RBT Extinction Practice Questions

Attention extinction means withholding all attention that has followed the behavior in the past. The RBT keeps a neutral facial expression, avoids eye contact, and makes no comments about the whining while continuing the activity as planned. Telling Jayden that whining will not get attention is itself a vocal statement directed at him, so the whining still produces attention. A stern look delivers both eye contact and a facial reaction, which can function as attention even though it seems disapproving. Looking at Jayden while waiting silently still provides eye contact, which can keep the whining going. Extinction works only when every form of attention is withheld.

Punishment procedures such as response cost can produce escape and avoidance behaviors, in which the learner acts to avoid contact with the punisher rather than stopping the behavior. Hiding the thrown food and denying the throw are ways Riley avoids losing tokens, so avoidance is the best description. An extinction burst is a temporary increase in a behavior on extinction, and whining, not food throwing, is the behavior on extinction. Spontaneous recovery is the sudden return of an extinguished behavior after a period of absence. Resurgence is the return of a previously reinforced behavior when a newer behavior stops being reinforced. The RBT should record what occurred and report it to the supervisor.

A brief return of an extinguished behavior after time away is spontaneous recovery. When the RBT keeps withholding the reinforcer, here the candy, the recovered behavior typically weakens again quickly, usually faster than during the original extinction. Predicting a return to the pre-extinction level ignores the learning that already occurred; recovered responding is usually weaker and short-lived. Expecting a longer decrease than the first time reverses the typical pattern, unless the behavior is accidentally reinforced. Saying a new procedure is required treats normal recovery as failure; plan changes are the supervisor's decision, and consistent extinction usually handles it. The RBT records the tantrum and keeps following the plan.

Extinction bursts are common but not universal. Some behaviors decline smoothly from the first session without any initial spike, especially when extinction is combined with reinforcement for a replacement behavior, so a steady decrease is evidence that extinction is working. Claiming a burst must still happen treats a common pattern as a requirement; there is no reason to expect a delayed rise when the data are trending down. Saying calling out is still being reinforced contradicts the data, since reinforced behavior would not steadily decrease. Concluding the behavior was never maintained by attention is a functional assessment conclusion beyond the RBT's role, and a decline that began once attention was withheld does not support it.

In escape extinction, leaving the task must no longer remove the demand. The RBT immediately and calmly returns Owen to the table and re-presents the same puzzle, so running away does not produce escape. Letting Owen stay in the reading corner until he chooses to return gives him exactly the break that has maintained the behavior. Waiting for him to calm down and then starting a different activity also ends the puzzle demand, which reinforces leaving. Offering an easier task if he comes back changes the demand as a result of eloping, which still rewards escape and is a plan change only the supervisor can make.

When response blocking prevents a behavior from producing its automatic sensory consequence, learners often resist by pushing, pulling, or moving the technician's hands. This physical resistance is a common side effect of sensory extinction, similar to emotional responding, and does not mean the plan is wrong. The RBT continues blocking as trained, records the pushing, and reports it to the supervisor. Treating it as proof that extinction failed confuses an expected reaction with a lack of progress. Deciding that eye poking is now maintained by attention is a functional conclusion the RBT cannot make. Spontaneous recovery is the return of an extinguished behavior after time away, not resistance during blocking.

Extinction only weakens screaming; it does not teach Leo a better way to get attention. That is why the plan pairs extinction with reinforcement of a replacement behavior, and the replacement must be reinforced immediately and consistently, especially early in teaching. Giving attention right away when Leo taps makes tapping more effective than screaming. Ignoring the tap places the appropriate behavior on extinction too, leaving Leo without a working way to get attention and making screaming more likely. Delaying attention until the notes are finished weakens the connection between tapping and attention. Requiring five quiet minutes adds a new contingency the plan does not include and ignores the skill Leo just used.

Ethan's crying after a break is spontaneous recovery. The RBT must keep withholding the tablet exactly as written, because even one reinforced instance can recondition the behavior and make it more persistent than before. The RBT can politely explain the plan to his mother and let the supervisor know about her request. Giving the tablet once to calm him is intermittent reinforcement, which teaches Ethan that crying sometimes still works and strengthens resistance to extinction. Stopping the plan and calling it a failure misreads a normal, temporary return of behavior. Adding time-out for crying is a new punishment procedure that only the supervisor can add to the plan.

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinguished behavior after time has passed, such as a break from sessions. It is a normal part of the extinction process and does not mean the procedure failed; with continued extinction, the behavior usually fades again quickly. Saying extinction has failed misreads a single, expected occurrence after weeks at zero. An extinction burst is an increase in behavior shortly after reinforcement is first withheld, not a lone return after a break, and a burst does not indicate an implementation error. Deciding that yelling has a new function is a functional assessment conclusion reserved for the supervisor, and one occurrence does not support it.

Response variation occurs when a behavior is placed on extinction and the learner tries different forms of behavior to reach the same reinforcer. Caleb's tapping, pointing, and signing are all varied attempts to get juice, and the variation can include previously mastered communication responses he had stopped using, like the drink sign. The RBT should follow the plan for honoring appropriate requests and report the change. An extinction burst is an increase in the same behavior, such as more frequent screaming. Spontaneous recovery is the return of the extinguished behavior itself after a break. Emotional responding refers to reactions such as crying or anger, not new attempts to request.