RBT Exam Prep
15 Free RBT Behavior reduction Practice Questions with Answers
Work through all 15 questions below, then open “Answer and explanation” under each one to check yourself. These go deeper than the main practice test: all four functions, DRO, DRI, DRL, extinction details, and crisis procedures.
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Functions of behavior
A client rocks back and forth when alone in his bedroom, and the rocking continues even when no one is watching or interacting with him. The most likely function is:
- A) Automatic reinforcement
- B) Attention
- C) Escape
- D) Access to tangibles
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Behavior that continues with no one around is likely maintained by its own sensory feedback, which is automatic reinforcement. B is wrong. Attention-maintained behavior needs other people present. C is wrong. Escape needs a demand to escape from. D is wrong. Tangible-maintained behavior aims at gaining an item.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Functions of behavior
A client grabs toys from peers, and the grabbing stops as soon as an adult hands him a toy of his own. The most likely function is:
- A) Access to tangibles
- B) Escape
- C) Attention
- D) Automatic reinforcement
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. When behavior starts while a desired item is absent and stops once the item arrives, the function is access to tangibles. B is wrong. Escape-maintained behavior starts with demands and stops when demands are removed. C is wrong. Attention-maintained behavior would stop with attention, not with a toy. D is wrong. Automatically reinforced behavior continues regardless of what others do.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Extinction
Tantrums had dropped to zero for three weeks under extinction. After a long weekend with no sessions, one brief tantrum occurs Monday morning, then stops on its own. This brief return is:
- A) Spontaneous recovery
- B) An extinction burst
- C) Response maintenance
- D) Behavioral contrast
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Spontaneous recovery is the brief reappearance of an extinguished behavior after time has passed. B is wrong. An extinction burst is the immediate worsening right after extinction starts, not weeks later. C is wrong. Maintenance is a learned skill lasting over time, a good thing. D is wrong. Behavioral contrast is a change in one setting when contingencies change in another setting.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Differential reinforcement
The plan reinforces the client for sitting with hands folded in his lap, a position that makes hitting impossible. Reinforcing a behavior that cannot occur at the same time as hitting is:
- A) DRI
- B) DRO
- C) DRA
- D) NCR
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. DRI, differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior, reinforces a specific replacement that physically cannot happen at the same time as the problem behavior. B is wrong. DRO reinforces the absence of hitting without teaching a specific replacement. C is wrong. DRA reinforces an alternative that could still co-occur with the problem behavior. D is wrong. NCR delivers reinforcers free on a time schedule.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Differential reinforcement
Asking for a bathroom break is appropriate, but the client asks 15 times an hour. The plan delivers praise only when bathroom requests stay at or below 2 per hour. Reinforcing lower rates of an acceptable behavior is:
- A) DRL
- B) DRO
- C) DRI
- D) Extinction
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. DRL, differential reinforcement of low rates, reduces how often an otherwise acceptable behavior occurs. B is wrong. DRO reinforces zero occurrences of a problem behavior. C is wrong. DRI needs an incompatible replacement behavior. D is wrong. Extinction withholds all reinforcement rather than reinforcing low rates.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Extinction
A client’s whining is maintained by escape from math work. To put whining on extinction, the RBT must:
- A) Keep presenting math and not let whining end the task
- B) Remove the math as soon as whining starts
- C) Give the client a different preferred task
- D) Send the client to a quiet room
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Extinction for escape-maintained behavior means the behavior no longer produces escape, so the demand continues. B is wrong. Removing the math is exactly the negative reinforcement that maintains the whining. C is wrong. Switching to a preferred task still lets whining end the math. D is wrong. A quiet room also ends the demand.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Antecedent interventions
Before table work, the RBT lets the client choose between two tasks and gives a 2-minute warning. Refusals drop sharply. Changing events before the behavior is an:
- A) Antecedent intervention
- B) Consequence intervention
- C) Punishment procedure
- D) Extinction procedure
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Antecedent interventions, like offering choices, warnings, or priming, change what comes before the behavior to prevent it. B is wrong. Consequence interventions change what follows the behavior. C is wrong. Punishment adds or removes something after behavior to decrease it. D is wrong. Extinction withholds the maintaining reinforcer.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Functional communication training
A client hits to escape loud noises. The team teaches him to hand the RBT a “quiet please” card, and hitting drops because the card works better. Teaching a communication replacement is called:
- A) Functional communication training
- B) Discrete trial training
- C) Shaping
- D) Overcorrection
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Functional communication training teaches a communicative response that serves the same function as the problem behavior. B is wrong. Discrete trial training is a structured teaching format. C is wrong. Shaping reinforces closer approximations of one response. D is wrong. Overcorrection is a punishment procedure.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Punishment
Each time the client destroys materials, the supervisor has him complete an extra 5-minute cleanup chore, and destruction decreases. Adding the chore after the behavior is:
- A) Positive punishment
- B) Negative punishment
- C) Negative reinforcement
- D) Extinction
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Positive punishment adds an aversive stimulus after a behavior to decrease it. B is wrong. Negative punishment removes something desired. C is wrong. Negative reinforcement removes something to increase behavior, but here the behavior decreased. D is wrong. Extinction withholds reinforcement rather than adding a chore.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Punishment
After the client throws toys across the room, the plan requires him to pick up every thrown toy and then practice gently handing toys to the RBT five times. This is:
- A) Overcorrection
- B) Response cost
- C) Time-out
- D) DRO
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Overcorrection includes restitution, fixing the damage by picking up the toys, plus positive practice, rehearsing the correct behavior. B is wrong. Response cost removes earned reinforcers. C is wrong. Time-out removes access to reinforcement for a period. D is wrong. DRO reinforces the absence of the problem behavior.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Crisis procedures
When a client’s aggression becomes dangerous, the written steps telling the RBT exactly what to do, who to call, and how to keep everyone safe are called the:
- A) Crisis plan
- B) Skill acquisition plan
- C) Preference assessment
- D) Task analysis
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. A crisis, or emergency, plan gives step-by-step actions for dangerous behavior, and the RBT follows it exactly. B is wrong. A skill acquisition plan teaches new skills. C is wrong. A preference assessment ranks liked items. D is wrong. A task analysis lists the steps of a skill.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Ethics of behavior reduction
Two procedures would both reduce the behavior, but one uses brief time-out and the other uses only extra praise for good behavior. The team should choose the praise procedure because plans must use the:
- A) Least restrictive effective procedure
- B) Most intensive procedure
- C) Fastest procedure regardless of intrusiveness
- D) Procedure the parents like best
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Ethics require the least restrictive, or least intrusive, procedure that will be effective, with reinforcement-based approaches tried first. B is wrong. More intensive is not better when a gentler procedure works. C is wrong. Speed never overrides the intrusiveness rule. D is wrong. Parent preference does not decide; effectiveness and least restrictiveness do.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Ethics of behavior reduction
Before the team may use a punishment procedure, it must first:
- A) Try reinforcement-based procedures and document their effects
- B) Get the client’s permission
- C) Stop all teaching
- D) Wait for the behavior to get worse
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Punishment is only considered after reinforcement-based procedures have been tried, or considered and documented as insufficient, and it must be designed by the supervisor with proper consent processes. B is wrong. Guardians consent to procedures, not the client, and consent alone does not skip the reinforcement-first rule. C is wrong. Teaching continues. D is wrong. Waiting for worsening is never the plan.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Extinction
The team plans to use extinction for a client’s head-banging. They must prepare for safety first because extinction can cause:
- A) A temporary burst with more intense behavior and new forms
- B) Immediate permanent elimination of the behavior
- C) The client to learn a replacement skill on his own
- D) Satiation on the reinforcer
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Extinction often produces a burst, a temporary increase in intensity or frequency, plus new topographies, which is dangerous with head-banging, so safety planning comes first. B is wrong. Extinction reduces behavior gradually, not instantly. C is wrong. Replacement skills must be taught directly, such as with DRA or functional communication training. D is wrong. Satiation is overexposure to the reinforcer, a different process.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
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Antecedent interventions
A client repeatedly flicks the light switch for the sensory feedback. The RBT gently covers the switch before the client’s hand arrives, so the flick never happens. Preventing the response before it occurs is:
- A) An antecedent intervention (response blocking)
- B) Extinction
- C) Positive punishment
- D) Negative reinforcement
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
A is correct. Blocking the response before it occurs changes the antecedent conditions so the behavior, and its sensory payoff, never happens. B is wrong. Extinction withholds the reinforcer after the behavior occurs. C is wrong. Positive punishment adds an aversive stimulus after behavior. D is wrong. Negative reinforcement removes something to increase behavior.
Source: BACB RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior reduction (B); RBT Handbook.
Sources
- BACB RBT Test Content Outline, 3rd edition (effective January 2026). Defines the exam domains; the Behavior reduction questions on this page are drawn from domain B.
- BACB RBT Handbook. Covers eligibility, the 40-hour training, the Competency Assessment, supervision, and exam policies referenced in these explanations.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by the BACB.