RBT Final Exam Practice Test | Registered Behavior Technician

Prepare for your RBT Final Exam Practice Test with our free 75-question mock test and a realistic, timed practice prep designed to mirror the actual exam experience. Try it now.

I have compiled and handcrafted the questions for this RBT mock test.

Total questions: 85 multiple-choice
Scored questions: 75
Unscored pilot questions: 10 (randomly placed; don’t count toward your score)
Time limit: 90 minutes
Question format: Each has 1 correct answer out of 4 choices

For this test, most questions are written as real-life situations to test your judgment and understanding of the ABA principles.

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During a home session, the client's father tells you to stop implementing extinction because it’s upsetting the child. He insists you go back to giving attention during tantrums. What should you do?

Respect the father's wishes and discontinue extinction.

Ignore the father and continue the extinction plan.

Pause and immediately call your supervisor for direction.

Try to explain the extinction plan and convince the father to agree.

Your client’s sibling is mimicking the therapy activities during the session. What should you do?

Ask the sibling to leave the room.

Redirect the sibling but continue working.

Involve the sibling to encourage engagement.

Pause the session and inform the parent.

Your supervisor asks you to implement a punishment procedure, but it's not listed in the current behavior plan. What should you do?

Implement it only if it’s mild.

Refuse unless the procedure is documented.

Implement it and document it later.

Ask the parent for permission instead.

What is response blocking, and when is it ethically allowed?

Preventing a behavior before it starts; used freely in self-injury cases

Blocking behavior with any physical method

Physically stopping a behavior; only allowed if documented and approved

A strategy to prevent behaviors using verbal warnings

Your client begins displaying new aggression behaviors not listed in the current plan. What’s your next step?

Create a new behavior plan on your own

Use whatever method stops the aggression

Immediately inform your supervisor and collect data

Call the parent and ask for advice

What is the main risk of using punishment procedures without reinforcement strategies?

The behavior will stop faster

The client might become aggressive

It teaches faster responses

It builds rapport with the learner

During a session, you accidentally reinforce a behavior that was on extinction. What should you do next?

Ignore it and try to avoid repeating it

Log the error and report to supervisor

Punish the behavior next time

Tell the parent not to worry

What does “least intrusive method” mean in ethical behavior reduction?

Choosing the fastest method

Using punishment first

Selecting strategies that respect client dignity

Ignoring the behavior until it goes away

You’re asked to graph behavior data, but you notice a fellow RBT has changed the data to make it look better. What do you do?

Fix it yourself without telling anyone

Confront the RBT directly and delete their data

Say nothing to avoid conflict

Report it to your supervisor immediately

How is differential reinforcement used to reduce challenging behavior?

Reinforce appropriate alternatives, not the problem behavior

Punish the undesired behavior only

Reinforce all behaviors equally

Ignore all behavior during sessions

You walk into your client’s home, and their mother tells you she just taught her child to ask for candy by whining. This behavior has now increased across your sessions. What should you do?

Tell the mother that teaching whining was incorrect and should stop

Take ABC data and notify your supervisor of the change

Add “whining” to the behavior plan as a target behaviour

Begin reinforcing the whining to maintain rapport

Your client is in the middle of a self-injurious episode. The written plan does not include physical intervention, but the parent is pleading for you to restrain the child. What’s the most ethical next step?

Apply a safe physical restraint to protect the client

Call the parent’s doctor for emergency consent

Stay nearby, protect the environment, and call your supervisor

Hold the child only until they calm down

Your BCBA asks you to collect partial interval data, but the behavior occurs so rapidly that you miss multiple instances. What should you do?

Estimate the number of intervals missed

Continue collecting data and figure it out later

Switch to frequency recording instead

Notify the BCBA immediately that partial interval is ineffective

You’re working with a non-verbal client who suddenly bites your arm during task demand. The parent laughs and says, “Looks like he doesn’t like you!” What should you do?

Laugh along to avoid tension

End the session and call your BCBA immediately

Ignore the parent’s reaction and apply a punishment procedure

Explain to the parent why aggression should never be joked about

You're running a toilet training protocol and the learner has an accident. The parent insists you scold the child so they "learn a lesson." How should you respond?

Scold the child gently to satisfy the parent

Pause implementation and speak privately with the parent

Redirect to the toilet and report data as usual

Give a time-out to reduce future accidents

You’re collecting data on elopement, but the client starts escaping during tasks you weren’t told to track. You’ve seen this pattern grow. What should you do?

Begin documenting the new elopement pattern

Add a second behavior to your data sheet and track both

Ignore the new elopement—it’s not your target

Reinforce staying during all tasks regardless of data requirements

During your session, the parent leaves the house without telling you. You’re left alone with a 5-year-old and no emergency contacts. What do you do?

Call your supervisor and wait until they return

Continue the session until the time is up

Leave the child briefly and search for the parent

Call CPS immediately

You’re instructed to reinforce a behavior every third occurrence. You accidentally reinforce it every second time instead. What’s your best course of action?

Keep going and fix the schedule next session

Correct it mid-session without telling anyone

Note the error and inform your supervisor

Restart the session from the beginning

A child on your caseload is being reinforced with candy. You learn from the parent that the child is diabetic and shouldn't be eating sugar. What do you do?

Replace the candy with fruit

Stop reinforcement and report to BCBA

Ask the parent for alternative options and continue

Use the candy, but reduce the quantity

You’re told to collect latency data on the client’s response to a demand. The client starts engaging in a tantrum every time the demand is given. What should you do about the data?

Record the tantrum as a separate data point

Stop presenting the demand

Record latency only once the tantrum ends

Ask the client to calm down before timing begins

You're collecting frequency data on a learner’s aggressive outbursts. During the session, the learner begins to engage in self-injury. Your supervising BCBA isn’t available. What is the most appropriate immediate action?

Stop the session, contact emergency services, and document behavior later

Immediately call the BCBA and wait for instruction

Prioritize client safety, follow emergency protocol, then document what occurred

Continue recording frequency data to avoid missing vital information

A parent tells you, “When you leave, we give candy if he stops crying.” What’s the ethical and behavioral issue here?

This is differential reinforcement, which is acceptable

This violates the least-restrictive environment principle

This introduces unplanned reinforcement that may counteract extinction

This is a form of shaping crying behavior and is acceptable

Your supervisor instructs you to implement a punishment-based procedure with a client who has recently shown increased anxiety. What should you do?

Refuse to implement the procedure and report to the BACB

Seek clarification, request written justification, and express ethical concern

Implement the procedure but take notes on behavior changes

Implement it only during short sessions until anxiety reduces

A teacher says, “You can work with this student instead of your usual one today. Their needs are similar.” What’s the problem?

This is okay if both students have autism

RBTs can switch clients as long as they have training

This is acceptable under teacher delegation rights

You may only work with clients assigned and approved by your supervisor

You’re taking partial interval data, and your learner shows the target behavior at second 58 of a 60-second interval. What should you do?

Count the interval as “no behavior” since it wasn’t consistent

Mark the interval as "behavior occurred"

Ignore this interval due to ambiguity

Count it as “no behavior” unless it lasted 30 seconds

Your client’s behavior plan includes extinction, but the parent begins giving the child an iPad during tantrums. What do you report?

Nothing — parents can modify behavior plans at home

Only report it if the BCBA asks

Report it to the supervisor as it breaks extinction procedures

Remove the iPad from the child to maintain the plan

Your client is learning to request help. During a session, they use their AAC device to say “help” but you’re unsure if it was intentional. What should you do?

Ignore it since it may have been accidental

Prompt the client again to confirm

Wait for multiple uses before reinforcing

Reinforce the attempt and note possible generalization

The data you collect shows a trend opposite to what the supervisor predicted. What’s your role?

Record data as observed and communicate with your BCBA

Adjust the data slightly to match the expected outcome

Discard the outlier days

Create a graph to explain why the behavior changed

Your BCBA assigns you to model a behavior reduction strategy to a new RBT. You’ve only observed it twice. What should you do?

Demonstrate it and let the BCBA know afterward

Ask the BCBA for guidance and express discomfort

Model it anyway since it was assigned to you

Have the new RBT observe the client first

You're graphing latency data from a session with frequent prompts. What risk is most relevant?

Latency will appear higher than it really is

Prompting may reduce observable latency, skewing accuracy

Prompts guarantee valid latency readings

Latency and duration can be combined for a better view

A BCBA conducts a functional analysis using an ABC narrative. Across 12 sessions, attention follows each occurrence of screaming. What is the best interpretation?

The behavior is maintained by access to tangibles.

The behavior likely serves an escape function.

The data suggests attention is a probable reinforcer.

The function cannot be determined without a latency recording.

A BCBA conducts a pairwise functional analysis with escape and control conditions. Rates of target behavior are nearly identical in both. What’s the most appropriate next step?

End the FA and switch to indirect methods.

Redesign the FA to include attention and tangible conditions.

Repeat sessions until divergence occurs.

Use a latency-based FA instead.

A BCBA is conducting a multiple baseline design across settings. Behavior improves in Setting A after the intervention is introduced. Before the intervention begins in Setting B, behavior improves unexpectedly. What should the BCBA do next?

Continue the study as planned since the effect occurred in Setting A.

Repeat baseline in Setting B to re-establish control.

End the study and change to a reversal design.

Apply intervention in Setting B immediately to prevent regression.

An RBT refuses to implement a toileting program because it conflicts with the family’s religious practices. What’s the most appropriate action for the supervising BCBA?

Continue the program as written and remind the RBT of their role.

Modify the intervention plan based on family preferences.

Report the RBT for failing to implement the plan.

Replace the RBT with one from a different background.

During a 2-hour observation, a BCBA instructs the RBT to use 10-second whole interval recording to measure on-task behavior. The RBT reports very low on-task levels. What’s the most likely reason for the underestimation?

Whole interval recording overestimates the behavior’s true rate.

The RBT likely missed the beginning of intervals.

Whole interval recording underestimates duration-based behavior.

The intervals were too short for reliable results.

A child learns to respond “blue” when shown a blue card, but fails when the card is slightly darker. What phenomenon is occurring?

Overgeneralization

Stimulus fading

Faulty stimulus control

Limited stimulus generalization

An RBT notices another technician consistently marking incorrect data but fears retaliation. What is the BCBA’s responsibility upon hearing this?

Suggest the RBT handle it directly.

Advise the RBT to ignore it to preserve the team dynamic.

Thank the RBT, investigate the claim, and document findings.

Reassign the case to avoid conflict.

A BCBA observes that the RBT is using response blocking for stereotypy, but the intervention was not part of the behavior plan. What is the most ethical course of action?

Ignore it since it may reduce the behavior.

Immediately stop the RBT and report them to the BACB.

Provide immediate corrective feedback, document it, and review the plan with the team.

Remove the client from services until a team review is conducted.

A BCBA implements a VI-5 min schedule for a token economy. After initial success, the client’s responding becomes erratic, with long pauses followed by bursts of behavior. What is the likely cause?

The variable interval schedule produces consistent high rates.

The schedule lacks sufficient reinforcement density for the client.

The behavior is undergoing extinction.

Fixed interval would be more resistant to pauses.

In a multiple baseline graph across settings, all three baselines are flat. After the intervention is introduced, behavior improves in Settings A and C, but not B. What should the BCBA conclude?

The intervention is effective across all settings.

The intervention should be withdrawn to confirm the effect.

The intervention may be effective, but Setting B requires further review.

The BCBA should end the study due to variability.

You overhear a colleague discussing a client's aggressive behaviors by name in a public break room. What should you do?

Privately remind them of confidentiality and report to your supervisor.

Ignore it—it wasn’t said loudly.

Warn them in front of others to set an example.

Record the conversation to prove the violation.

Two observers collect interval data on tantrums during a 30-minute session using partial interval recording. They agree on 18 intervals, disagree on 6, and 6 intervals had no behavior. What is the IOA?

75%

60%

90%

66%

During a generalization probe, a client who mastered greeting peers in the clinic fails to greet unfamiliar peers at a park. What should the BCBA do next?

Redesign the entire skill acquisition program.

Add NET (Natural Environment Teaching) with novel peers to increase generalization.

Reassess prerequisites before continuing.

Introduce prompts in the park setting and gradually fade them.

A child independently ties their shoes in the clinic but not at home. The BCBA suspects the home environment contains different cues. What is the best next step?

Retrain shoe-tying in the clinic.

Introduce reinforcement schedules at home.

Conduct generalization programming in the home setting.

Increase prompting during clinic sessions.

Which experimental design offers the strongest control over confounding variables while balancing practicality in applied settings?

Reversal design

Multiple baseline across subjects

Changing criterion

Alternating treatments

A BCBA is supervising three RBTs across five clients. One RBT has not received supervision for four weeks. What is the most immediate ethical concern?

The BCBA must increase supervision for all RBTs immediately.

Lack of supervision may put the client’s treatment and the RBT’s certification at risk.

This is acceptable if the RBT is experienced.

The RBT can work independently with indirect supervision.

A parent gives a BCBA a $20 coffee gift card at the end of a long week. The BCBA politely declines, but the parent insists. The BCBA keeps the card and logs it in their notes. Which part of the BACB Ethics Code is most relevant?

Accepting gifts is allowed if documented.

Gifts under $50 are permitted if infrequent.

The BCBA should have refused and documented the offer.

The BCBA must accept small gifts to build rapport.

A client’s head-banging decreases rapidly after the introduction of planned ignoring. However, they begin screaming instead. What is this an example of?

Extinction burst

Response generalization

Stimulus generalization

Functional communication

A BCBA observes a sudden spike in self-injurious behavior after a change in medication. The trend increases across three days, followed by a sharp decline without any intervention. What is the most appropriate interpretation of the graphed data?

The medication had no impact; the behavior followed a typical extinction burst.

The behavior change reflects a naturally occurring variable.

The medication likely contributed to the spike, but causality cannot be confirmed without further analysis.

The reduction in behavior indicates the medication was effective.

A newly certified BCBA is asked to supervise a case involving feeding disorders, but they’ve only worked with ASD in classroom settings. What should they do?

Accept the case and study feeding interventions independently.

Accept the case but refer to an experienced colleague for plan design.

Decline the case and refer the family to a BCBA with feeding expertise.

Accept the case if they feel confident, even without direct experience.

Your BCBA tells you to use a variable ratio schedule to reinforce manding. What is the best explanation of this?

After a variable number of responses

After a fixed number of responses

After a variable amount of time

After a fixed amount of time

A client slaps others every 3 minutes after a loud alarm goes off. The alarm is most likely functioning as which type of stimulus?

Consequence

Reinforcer

Liam is told to record the amount of time from the therapist’s direction to when a child starts picking up toys. What is he being asked to measure?

Duration

Interresponse Time

Latency

Frequency

During snack time, Maria’s client often drops food on the floor. Maria counts how many pieces fall. Which measurement is she using?

Rate

Permanent product

Duration

Momentary time sampling

A client responds to the instruction “clap” with clapping, but also to “snap” and “wave.” Which best describes this?

Stimulus discrimination

Response maintenance

Response generalization

Stimulus generalization

A BCBA instructs you to collect data at the end of 10-second intervals, recording if the child is screaming. Which method is this?

Whole interval

Momentary time sampling

Duration

Frequency

A child’s aggression temporarily increases after a BCBA puts the behavior on extinction. What is this called?

Spontaneous recovery

Extinction burst

Resurgence

Overcorrection

A supervisor asks you to collect latency data on a child’s request for help. What are you measuring?

Time between requests

How many times they request

Duration of the request

Time from cue to request

Your client engages in continuous rocking behavior throughout a 20-minute session, with no clear start or stop. Which measurement system is best to capture this?

Event recording

Whole interval recording

Rate

Permanent product

You see your client crying when you block access to a preferred toy. What is this called in behavior analysis?

Prompt fading

Extinction burst

Differential reinforcement

Response maintenance

An RBT uses a reinforcer after every correct response, then later switches to every 5th correct response. Which concept does this best illustrate?

Schedule thinning

Stimulus fading

Differential reinforcement

Prompt dependence

A BCBA tells you to target a replacement behavior while withholding reinforcement for problem behavior. Which procedure is this?

Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)

Extinction

Prompt fading

Shaping

Noah’s BCBA says to teach tooth brushing by first reinforcing picking up the toothbrush, then toothpaste, then brushing. What is this called?

Extinction

Prompt fading

Shaping

Response generalization

What’s the main risk of using full-session DRO with long intervals?

Underestimates behavior

Encourages other problem behaviors

Increases reinforcement rate

Overestimates behavior

Which term describes the weakening of a behavior because it no longer receives reinforcement?

Differential reinforcement

Stimulus control

Extinction

Generalization

Marcus uses a stopwatch to track how long a tantrum lasts. This describes which data system?

Frequency

IRT

Latency

Duration

A supervisor notices a child engages in head banging that occurs several times in a minute, with no clear start or end. Which measurement method is least appropriate?

Event recording

Partial interval

Whole interval

Duration

A BCBA wants to verify that two RBTs collect data the same way at the same time. What is this process called?

Procedural integrity

Treatment fidelity

Reinforcer assessment

Interobserver agreement

A therapist uses a token board but sees the tokens no longer motivate the child. What may have happened?

Reinforcer satiation

Punishment

Stimulus generalization

Prompt fading

Your client only greets people at school, but never greets at home. Which concept is most relevant to address?

Stimulus generalization

Response generalization

Prompt fading

Maintenance

Why is treatment integrity critical in skill acquisition?

Makes data collection easier

Improves rapport

Ensures valid results

Increases client preference

What’s a risk of partial interval recording for aggressive behavior?

Underestimates frequency

Overestimates frequency

Measures duration exactly

Measures latency

During an FA, a therapist switches conditions too early. What is the main risk?

Misinterpret behavior function

Save time

Improve accuracy

Increase generalization

Which action most clearly violates an RBT’s professional boundaries?

Reporting data to the BCBA

Accepting gifts

Recording behavior

Collecting baseline data

Your client engages in hair-pulling without clear start and stop points. Which method would best measure it?

Partial Interval Recording

Event recording

Frequency

Permanent Product

You notice a data sheet inconsistently records both duration and rate on the same line. Why is this problematic?

It encourages generalization

It combines incompatible units

It clarifies measurement

It helps compare rates

Your BCBA assigns you a new protocol, but you feel untrained. What should you do?

Start anyway

Refuse the case

Change the protocol

Ask for training

You observe a client engaging in skin-picking that is frequent but of variable intensity. Which measurement system would give the most quantitative data for intensity trends across days?

Partial Interval

Whole Interval

Permanent Product

Magnitude recording

A parent requests using a punishment-based procedure the BCBA has not approved. Ethically, what should you do?

Seek supervisor approval

Follow the parent

Test it yourself

Immediately implement it

Which recording method is least appropriate for measuring time between separate tantrums?

Latency

Interresponse Time

Permanent Product

Duration

You suspect a client’s aggression is being accidentally reinforced by multiple staff with subtle attention. Which advanced assessment strategy could you propose to the BCBA to confirm?

Latency FA

Brief Multielement FA

Extended alone condition

Pairwise FA

During baseline, a family installs a new alarm system that changes the child’s sleep routine. Which data threat is most likely introduced?

Maturation

Instrumentation

History

Attrition

Which measurement method would best capture brief, high-frequency vocal stereotypy during a group lesson?

Permanent Product

Partial Interval Recording

Rate

Whole Interval Recording

A client’s challenging behavior is variable and highly context-dependent. Which measurement strategy will give you the richest data for analysis?

Scatterplot

Rate

Momentary time sampling

Duration

A new therapist accidentally switches the SD with the consequence during a session. What risk is highest?

Faster generalization

Prompt dependence

Teaching the wrong contingency

Increasing motivation

A therapist notices their client’s aggression is increasing after implementing extinction. Which next step is correct?

Add punishment

Abandon extinction

Seek clinical direction

Try a new intervention

A parent requests you change a consequence strategy immediately. What should you do first?

Change the plan

Ask your BCBA

Agree if it seems helpful

Ignore the parent

A client’s data shows stable improvement for three weeks. What should you do next?

Fade the program independently

Stop all interventions

Share data with BCBA

Keep running baseline

After an extinction burst, a behavior reappears weeks later. What is this phenomenon called?

Resurgence

Generalization

Renewal

Spontaneous recovery

A behavior plan includes DRA with a VR4 schedule. What does “VR4” specifically tell you about reinforcement?

Reinforce every 4th correct

Reinforce about every 4 correct, randomly

Reinforce after a fixed 4

Reinforce after a variable 2