that immediately preceded it

Answer 6

a. Appetitive characteristics for the organism

Question 7

In reviewing a variety of studies by Hanley et al., Dr. DeLeon discussed the effects of using contingent reinforcement during engagement in low preference activities, as well as pairing low preference activities with the availability of high preference stimuli. In these studies, which of the following was demonstrated to be true? An individual’s engagement in a low preference activity is

a. Affected only by the preference level of the activity in the hierarchy, and not sensitive to the contingent delivery of reinforcement
b. More likely when contingent reinforcement is provided for high-preference activity engagement only
c. Maintained long after either contingent reinforcement or non-contingent pairing is no longer provided for engagement in the low preference activity
d. More likely when non-contingent pairing of a low preference activity with established preferred stimuli can shift choices toward that low preference activity
U4 Objective 2.20

Answer 7

d. More likely when non-contingent pairing of a low preference activity with established preferred stimuli can shift choices toward that low preference activity
U4 Objective 2.20

Question 8

All of the following are determinants of stimulus value except

a. Magnitude of reinforcement
b. Quality of reinforcement
c. Delay in reinforcement
d. None; Delay, quality, and magnitude are all determinants of stimulus value

Answer 8

d. None; Delay, quality, and magnitude are all determinants of stimulus value

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true regarding time delays as a variable in the effectiveness of reinforcement? Time delays….

a. Have no effect on the value of a reinforcer
b. Are most likely to increase the value of a reinforcer
c. Have highly variable effects on the value of a reinforcer
d. Are most likely to decrease the value of a reinforcer

Answer 9

d. Are most likely to decrease the value of a reinforcer

Question 10

The matching law refers to the robust natural phenomenon wherein an individual allocates response rates across different conditions, which match:

a. The amount of reinforcement the individual expects to get in each condition
b. The different schedules of reinforcement in effect in each condition
c. Measured preferences, as identified in a preference hierarchy
d. The stated rules provided at the beginning of each condition

Answer 10

b. The different schedules of reinforcement in effect in each condition

Question 11

Reinforcement quality is typically conceptualized as being directly related to:

a. Reinforcement provenance
b. Parameters of reinforcement
c. Temporal discounting
d. Rankings in a preference hierarchy

Answer 11

d. Rankings in a preference hierarchy

Question 12

In general, the thinner the schedule of reinforcement, the ___ needs to be to maintain responding.

a. Longer the delay to reinforcement
b. Higher the magnitude of reinforcement
c. Higher the response effort
d. Lower the magnitude of reinforcement

Answer 12

b. Higher the magnitude of reinforcement

Question 13

What are two functions of a specific motivating operation?

a. Reinforcer establishing and evocative
b. Extinction abolishing and abative
c. Conditioning and eliciting
d. Discriminative and evocative

Answer 13

a. Reinforcer establishing and evocative

Question 14

Deprivation has the following effects: It momentarily ___ the reinforcer effectiveness of a stimulus and ___ the frequency of behavior that produced the stimulus as a consequence.

a. Increases; Decreases
b. Decreases; Increases
c. Decreases; Decreases
d. Increases; Increases

Answer 14

d. Increases; Increases

Question 15

Gottschalk, Libby, and Graff (2000) produced experimental results wherein preference rank changes were _________ were manipulated, relative to the control condition.

a. Observed only when the levels of food deprivation
b. Not observed when either the levels of food satiation or deprivation
c. Observed when either the levels of food satiation or deprivation
d. Observed only when the levels of food satiation

Answer 15

c. Observed when either the levels of food satiation or deprivation

Question 16

“Sensitivity to price”, or the extent to which changes in the price of a commodity influence consumption of that commodity, refers to:

a. Elastic demands
b. Elasticity of demands
c. Work function
d. Inelastic demands

Answer 16

b. Elasticity of demands

Question 17

No matter what the schedule requirement might be, Ted engages in the target behavior as many times as necessary to earn a specific reinforcer. In terms of behavioral economics, one would say that changes in the price of this particular reinforcer produce little or no change in Ted’s consumption of that reinforcer. This is referred to as a(n):

a. Work Function
b. Demand price
c. Elastic demand
d. Inelastic demand

Answer 17

d. Inelastic demand

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of an elastic demand curve? When the price of

a. An airline ticket is cut by 10%, consumption increases by 10%
b. Gas increases by 50%, consumption declines by 20%
c. Water increases by 50%, consumption is not affected
d. Lobster increases by 50%, consumption declines by 90%

Answer 18

d. Lobster increases by 50%, consumption declines by 90%

Question 19

A particular reinforcer is exclusively available within an experimental context. This statement describes a(n):

a. Hedonic economy
b. Closed economy
c. Open economy
d. Limited economy

Answer 19

b. Closed economy

Question 20

Nedra’s favorite toy is a balloon. Nedra’s mother buys her balloons at the park and at the zoo, and sometimes gives her balloons to play with at home. The behavior analyst determines that balloons would be a good item to use during experimental protocols as well. In behavioral economics terms, Nedra’s access to balloons describes a type of:

a. Token economy
b. Behavioral economy
c. Open economy
d. Closed economy

Answer 20

c. Open economy

Question 21

Which type of economy shows a greater defense of consumption (i.e., a less elastic demand)?

a. Closed economy
b. Token economy
c. Open economy
d. Behavioral economy

Answer 21

a. Closed economy

Question 22

Demand for a specific reinforcer is more likely to show greater elasticity when the potential available alternative reinforcers are …

a. Not concurrently available
Correct!
b. Substitutable, by sharing key functional characteristics
c. Distinct in terms of functional effect
d. Negative rather than positive reinforcers

Answer 22

b. Substitutable, by sharing key functional characteristics

Question 23

Results from Clement, et al. (2000) indicated pigeons showed a strong preference for whichever stimulus, which in training had required ____ effort to obtain.

a. Less
b. Decreasing
c. No
d. Greater

Answer 23

d. Greater

Question 24

According to a stimulus preference assessment, Jenn shows equal preference for access to puzzles and access to blocks. Access to puzzles is provided non-contingently every day for a month. For the same month, access to blocks is only provided contingent on completing effortful tasks. Subsequently, another preference assessment is conducted with Jenn. According to results of past studies, what is likely to result?

a. Puzzles will be preferred over blocks
b. Blocks and puzzles will be equally preferred
c. Puzzles and blocks will no longer be preferred items
d. Blocks will be preferred over puzzles

Answer 24

d. Blocks will be preferred over puzzles

Question 25

Will earns a token following each class worksheet he completes. Each token is worth a minute of trampoline or swing time. Will never asks to cash in his tokens until he has collected at least 10 of them. This is an example of

a. Delayed reinforcement
b. Accumulated reinforcement
c. Mediated reinforcement
d. Distributed reinforcement

Answer 25

b. Accumulated reinforcement

Question 26

When an individual consumes the reinforcer immediately after completing each schedule requirement, this is known as

a. Accumulated reinforcement
b. Mediated reinforcement
c. Delayed reinforcement
d. Distributed reinforcement

Answer 26

d. Distributed reinforcement

Question 27

For some types of reinforcement, such as access to an activity, the reinforcing value may be significantly altered by repeated interruptions. Therefore, activity reinforcement is often most effective when it is consumed as…

a. Distributed reinforcement
b. Delayed reinforcement
c. Mediated reinforcement
d. Accumulated reinforcement

Answer 27

d. Accumulated reinforcement

Question 28

The term, stimulus variation refers to

a. Permitting the learner to select which of various tasks to do each session
b. Assessing preferences prior to selecting reinforcers
c. Asking the learner which reinforcer they would like to earn in the following instructional session
d. The teacher rotating delivery of reinforcers following target responses

Answer 28

d. The teacher rotating delivery of reinforcers following target responses

Question 29

Stimulus variation is likely to increase response rates if the stimuli selected as reinforcers are

a. Lower preferred stimuli only
b. Highest preferred stimuli only
c. Any stimulus listed at any point along the preference hierarchy
d. Moderate to highly preferred stimuli

Answer 29

d. Moderate to highly preferred stimuli

Question 30

In pre-session selection the:

a. Learner selects a reinforcer from a small array each time the schedule requirement is met
b. Instructor selects which reinforcer the learner will earn throughout the following instructional session
c. Instructor selects which reinforcer the learner gets each time the schedule requirement is met
d. Learner selects which reinforcer they would like to earn throughout the following instructional period

Answer 30

d. Learner selects which reinforcer they would like to earn throughout the following instructional period

Question 31

In within-session choice the:

a. Instructor selects which reinforcer the learner gets each time the schedule requirement is met
b. Learner selects a reinforcer from a small array each time the schedule requirement is met
c. Learner selects which reinforcer they would like to earn throughout the following instructional session
d. Instructor selects which reinforcer the learner will earn throughout the following instructional session

Answer 31

b. Learner selects a reinforcer from a small array each time the schedule requirement is met

Question 32

In the Lerman et al. (1997) study, the reinforcer selected by the experimenter was yoked to:

a. One specific reinforcer which was chosen by an experimenter in another session
b. Items identified as mid-to-highly preferred on an informant survey, delivered in preferential order

c. The specific order and magnitude of reinforcers chosen by the learner in a previous condition
d. A non-contingent schedule of reinforcement

Answer 32

c. The specific order and magnitude of reinforcers chosen by the learner in a previous condition

Question 33

What is a potential reason why “reinforcement doesn’t work”?

a. Only about half of any identified “reinforcers” actually function as reinforcers
b. The EO for that reinforcer was too strong
c. An Sd was present in the relevant context
d. The reinforcer followed the wrong response

Answer 33

d. The reinforcer followed the wrong response

Question 34

Which of the following is a possible solution when a response-reinforcer contingency was arranged but was never contacted by the individual due to the response being too difficult to complete accurately?

a. Ensure the reinforcer is directly contingent on the behavior or interest
b. Use a more powerful, higher magnitude reinforcer
c. Smaller, less stringent steps may be needed to shape the response and bring the behavior into contact with the contingency
d. Conduct a new, full reinforcer assessment to determine if the current reinforcers are actually effective

Answer 34

c. Smaller, less stringent steps may be needed to shape the response and bring the behavior into contact with the contingency

Question 35

If an individual prefers an activity or task more than the toy that is presented as a presumed reinforcer for completing that task, the contingent access to that toy may function as a form of:

a. Negative reinforcement
b. Time-out from the preferred activity
c. Automatic reinforcement
d. Time in

Answer 35

b. Time-out from the preferred activity