Behaviorism + Foundations
5%of exam
Concepts + Principles
14%of exam
ReinforcementPunishmentExtinctionStimulus ControlMOs
Measurement + Display
12%of exam
Experimental Design
7%of exam
Ethical Issues
13%of exam
CompetenceConsentConfidentialityPublic StatementsCulture
Behavior Assessment
13%of exam
RecordsPreferenceDescriptiveFunctional AnalysisGoals
Behavior-Change Procedures
14%of exam
Selecting Interventions
11%of exam
Social ValidityContextual FitProcedural IntegrityRelapse
Supervision + Management
11%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- BCBA
- Questions
- 185 total
- Scored
- 175 items
- Pilot
- 10 items
- Time
- 4 hours
- Blueprint
- TCO6
- Result
- Pass/fail
- Initial fees
- $370
ABA Dimensions
GET A CAB marks seven dimensions
GeneralEffectiveTechnologicalAppliedConceptualAnalyticBehavioral
Exam Format
- Total
- 185 questions
- Scored
- 175 questions
- Pilot
- 10 questions
- Time
- 4 hours
- Tasks
- 104 TCO tasks
- Domains
- 9 areas
- Scoring
- Criterion referenced
Foundations
- Selectionism
- Consequences select
- Determinism
- Lawful behavior
- Empiricism
- Observe data
- Parsimony
- Simplest account
- Pragmatism
- Effective action
- ABA
- Applied science
- Radical
- Private events included
Reinforcement vs Punishment
Reinforcement
- Behavior increases
- Consequence follows
- Function defined
Punishment
- Behavior decreases
- Consequence follows
- Function defined
Increase vs decrease
Concepts
- Behavior
- Observable activity
- Response
- Single instance
- Response class
- Same function
- Stimulus
- Environmental event
- Reinforcement
- Behavior increases
- Punishment
- Behavior decreases
- Extinction
- Reinforcer withheld
- SD
- Signals reinforcement
- MO
- Alters value
- Verbal operant
- Function of language
Positive vs Negative
Positive
- Stimulus added
- Not good
- Operation word
Negative
- Stimulus removed
- Not bad
- Operation word
Add vs remove
MO vs SD
MO
- Changes value
- Changes behavior
- Motivating context
SD
- Signals availability
- Discriminative cue
- Reinforcement history
Value vs signal
Validity vs Reliability
Validity
- Measures target
- Correct construct
- Useful data
Reliability
- Consistent measurement
- Repeatable scores
- Stable process
Right thing vs consistent
Measurement Picker
- Countable events→Frequency
- Time differs→Rate
- Lasting behavior→Duration
- Cue to start→Latency
- Between responses→IRT
- Product remains→Permanent product
Measurement
- Frequency
- Count responses
- Rate
- Count per time
- Duration
- How long
- Latency
- Cue to response
- IRT
- Between responses
- Trials
- Attempts to criterion
- Permanent product
- Outcome count
- IOA
- Observer agreement
- Integrity
- Procedure accuracy
Integrity vs IOA
Integrity
- Plan implemented
- Staff accuracy
- Procedure fidelity
IOA
- Observers agree
- Data reliability
- Measurement check
Doing vs counting
Graphs
- Level
- Data height
- Trend
- Data direction
- Variability
- Data spread
- Immediacy
- Quick change
- Overlap
- Shared range
- Phase line
- Condition change
- Y-axis
- Behavior measure
Single-Case Logic
PVR proves control
PredictionVerificationReplication
Design Picker
- Can withdraw treatment→Reversal
- Cannot reverse safely→Multiple baseline
- Compare treatments fast→Multielement
- Gradual goal shifts→Changing criterion
- Test components→Component analysis
- Test intensity→Parametric analysis
Designs
- Prediction
- Baseline projection
- Verification
- Effect checked
- Replication
- Effect repeated
- Reversal
- Remove IV
- Withdrawal
- Return baseline
- Multiple baseline
- Staggered starts
- Multielement
- Rapid alternation
- Changing criterion
- Stepwise targets
Ethics
- Competence
- Work within training
- Consent
- Informed permission
- Assent
- Client agreement
- Confidentiality
- Protect information
- Documentation
- Accurate records
- Public statements
- Truthful claims
- Multiple relation
- Boundary risk
- Cultural humility
- Responsive practice
Descriptive vs FA
Descriptive
- Natural observation
- Correlation
- No manipulation
FA
- Variables manipulated
- Causal test
- Controlled conditions
Observe vs test
Assessment
- Records review
- Existing data
- Interview
- Indirect source
- ABC
- Antecedent-behavior-consequence
- Descriptive
- Observe naturally
- FA
- Manipulate variables
- Preference
- Identify reinforcers
- Skill assessment
- Strengths/needs
- Baseline
- Before intervention
Differential Reinforcement
A, I, O, L: alternative patterns
DRADRIDRODRL
DRA vs DRO
DRA
- Alternative behavior
- Teach replacement
- Function match
DRO
- No target behavior
- Interval based
- No replacement required
Alternative vs absence
Intervention Picker
- Teach replacement→DRA/FCT
- Impossible together→DRI
- Reduce rate→DRL
- Withhold reinforcer→Extinction
- Need independence→Prompt fading
- Need complex skill→Chaining
Change Procedures
- DRA
- Alternative reinforced
- DRI
- Incompatible reinforced
- DRO
- Absence reinforced
- DRL
- Low rate reinforced
- NCR
- Time-based reinforcement
- FCT
- Communication replacement
- Shaping
- Successive approximations
- Chaining
- Task steps linked
- Prompting
- Extra assistance
Interventions
- Goal
- Observable target
- Replacement
- Same function
- Contextual fit
- Feasible plan
- Social validity
- Stakeholder value
- Evidence
- Supported method
- Relapse
- Behavior returns
- Generalization
- Across contexts
- Maintenance
- Lasts over time
BST
Instructions, modeling, rehearsal, feedback
TellShowPracticeCorrect
Supervision
- Contract
- Clear expectations
- BST
- Teach performance
- Feedback
- Specific and timely
- Modeling
- Show skill
- Rehearsal
- Practice skill
- Performance data
- Staff behavior
- Function-based
- Match contingencies
- Equity
- Fair access
Common Traps
Positive vs pleasant
Positive means added ≠ Not necessarily preferred
Negative vs aversive
Negative means removed ≠ Not necessarily bad
Function vs topography
Function is why ≠ Topography is form
FA vs FBA
FA manipulates variables ≠ FBA is broader
IOA vs integrity
IOA checks data ≠ Integrity checks procedure
Ethics vs preference
Rights constrain choice ≠ Preference guides fit
Last Minute
- 1.TCO6 has 9 domains
- 2.175 scored, 10 pilot
- 3.Big domains: 14 / 14
- 4.Function beats topography
- 5.Positive means add
- 6.Negative means remove
- 7.MO changes value
- 8.SD signals availability
- 9.FA manipulates variables
- 10.BST = teach performance
