Behavior Acquisition

25% of the RBT exam · blueprint 3rd edition (2026)

Short answer

Domain C is the largest area — 19 of 75 scored questions (25%). It covers implementing reinforcement along dimensions such as magnitude and variety, conditioned reinforcers, discrete-trial teaching, naturalistic teaching, task-analysed chaining (forward, backward, total task), discrimination training, prompting with fading (errorless, least-to-most, time delay, stimulus fading), generalization, maintenance versus acquisition, shaping, and token economies.

Why it matters on this exam

One in four scored questions. Most are scenario-based: a short description of a session and a question about which procedure is being used, what to do next, or what went wrong.

Key concepts (tasks C.1–C.11)

Reinforcement must be immediate and contingent, delivered on the schedule in the plan (continuous vs. intermittent), and varied in magnitude and type to avoid satiation.
Conditioned reinforcers (tokens, praise) get their value by pairing with established reinforcers.
Discrete-trial teaching: SD → response → consequence → intertrial interval, run in massed trials with data every trial.
Naturalistic teaching (incidental teaching, NET) uses the learner's motivation in the moment.
Chaining: forward (teach step 1 first), backward (learner completes the last step; strong for natural reinforcement), total task (every step every time with prompts as needed).
Discrimination training: reinforce responses to the SD, withhold for the S-delta.
Prompting and fading: least-to-most, most-to-least, time delay (constant/progressive), errorless learning; the goal is transfer of stimulus control to the natural SD.
Generalization across settings, people, and stimuli; maintenance is keeping a mastered skill over time, so the schedule thins.
Shaping reinforces successive approximations; token economies need a defined token, backup reinforcers, and an exchange schedule.

Common mistakes

Prompting after an error in an errorless program.
Fading too fast (errors climb) or never fading (prompt dependence).
Delivering the reinforcer, then the praise, then the token — order and immediacy matter.

Worked example

Teaching hand-washing with backward chaining: the RBT completes every step except drying hands, prompts drying, and reinforces; once drying is independent, the learner also does "turn off tap", and so on toward the first step.

Original practice questions

Behavior AcquisitionDifficulty 2/5

A learner is being taught to tie shoes. The RBT completes every step except the final knot pull, prompts the learner to pull the knot tight, and delivers praise. Which procedure is being used?

AForward chaining
BTotal-task chaining
CBackward chaining
DShaping

Show answer and rationale

Correct: C. In backward chaining the trainer completes all but the last step and the learner performs the final step, contacting the natural reinforcer (finished shoe) immediately. Earlier steps are added one at a time working backward.

A — Forward chaining teaches the first step first.
B — Total-task chaining has the learner attempt every step each trial.
D — Shaping reinforces successive approximations of a single response, not a chain.

Behavior AcquisitionDifficulty 3/5

In an errorless-learning program using progressive time delay, the RBT initially presents the SD and the prompt at the same time. After several correct trials, what should happen next?

AIncrease the prompt to full physical guidance
BWait for an error on each trial, then deliver the prompt as an error correction
CStop prompting entirely and record every error the learner makes from that point on
DInsert a short delay between the SD and the prompt

Show answer and rationale

Correct: D. Progressive time delay starts at 0-second delay (prompt with the SD) and gradually inserts a delay before the prompt. If the learner responds correctly before the prompt, stimulus control has transferred to the SD. Waiting for errors defeats the purpose of errorless teaching.

C — Removing prompts abruptly produces errors and prompt-dependence data you cannot use.
A — Increasing intrusiveness moves in the wrong direction after correct responding.
B — Errorless learning is designed to prevent errors, not wait for them.

Behavior AcquisitionDifficulty 2/5

A learner has earned a token after every correct response for two weeks and accuracy is stable at 95%. The supervisor updates the plan. Which change is most consistent with moving toward maintenance?

AThin the schedule so tokens follow some, not all, correct responses
BSwitch to punishing incorrect responses
CStop all reinforcement immediately and record whether the skill persists for two weeks
DKeep delivering a token after every response but double the size of each token exchange

Show answer and rationale

Correct: A. Maintenance procedures thin reinforcement from continuous to intermittent so the skill persists under natural conditions. Abrupt removal risks extinction; increasing magnitude keeps a continuous schedule.

D — Magnitude changes do not thin the schedule.
B — Punishment is not a maintenance strategy.
C — Abrupt removal of reinforcement is extinction, not maintenance.

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Primary references

RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), effective January 1, 2026 — Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) · primary · retrieved 2026-09-21, verified 2026-09-21

Last reviewed: 2026-09-21Next review by: 2026-11-20Draft — pending editorial reviewHow we verify facts