BCBA EXAM STUDYING (CONCEPTS &
PRINCIPLES) 32 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH SOLUTIONS 2024
Behavior - ANSWER What living organisms say or do; implies action
How people think, feel, and what they say
Larger set/class of responses that share physical dimensions/functions
Example: Study behavior; hand-flapping; thinking about an old boyfriend
Response - ANSWER A single instance of behavior
Measurable unit of analysis in the science of behavior analysis
Behavior vs. Response - ANSWER Behavior: Hand flapping
Response: A single hand flap
Response Class - ANSWER A group of behaviors that comprise an operant/have the same function
Operant - ANSWER An instance of behavior that initially is spontaneous, but whose consequences will
modify the behavior in the future.
LEARNED behavior - A verbal operant is a learned behavior
Response-consequence relationship
Similar behaviors that are strengthened or weakened collectively as a result of operant conditioning
Example: Your exam prep behaviors (flash cards, study manual, mock exams), they look different, but
they all prepare you for the big exam!
,Repertoire - ANSWER All of the behaviors that you can do and a collection of skills you have learned that
are related to a specific task or specific setting
Example: Language skills; everyday routines; practicing ABA; cooking
Environment - ANSWER An elaborate and always changing universe of events
In ABA, refers to stimulus conditions that are internal and external to the individual
Behavior can't occur without this
Stimulus - ANSWER Physical events that effect the behavior of an individual
External or internal
Example: Muscle spasms; bright light; loud noise; person present
Proprioceptors - ANSWER Receive stimulation from joints, tendons, muscles, etc., needed for posture,
balance, and movement (i.e. internal events)
Example: After you get off a rollercoaster, you feel dizzy
Interceptors - ANSWER Receive stimulation from organs (i.e. internal events)
Example: Headache, hunger pains
Exteroceptors - ANSWER Your 5 senses (i.e. hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, and tasting). Most often
studied by behavior analysts
Example: Smelling smoke, smelling fire, tasting BBQ
Stimulus Class - ANSWER A group of antecedent or simultaneous stimuli that have a common effect on
operant class
,Group members of stimulus class tend to evoke or abate the behavior or response class; yet may vary
across physical dimensions
Formal Stimulus Class - ANSWER Stimuli that share similar PHYSICAL features (i.e. topographies)
Example: Size; color; intensity; weight; spatial positions in relation to other objects (prepositions (e.g. on
top of the TV, to the left of the TV)
Temporal Stimulus Class - ANSWER Refers to time
Antecedents: stimulus change that exists or occur before a behavior of interest. Important for learning
and motivation
Consequences: stimulus changes that occur after a behavior of interest. Important for future behaviors
Antecendent and consequent stimuli determine what's learned
Functional Stimulus Class - ANSWER The effect of the stimulus on the behavior
Stimulus changes that are defined by a functional analysis of their effects on behavior
A single stimulus can have multiple functions
Can have an immediate, yet temporary effect on behavior (e.g. a sour tasting glass of milk may cause you
to stop drinking the milk immediately) or delayed, yet more, long-term effect on behavior (e.g. if eating
dairy gives you a stomachache, then in the future, you may avoid dairy products)
Feature Stimulus Class - ANSWER Stimuli in this class can share: common topographies, common relative
relations (i.e spatial arrangements)
Infinite # of stimuli
Created by: stimulus generalization
Example: Concept of dog; concept of house; concept of tree; bigger than; smaller than; on top of, etc.
Think of picture of 2 different dogs
, Arbitrary Stimulus Class - ANSWER Stimuli comprising this class evoke the same response, but they don't
share common features; they don't physically look alike
Limited # of stimuli
Created by: stimulus equivalence
Example: 50%, half, 1/2. 0.5 (these don't look alike, but they evoke the same response)
Example: Apple, banana, etc. comprise an ______ class of fruit
Respondent Behavior AKA Reflex, Reflexive Relations, Unconditioned Stimulus-Unconditioned Response
(US-UR) - ANSWER NO consequences involved
Involuntary
An eliciting stimulus (US produces a behavior (UR/reflex)
Phylogenic/Phylogeny - ANSWER Genetically-inherited behavior; respondent behavior: due to phylogenic
history
Example: Gag reflex (the UR) when you choke on food (US)
Example: Leg going up (the UR) when you choke on food (the US)
Habituation - ANSWER When the unconditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly over a short period of
time, the strength of the respondent behavior diminishes
Example: In a war-themed movie, there are loud gunshots and cannons (eliciting stimuli). Initially, your
hands reflexively cover your ears and your heart rate increases (respondent behaviors), but after about 2
hours of this, your heart rate normalizes and the sound is less jarring
Respondent Conditioning AKA Classical and Pavlovian Conditioning; Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing;
Conditioned Stimulus-Conditioned Response - ANSWER Pavlov
When neutral stimuli achieve the capacity to elicit respondent behaviors typically elicited by specific
unconditioned stimuli
PRINCIPLES) 32 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH SOLUTIONS 2024
Behavior - ANSWER What living organisms say or do; implies action
How people think, feel, and what they say
Larger set/class of responses that share physical dimensions/functions
Example: Study behavior; hand-flapping; thinking about an old boyfriend
Response - ANSWER A single instance of behavior
Measurable unit of analysis in the science of behavior analysis
Behavior vs. Response - ANSWER Behavior: Hand flapping
Response: A single hand flap
Response Class - ANSWER A group of behaviors that comprise an operant/have the same function
Operant - ANSWER An instance of behavior that initially is spontaneous, but whose consequences will
modify the behavior in the future.
LEARNED behavior - A verbal operant is a learned behavior
Response-consequence relationship
Similar behaviors that are strengthened or weakened collectively as a result of operant conditioning
Example: Your exam prep behaviors (flash cards, study manual, mock exams), they look different, but
they all prepare you for the big exam!
,Repertoire - ANSWER All of the behaviors that you can do and a collection of skills you have learned that
are related to a specific task or specific setting
Example: Language skills; everyday routines; practicing ABA; cooking
Environment - ANSWER An elaborate and always changing universe of events
In ABA, refers to stimulus conditions that are internal and external to the individual
Behavior can't occur without this
Stimulus - ANSWER Physical events that effect the behavior of an individual
External or internal
Example: Muscle spasms; bright light; loud noise; person present
Proprioceptors - ANSWER Receive stimulation from joints, tendons, muscles, etc., needed for posture,
balance, and movement (i.e. internal events)
Example: After you get off a rollercoaster, you feel dizzy
Interceptors - ANSWER Receive stimulation from organs (i.e. internal events)
Example: Headache, hunger pains
Exteroceptors - ANSWER Your 5 senses (i.e. hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, and tasting). Most often
studied by behavior analysts
Example: Smelling smoke, smelling fire, tasting BBQ
Stimulus Class - ANSWER A group of antecedent or simultaneous stimuli that have a common effect on
operant class
,Group members of stimulus class tend to evoke or abate the behavior or response class; yet may vary
across physical dimensions
Formal Stimulus Class - ANSWER Stimuli that share similar PHYSICAL features (i.e. topographies)
Example: Size; color; intensity; weight; spatial positions in relation to other objects (prepositions (e.g. on
top of the TV, to the left of the TV)
Temporal Stimulus Class - ANSWER Refers to time
Antecedents: stimulus change that exists or occur before a behavior of interest. Important for learning
and motivation
Consequences: stimulus changes that occur after a behavior of interest. Important for future behaviors
Antecendent and consequent stimuli determine what's learned
Functional Stimulus Class - ANSWER The effect of the stimulus on the behavior
Stimulus changes that are defined by a functional analysis of their effects on behavior
A single stimulus can have multiple functions
Can have an immediate, yet temporary effect on behavior (e.g. a sour tasting glass of milk may cause you
to stop drinking the milk immediately) or delayed, yet more, long-term effect on behavior (e.g. if eating
dairy gives you a stomachache, then in the future, you may avoid dairy products)
Feature Stimulus Class - ANSWER Stimuli in this class can share: common topographies, common relative
relations (i.e spatial arrangements)
Infinite # of stimuli
Created by: stimulus generalization
Example: Concept of dog; concept of house; concept of tree; bigger than; smaller than; on top of, etc.
Think of picture of 2 different dogs
, Arbitrary Stimulus Class - ANSWER Stimuli comprising this class evoke the same response, but they don't
share common features; they don't physically look alike
Limited # of stimuli
Created by: stimulus equivalence
Example: 50%, half, 1/2. 0.5 (these don't look alike, but they evoke the same response)
Example: Apple, banana, etc. comprise an ______ class of fruit
Respondent Behavior AKA Reflex, Reflexive Relations, Unconditioned Stimulus-Unconditioned Response
(US-UR) - ANSWER NO consequences involved
Involuntary
An eliciting stimulus (US produces a behavior (UR/reflex)
Phylogenic/Phylogeny - ANSWER Genetically-inherited behavior; respondent behavior: due to phylogenic
history
Example: Gag reflex (the UR) when you choke on food (US)
Example: Leg going up (the UR) when you choke on food (the US)
Habituation - ANSWER When the unconditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly over a short period of
time, the strength of the respondent behavior diminishes
Example: In a war-themed movie, there are loud gunshots and cannons (eliciting stimuli). Initially, your
hands reflexively cover your ears and your heart rate increases (respondent behaviors), but after about 2
hours of this, your heart rate normalizes and the sound is less jarring
Respondent Conditioning AKA Classical and Pavlovian Conditioning; Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing;
Conditioned Stimulus-Conditioned Response - ANSWER Pavlov
When neutral stimuli achieve the capacity to elicit respondent behaviors typically elicited by specific
unconditioned stimuli
