Free BCBA Practice Exam: 185 Questions With Explanations

Correct answer: C. In a resetting-interval DRO, any occurrence of the target behavior restarts the interval. Reinforcement requires a full interval with no occurrences.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Partial intervals don't earn reinforcement in this arrangement.
• B. Continuing the timer ignores the reset rule and would reinforce an interval that contained nail-biting.
• D. Checking only at the end of the interval describes a momentary DRO, which isn't the plan here.

Review takeaway: In a resetting DRO, any occurrence of the behavior restarts the clock.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.2 · Item BCBA6-G01

Sources: EBIP (Chazin & Ledford), Differential Reinforcement, Types: DRO (interval vs. momentary; timer restart); Repp, Barton & Brulle (1983), A comparison of two procedures for programming the differential reinforcement of other behaviors, Abstract (momentary vs. whole-interval DRO); Vollmer et al. (1993), The role of attention in the treatment of attention-maintained self-injurious behavior, Abstract

Correct answer: A. A response class is a group of responses that share a common function, such as producing the same reinforcer, even when they look different. Function-based teaching relies on this: a new response can replace an old one when it produces the same outcome.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. A stimulus class is a group of stimuli, not responses.
• C. In a chain, each response produces the stimulus for the next. These responses are alternatives that each produce the snack.
• D. The responses differ in form (pointing, handing, speaking), so their topography isn't identical.

Review takeaway: Different forms with the same function make up a response class.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.1 · Item BCBA6-B01

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task B.1; Derby, Fisher & Piazza (1996), The effects of contingent and noncontingent attention on self-injury and self-restraint, Abstract (members of one functional response class); Tiger, Hanley & Bruzek (2008), Functional communication training: A review and practical guide, Abstract; Michael, Palmer & Sundberg (2011), The multiple control of verbal behavior, pp. 4–8, verbal relations and their controlling variables

Correct answer: B. Records help identify what to look for, but conditions change. The Code requires assessments that meet the client's current needs before behavior-change interventions are selected.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A three-year-old conclusion may no longer hold, and skipping current assessment conflicts with 2.13.
• C. Historical records are relevant sources at the outset of a case.
• D. Caregiver impressions are indirect information and don't confirm current function.

Review takeaway: Old findings are hypotheses for today's assessment, not conclusions.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.1 · Item BCBA6-F01

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task F.1 (educational, medical, historical records); BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.13

Correct answer: C. The Code describes integrity as including not misrepresenting one's work, not engaging in fraud, and correcting errors in a timely way. An inaccurate submission falls squarely there.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Compassion and respect matter in how the conversation happens, but the duty to correct the record comes from integrity.
• B. Benefiting others is a broad principle; the specific duty to correct misrepresentation is described under integrity.
• D. Competence concerns scope and skills, not truthful records.

Review takeaway: Misrepresentation and correcting errors fall under integrity.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.1 · Item BCBA6-E01

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, Core Principles, 3. Behave with Integrity; 1.01

Correct answer: D. Examples and non-examples show observers exactly where the boundary of the definition lies, which reduces the judgment calls that cause disagreement.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The reason for the behavior is a hypothesis, not part of what observers should record.
• B. Relying on judgment is what produces disagreement in the first place.
• C. Inferring how Wanda feels does not give observers a shared rule for scoring whether she left the work area.

Review takeaway: Examples and non-examples mark the edges of a definition.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.1 · Item BCBA6-C01

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. iv–v, Operational Definitions and observer drift

Correct answer: A. A measurable goal names what the person does, the conditions, and a criterion that can be scored.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Understanding can't be observed directly.
• C. This goal does not specify how confidence or calm will be measured.
• D. "Improve" and "community skills" are too vague to score.

Review takeaway: A measurable goal states the behavior, the conditions, and the criterion.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.1 · Item BCBA6-H01

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, p. iv, observable and measurable definitions

Correct answer: B. The outline's task on supervision benefits gives examples including improved client outcomes and improved staff performance and retention.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. No supervision practice guarantees funding approval.
• C. Supervision depends on data. It doesn't replace data collection.
• D. Supervision includes training.

Review takeaway: Supervision's benefits show up in client outcomes and staff performance.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.1 · Item BCBA6-I01

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.1

Correct answer: C. The independent variable is what the researcher manipulates (the schedule). The dependent variable is the measured outcome (latency).

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. This reverses the two variables.
• B. The clients are the cases being studied. They aren't manipulated.
• D. Neither of these is manipulated or measured as the study's outcome.

Review takeaway: Independent variable: what you change. Dependent variable: what you measure.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.1 · Item BCBA6-D01

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 2, 14 (independent variable manipulated; outcome measured)

Correct answer: D. The original observation only noticed that two events tend to occur together. Repeatedly introducing and withdrawing the variable, with behavior changing each time, is an experimental demonstration of a functional relation, which is what control means.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The team had already described the behavior; the ABAB comparison goes further by manipulating a variable.
• B. The first observation already supported a prediction (lower hand-mouthing on that staff member's days). Prediction without manipulation doesn't show cause.
• C. Generality is a dimension of applied behavior analysis, not one of the three goals of the science, and nothing here tests other settings.

Review takeaway: Correlation supports prediction; repeated manipulation with replicated change supports control.

Domain A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations · Task A.1 · Item BCBA6-A01

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task A.1 (goals: description, prediction, control); Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 2–3, experimental control through introduction and withdrawal

Correct answer: A. Differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL) reinforces responding that stays at or below a criterion. It fits a behavior that is acceptable at lower rates.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. DRO makes reinforcement depend on the absence of the behavior during the specified interval, rather than directly reinforcing an acceptable low rate.
• C. Extinction discontinues the maintaining reinforcement; it does not specify the acceptable low-rate criterion requested here.
• D. DRA reinforces an alternative response. The stated goal is to preserve occasional comments of this kind while reducing their rate.

Review takeaway: Want less of a behavior, not none? Consider DRL.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.2 · Item BCBA6-G02

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task G.2; Austin & Bevan (2011), Using differential reinforcement of low rates to reduce children's requests for teacher attention, Abstract (DRL limit set below baseline while keeping access to help); Deitz & Repp (1973), Decreasing classroom misbehavior through the use of DRL schedules of reinforcement, Abstract; EBIP (Chazin & Ledford), Differential Reinforcement, Types: DRO and DRA (for contrast)

Correct answer: B. These images form a stimulus class with respect to the common response, "dog," despite their physical differences. Stimuli can also be grouped by shared physical features or by relations established through learning.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The four images are physically different stimuli, not one stimulus repeated.
• C. "Dog" is the response. The images are the stimuli.
• D. The stem describes which stimuli occasion the label, not a change in the reinforcing value of an outcome.

Review takeaway: Physically different stimuli that evoke the same response form a stimulus class.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.2 · Item BCBA6-B02

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task B.2; Sidman & Tailby (1982), Conditional discrimination vs. matching to sample, Abstract (members of a stimulus class)

Correct answer: C. Assessments should fit the client's needs and context, and the Code supports consulting other providers when that serves the client. Spoken-only instructions could make a hearing impairment look like a skill deficit.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Many assessment tasks depend on the client receiving the instructions.
• B. Adapting the assessment is better than delaying it indefinitely.
• D. Scoring errors caused by inaccessible instructions would produce invalid results.

Review takeaway: Use records to design an assessment the client can actually access.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.1 · Item BCBA6-F02

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.13, 3.06; BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task F.1

Correct answer: D. Under the competence principle, the Code lists remaining knowledgeable and current about interventions, including pseudoscience, that may exist in one's practice area and pose a risk of harm.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Integrity covers honesty and accountability, not staying current on interventions.
• B. Benefiting others is related, but staying current on interventions is listed under competence.
• C. Respect for others' choices is relevant, but the knowledge requirement sits under competence.

Review takeaway: Knowing about risky, unsupported interventions is part of ensuring competence.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.1 · Item BCBA6-E02

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, Core Principles, 4. Ensure their Competence

Correct answer: A. A good operational definition describes what the person does, in terms that can be seen and counted or timed, rather than what the person fails to do or supposedly feels.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Noncompletion can be measured, but this option does not define the active engagement the question asks observers to score.
• C. Motivation is an inference, not something observers can see.
• D. "A lot" isn't measurable, and the definition still doesn't say what Omar does.

Review takeaway: Say what the person does, in terms two observers could count or time.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.1 · Item BCBA6-C02

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, p. iv, Operational Definitions

Correct answer: B. Observers need to know what counts as asking for help, when it applies, and how success will be judged.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Reasons don't make a goal measurable.
• C. Strengths are useful context but don't define the goal.
• D. Relying on judgment is what makes scoring inconsistent.

Review takeaway: Replace vague words like "appropriately" with a specific response, conditions, and a criterion.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.1 · Item BCBA6-H02

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, p. iv, Operational Definitions

Correct answer: C. The Code asks supervisors to evaluate their effectiveness using performance data from both supervisees and clients.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Attendance doesn't show changes in performance.
• B. Satisfaction is useful feedback but not evidence of benefit to the client.
• D. Hours logged measure effort, not effect.

Review takeaway: Judge supervision by changes in supervisee performance and client outcomes.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.1 · Item BCBA6-I02

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.10

Correct answer: D. The consequence is contingent on an accurate entry and delivered promptly. Check whether accurate entries actually increase: a valued consequence is a candidate reinforcer, not proof that reinforcement has occurred. Thinning the schedule once performance is steady can support maintenance.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A consequence that isn't tied to accuracy can't selectively strengthen accurate entries.
• B. A long delay weakens the link between the behavior and its consequence.
• C. Removing preferred duties is not positive reinforcement; whether it functions as punishment depends on its effect on the behavior.

Review takeaway: Arrange a prompt, contingent consequence, then verify that accurate performance increases.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.1 · Item BCBA6-G03

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Reinforcement; Reinforcement Schedules (timing; continuous then partial); BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.06

Correct answer: C. The whir was paired with a stimulus that already elicited a heart-rate change, so it now elicits that change itself. That is respondent (Pavlovian) conditioning. Hand-raising is strengthened because it produces a consequence: the uncomfortable procedure stops.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The heart-rate change comes from stimulus pairing, not from what follows it.
• B. Hand-raising increased because of what followed it, which is operant learning.
• D. This reverses the two processes.

Review takeaway: Respondent: stimulus–stimulus pairing. Operant: responses shaped by their consequences.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.3 · Item BCBA6-B03

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Table 6.1, classical vs. operant conditioning; Reinforcement

Correct answer: A. Relevant cultural variables should be built into assessment. The Code asks analysts to design assessments that fit the client's context and to involve stakeholders.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Scoring the item as a deficit ignores the cultural context the family described.
• C. One item doesn't make the whole assessment unusable.
• D. Imposing the analyst's norm disregards the family's input.

Review takeaway: Interpret assessment results in light of the family's cultural context.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.2 · Item BCBA6-F03

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task F.2; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.13, 1.07, 2.09

Correct answer: B. External validity is whether the results hold for other people, settings, or conditions. In single-case research, it is built by replicating across participants and settings.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Internal validity is whether the procedure caused the change in this study. The replicated effect already addresses that.
• C. Interobserver agreement concerns the reliability of measurement.
• D. Treatment integrity concerns whether the procedure was implemented as planned.

Review takeaway: Did it cause the change here? Internal validity. Will it work elsewhere? External validity.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.2 · Item BCBA6-D02

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 4–5 and n. 4 (replication across participants and settings)

Correct answer: A. The Code requires public statements about professional activities to be truthful and not exaggerated, and it addresses social media directly. The BACB enforces the Code to protect clients and stakeholders, certificants, and the profession.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. The Code expressly covers public statements and social media use.
• C. Each analyst is responsible for statements about their own professional activities.
• D. The risk exists whether or not anyone complains.

Review takeaway: Unethical behavior creates risk for clients, for the analyst, and for the profession.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.2 · Item BCBA6-E03

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 5.03, 5.10; Enforcement of the Code

Correct answer: B. The made bed is a lasting product of the bed-making behavior. It can be scored later without watching the behavior as it happens.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. No one watches the bed-making as it happens.
• C. Staff observe the outcome themselves rather than relying on someone else's report.
• D. Latency is the time from a stimulus to the start of a response, and no time is recorded here.

Review takeaway: When you score the result a behavior leaves behind, you are using a product measure.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.2 · Item BCBA6-C03

Sources: University of Kansas Special Connections, Permanent Product Measurement, Definition and advantages

Correct answer: D. Measurable goals need a clear definition and measurement. Plans that reduce a behavior should also define an appropriate replacement behavior to increase.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. "A lot" makes the goal less measurable.
• B. Removing the goal leaves the problem unaddressed.
• C. Adding a timeline doesn't define the behavior or the measurement.

Review takeaway: Define the reduction target and the useful replacement skill the plan will teach.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.1 · Item BCBA6-H03

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, p. iv, target and replacement behavior

Correct answer: D. The outline names supervisor-supervisee contracts and clear expectations as strategies for an effective supervisory relationship, and the Code requires defining and documenting professional roles in writing.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Informal arrangements leave room for confusion.
• B. A schedule alone doesn't define expectations.
• C. Billing details don't define the supervisory relationship.

Review takeaway: Put roles and expectations in writing from the start.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.2 · Item BCBA6-I03

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.2 (contracts, clear expectations); BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.04

Correct answer: B. A negative reinforcement procedure removes an aversive condition, here the task, contingent on the target response. The planned break is intended to strengthen task completion using the same type of reinforcer that maintains the problem behavior; data must show that completion increases.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Time-based breaks aren't contingent on task completion.
• C. Breaks after problem behavior reinforce the problem behavior.
• D. Removing all breaks eliminates the reinforcer the procedure depends on.

Review takeaway: Make the break contingent on the behavior you want.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.1 · Item BCBA6-G04

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Reinforcement (negative reinforcement); Tiger, Hanley & Bruzek (2008), Functional communication training: A review and practical guide, Abstract

Correct answer: D. Closing the window removes the alert, and the closing response increases. Removal followed by an increase in behavior is negative reinforcement.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Positive reinforcement would require something to be added after the response.
• B. Negative punishment removes a stimulus and decreases behavior. Here the behavior increased.
• C. Positive punishment adds a stimulus and decreases behavior. Here nothing was added and the behavior increased.

Review takeaway: Decide first whether behavior went up or down, then whether a stimulus was added or removed.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.4 · Item BCBA6-B04

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Reinforcement; Table 6.2

Correct answer: D. Knowing the family's routines and norms helps the analyst observe typical conditions and interpret what they see accurately.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Convenient times may miss the situations where the behavior actually happens.
• B. Changing routines produces unrepresentative data.
• C. Clinic data may not reflect conditions at home.

Review takeaway: Learn the family's routines first so the observation represents their home.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.2 · Item BCBA6-F04

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.13, 2.09

Correct answer: B. The Code limits practice to one's scope of competence. New areas require documented training or consultation first, and otherwise the work should be referred.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Certification doesn't make someone competent in every area.
• C. Taking on the work without preparation or documentation conflicts with 1.05.
• D. Calling the work experimental doesn't make up for missing competence.

Review takeaway: A credential isn't competence in every area. Build it, document it, or refer.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.3 · Item BCBA6-E04

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.05, 1.06

Correct answer: C. Rating scales and interviews depend on someone's memory and report rather than direct observation of the behavior. Consistent direct observation gives a clearer picture than memory-based reports.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A rating scale isn't a lasting product of the behavior itself.
• B. The weekly scale is a retrospective estimate, not a continuous record of each observed episode. The caregiver may have seen the episodes, but this measure still depends on recall.
• D. The scale estimates how often arguing occurs; it says nothing about latency.

Review takeaway: Reports and ratings are indirect. Confirm important decisions with direct observation.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.2 · Item BCBA6-C04

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 1–3, direct observation and event recording

Correct answer: A. Determinism is the assumption that events, including behavior, occur in lawful, orderly relation to other events rather than by chance. The supervisor rejects "random" behavior on exactly that basis.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Pragmatism concerns judging ideas by whether they lead to useful, practical outcomes; the supervisor is talking about lawfulness.
• C. Mentalism explains behavior by appeal to inner mental causes. It is not an assumption of behavior analysis, and the supervisor points to the environment instead.
• D. Parsimony means ruling out simpler explanations before complex ones; the supervisor's point is that an explanation exists at all.

Review takeaway: Determinism: behavior is lawful, so its controlling relations can be found.

Domain A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations · Task A.2 · Item BCBA6-A02

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task A.2 (lists selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, pragmatism); Skinner (1953), Science and Human Behavior (B. F. Skinner Foundation PDF), ch. I, p. 6 (behavior assumed lawful and determined); ch. II, p. 13

Correct answer: C. Fixed-time schedules are response-independent, which is why they are used in noncontingent reinforcement. Fixed-interval schedules reinforce the first qualifying response after the fixed interval has elapsed.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Only FI requires a response.
• B. A set number of responses defines a fixed-ratio schedule.
• D. Unpredictable timing would be a variable-time schedule.

Review takeaway: Time-based schedules deliver stimuli regardless of behavior; interval schedules still require a response.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.3 · Item BCBA6-G05

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task G.3 (fixed-time, variable-time); OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Table 6.3 (fixed interval); Vollmer et al. (1993), The role of attention in the treatment of attention-maintained self-injurious behavior, Abstract (noncontingent reinforcement)

Correct answer: C. The Code requires interventions that are based on evidence and assessment and that best fit the client's and stakeholders' needs, context, and resources, including how feasible they are to implement.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Research support alone doesn't guarantee an intervention will be implemented well.
• B. Recommending something the family can't carry out invites poor integrity.
• D. Waiting delays services when a feasible option exists.

Review takeaway: Among supported options, contextual fit decides.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.2 · Item BCBA6-H04

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.14

Correct answer: A. Timely, specific feedback paired with modeling and practice helps staff improve. The Code requires timely feedback on performance.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Vague praise doesn't address the error.
• C. Waiting months delays correction.
• D. Public criticism is disrespectful and doesn't describe how to improve.

Review takeaway: Feedback should be timely, specific, and paired with practice.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.2 · Item BCBA6-I04

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.08; Parsons, Rollyson & Reid (2012), Evidence-based staff training: A guide for practitioners, Abstract

Correct answer: A. History is an event occurring at the same time as the intervention that could cause the change. A school-wide schedule change in the same week is exactly that kind of event.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Maturation is change associated with the passage of time within the participant. The stated alternative explanation is an outside schedule change, not such a participant change.
• C. Regression concerns participants selected because of extreme scores; nothing indicates that.
• D. Testing is change caused by repeated exposure to the measurement itself.

Review takeaway: A concurrent outside event is a history threat, and simple AB designs can't rule it out.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.3 · Item BCBA6-D03

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), p. 9, History

Correct answer: B. A preferred stimulus (the shift) is removed after the behavior (a late note), and that behavior decreases. That is negative punishment.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Negative reinforcement increases behavior, and late submissions went down.
• C. Positive punishment adds a stimulus after the behavior; here something was taken away.
• D. Extinction means the behavior stops producing the reinforcer that maintained it. Here a separate preferred item is removed as a consequence.

Review takeaway: Removal followed by a decrease in behavior is negative punishment.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.5 · Item BCBA6-B05

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Punishment; Table 6.2

Correct answer: C. Observing the client do the task and scoring each step against a task analysis shows exactly which steps are independent and which need teaching.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Recall-based checklists are indirect and may be inaccurate.
• B. An interview is also indirect.
• D. An IQ test doesn't measure step-by-step handwashing performance.

Review takeaway: To know what someone can do, watch them do it, one step at a time.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.3 · Item BCBA6-F05

Sources: AFIRM / NPDC (2015), Task Analysis: Step-by-Step Guidelines, PDF pp. 6–8; Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 2–3, direct event recording

Correct answer: D. When service-delivery data may be shared with the scientific community, the Code requires informed consent before dissemination. It also requires protecting confidentiality in all public statements.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Removing a name doesn't satisfy the consent requirement.
• B. The employer can't give consent on the client's behalf.
• C. No exemption applies to presentations.

Review takeaway: Disseminating service-delivery data to the scientific community requires informed consent first, even when the graph has no name.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.4 · Item BCBA6-E05

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 6.04, 5.02, 2.04

Correct answer: A. Tokens gain their value from what they can be traded for. Backing them with several reinforcers makes their effect less dependent on any one item or motivating condition.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. A single backup reinforcer makes the whole system vulnerable to satiation on that item.
• C. Early, frequent exchanges help establish the tokens' value; a long delay slows that down.
• D. New tokens with no established reinforcing history and no exchange arrangement have not been given the planned source of conditioned value.

Review takeaway: Tokens are worth what they can buy. Offer variety.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.4 · Item BCBA6-G06

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Primary and Secondary Reinforcers (tokens; token economies); Skinner (1953), Science and Human Behavior, ch. V, pp. 77–81, generalized conditioned reinforcement

Correct answer: B. Rate is the count divided by the observation time: 6 ÷ 20 = 0.3, 9 ÷ 45 = 0.2, and 4 ÷ 10 = 0.4 requests per minute. The 10-minute observation had the highest rate.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Comparing raw counts ignores the different observation lengths.
• C. 0.3 per minute is lower than 0.4 per minute.
• D. The converted rates are 0.3, 0.2, and 0.4, which aren't equal.

Review takeaway: When observation lengths differ, compare rates, not counts.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.3 · Item BCBA6-C05

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 2–3, event recording and rate; Graphing Data, For Your Information

Correct answer: C. Behavior analysts provide services based on scientific evidence and advocate for evidence-based procedures. The appropriate response is to explain the evidence and offer supported options, not to imply that an unsupported procedure is established treatment. Separately, nonbehavioral services must not be presented as behavioral services.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Family preference matters, but it doesn't turn an unsupported procedure into an appropriate behavioral service.
• B. Recording the procedure as behavioral does not supply evidence or justify its use. If it is nonbehavioral, that label also misrepresents the service.
• D. Ending services abruptly skips education and alternatives.

Review takeaway: Explain the evidence and offer supported options; a label doesn't establish scientific support.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.2 · Item BCBA6-H05

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.01, 3.12, 5.06

Correct answer: D. Persistence across repeated alone sessions without social consequences makes automatic reinforcement the strongest working hypothesis among these options. High, undifferentiated results are not, by themselves, proof that social reinforcement plays no role; the analyst still examines the full pattern and possible assessment limitations.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. High responding in attention alone is not enough: responding is also high without attention or another person present.
• B. High responding during demands alone is not enough: the behavior also persists without demands.
• C. Undifferentiated data don't show the absence of reinforcement; persistence without social consequences points toward reinforcement produced by the behavior itself.

Review takeaway: High, undifferentiated responding that includes the alone condition points toward automatic reinforcement.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.6 · Item BCBA6-B06

Sources: Iwata et al. (1982/1994), Toward a functional analysis of self-injury, Abstract (analogue conditions); Hanley, Iwata & McCord (2003), Functional analysis of problem behavior: A review, Abstract; Cox & Friedel (2022), Toward an automation of functional analysis interpretation: A proof of concept, pp. 149–150 and 153–159, test/control patterns, multiple maintaining variables, and limitations of classification

Correct answer: A. The Code asks supervisors to address performance problems by developing, implementing, and documenting an improvement plan with explicit steps.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Ending supervision abruptly skips problem-solving.
• C. Ignoring the problem doesn't address it.
• D. Reporting isn't the first step for a performance problem that hasn't been addressed.

Review takeaway: Address supervision problems directly, with a documented plan.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.2 · Item BCBA6-I05

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.08

Correct answer: B. Checklist results depend on the caregiver's recall and interpretation. Directly observing a skill confirms whether the client actually performs it.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Level of detail isn't the core concern.
• C. A checklist doesn't measure latency.
• D. Checklist results can be graphed. The issue is how accurate they are.

Review takeaway: Confirm indirect assessment results with direct observation before choosing targets.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.3 · Item BCBA6-F06

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 1–3, direct observation

Correct answer: C. Confidential information may be shared only with informed consent or under the specific circumstances the Code lists, such as protecting someone from harm or being legally compelled.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A summary is still confidential information.
• B. Being a professional doesn't authorize access to a client's information.
• D. A promise of confidentiality doesn't replace consent.

Review takeaway: No consent and no listed exception means no disclosure.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.4 · Item BCBA6-E06

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.04, 2.11

Correct answer: D. The chosen activity makes glue more valuable as a means of completing the collage and can evoke requests that have produced glue before. That is a learned, value-altering effect. The availability of glue for a request is held constant, so the contrast is not simply whether a staff member will provide it.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Finishing the activity removes the immediate need for glue rather than establishing it.
• B. Changing the person who responds does not, by itself, make glue more valuable.
• C. Hearing the word may prompt a vocal response, but it does not establish a need for glue in the activity.

Review takeaway: Teach requests around a chosen activity that makes the requested item useful—not by withholding basic needs.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.5 · Item BCBA6-G07

Sources: Michael (1982), Distinguishing between discriminative and motivational functions of stimuli, Abstract

Correct answer: A. Brief responses with a clear start and finish are well suited to event recording. Because the lessons are equal in length, the counts can be compared directly, or converted to rates.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Whole-interval recording is designed for behavior that continues through whole intervals; it would miss most brief hand-raises.
• C. Duration recording answers how long a behavior lasts, which isn't the question for a brief response.
• D. Latency measures time from a cue to the start of a response, not how often hand-raising occurs.

Review takeaway: Brief behavior with a clear start and end: count it.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.3 · Item BCBA6-C06

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 2–3, frequency/event recording

Correct answer: D. Cases chosen because of an extreme score tend to score less extremely the next time they are measured, even without intervention. A drop after an unusual week may be regression rather than a treatment effect.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. History requires an outside event occurring at the same time, and none is described.
• B. Attrition is loss of participants or data.
• C. Instrumentation is a change in how measurement is done.

Review takeaway: Selected on an extreme week? Expect some return toward typical levels regardless of treatment.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.3 · Item BCBA6-D04

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 9–10, Statistical Regression

Correct answer: C. The points acquired reinforcing value through exchange for backup reinforcers. Because they can be traded for several different outcomes, their effect is less dependent on any single motivating condition, such as hunger; it is not independent of all motivating operations.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Unconditioned reinforcers, such as food or warmth, work without a learning history. Points had to be learned.
• B. These points are backed by several reinforcers, not just one.
• D. Automatic reinforcement is produced by the behavior itself, not delivered by staff.

Review takeaway: A learned reinforcer backed by many other reinforcers is a generalized conditioned reinforcer.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.7 · Item BCBA6-B07

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Primary and Secondary Reinforcers (money; token economies); Skinner (1953), Science and Human Behavior, ch. V, pp. 77–81, generalized conditioned reinforcement

Correct answer: B. Function-based interventions arrange the maintaining reinforcer, here attention, for an appropriate alternative response and reduce its delivery after problem behavior.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Escape extinction targets escape-maintained behavior.
• C. Breaks address escape, not attention.
• D. Removing preferred items is a response-cost arrangement; it does not teach an alternative way to obtain the attention identified in the assessment.

Review takeaway: Match the intervention to the reinforcer the assessment identified.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.2 · Item BCBA6-H06

Sources: Tiger, Hanley & Bruzek (2008), Functional communication training: A review and practical guide, Abstract; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.14 (based on assessment results); Ghaemmaghami, Hanley & Jessel (2021), Functional communication training: From efficacy to effectiveness, pp. 122–123, functionally equivalent communication, response efficiency, and practical implementation

Correct answer: A. Verbal operants are functionally independent: a word learned as a tact may not occur as a mand without its own teaching and motivating conditions.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Knowing a word in one function doesn't ensure it will occur in another.
• C. The absence of requests does not establish intentional refusal. Check the relevant motivating conditions, opportunities, and requesting skills.
• D. Labeling and requesting have different controlling variables, so labeling alone does not answer the requesting question.

Review takeaway: Being able to label an item doesn't mean being able to request it. Assess each operant.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.3 · Item BCBA6-F07

Sources: Sautter & LeBlanc (2006), Empirical applications of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior with humans, Introduction (each operant a separate, independent product of its controlling variables); Michael, Palmer & Sundberg (2011), The multiple control of verbal behavior, pp. 4–8, verbal relations and their controlling variables

Correct answer: B. The Code prohibits discrimination and requires behavior analysts to examine their biases. Equitable supervision uses fair, consistent criteria.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Supervisory authority doesn't allow biased assignments.
• C. Fairness shouldn't depend on complaints.
• D. Expecting supervisees to adapt to bias gets responsibility backward.

Review takeaway: Fair criteria and bias checks make supervision equitable.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.3 · Item BCBA6-I06

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.08, 1.10; BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.3

Correct answer: C. Parsimony means ruling out the simplest adequate explanation, the one with the fewest assumptions, before turning to more complex or abstract ones. Testing the observable seating change first applies that directly.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Selectionism concerns how consequences select behavior over time; it doesn't address the order in which explanations are tested.
• B. Pragmatism judges ideas by their practical results. The stated reason for the order here is fewer assumptions, which is parsimony.
• D. Methodological behaviorism is a philosophical position concerning publicly observable subject matter. The stated reason for choosing this explanation is fewer assumptions, which is parsimony.

Review takeaway: When you choose the explanation with fewer assumptions to test first, that's parsimony.

Domain A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations · Task A.2 · Item BCBA6-A03

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task A.2; Skinner (1953), Science and Human Behavior (B. F. Skinner Foundation PDF), ch. III, pp. 27 and 34-35 (invented inner causes; explanations more complex than needed)

Correct answer: B. Stimuli come to control behavior when reinforcement is available in their presence. When new staff consistently reinforce compliance, their presence can begin to occasion compliance too.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Without reinforcement, new staff won't come to signal that reinforcement is available.
• C. Keeping one therapist present avoids the problem instead of solving it.
• D. Deprivation is a motivating operation, not a way to build stimulus control by new staff.

Review takeaway: Build stimulus control by making reinforcement available in the new stimulus's presence.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.5 · Item BCBA6-G08

Sources: Michael (1982), Distinguishing between discriminative and motivational functions of stimuli, Abstract (discriminative stimulus); Tiger (2026), Teaching communication skills, slides 24–29 and 35–40, accessible communication, generalization programming, and reinforcement arrangements

Correct answer: A. The Code requires steps to prevent accidental or inadvertent sharing of confidential information, including in verbal communication.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Being authorized to know the information doesn't make it acceptable to discuss it where others can overhear.
• C. A client's name and case details are confidential with or without a diagnosis.
• D. The duty is to prevent disclosure in the first place, not to react after it happens.

Review takeaway: Authorized people still need a private place to talk.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.4 · Item BCBA6-E07

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.03

Correct answer: D. The two gaps are 30 seconds (10:02:10 to 10:02:40) and 75 seconds (10:03:00 to 10:04:15). Their mean is (30 + 75) ÷ 2 = 52.5 seconds.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. 105 seconds is the total of the two gaps, not their mean.
• B. 30 seconds is only the first gap.
• C. 35 seconds comes from dividing 105 by three episodes instead of by the two measured gaps.

Review takeaway: For the episode-gap measure used here, time from the end of one response to the start of the next. Average the gaps, not the timestamps.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.4 · Item BCBA6-C07

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task C.4 (interresponse time); Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 11–16, timing procedures; the item explicitly defines its episode-gap convention; Ary & Suen (1983), The use of momentary time sampling to assess both frequency and duration of behavior, pp. 145–147, behavior occurrence and intervening nonoccurrence periods; arithmetic uses the timestamps in this item; Ary & Suen (1983), The use of momentary time sampling to assess both frequency and duration of behavior, pp. 144–149, sampling definitions, episode gaps, and limitations

Correct answer: A. The statement acquired a punishing function by being paired with an existing punisher (loss of recess). It now decreases the behavior it follows even without that pairing, so it is a conditioned punisher.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Unconditioned punishers work without any learning history. This statement only works because of past pairings.
• C. The statement decreases the behavior it follows, so it isn't functioning as a reinforcer.
• D. The question is about what the statement does to the behavior it follows, not about changing the value of recess.

Review takeaway: A stimulus that becomes punishing through pairing with other punishers is a conditioned punisher.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.8 · Item BCBA6-B08

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task B.8; OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Primary and Secondary Reinforcers (learned vs. unlearned consequences); Punishment; Skinner (1953), Science and Human Behavior, ch. XII, pp. 185–188, conditioned aversive effects; Hake & Azrin (1965), Conditioned punishment, Abstract, response-contingent conditioned stimuli and reduced responding; the classroom scenario is illustrative, not an endorsed intervention

Correct answer: D. A replacement behavior should produce the same reinforcer as the problem behavior. Here that reinforcer is access to the toy.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A sticker doesn't give the client access to the toy.
• B. Praise is a different reinforcer.
• C. An apology doesn't produce access, and it follows the problem behavior instead of replacing it.

Review takeaway: A replacement behavior should get the client the same thing the problem behavior did.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.3 · Item BCBA6-H07

Sources: Tiger, Hanley & Bruzek (2008), Functional communication training: A review and practical guide, Abstract; IRIS Center, Measuring Behavior (case study), Introduction (replacement behavior serves the same function); Ghaemmaghami, Hanley & Jessel (2021), Functional communication training: From efficacy to effectiveness, pp. 122–123, functionally equivalent communication, response efficiency, and practical implementation

Correct answer: D. Presenting an array and removing each chosen item from later trials produces a ranking of the items. That describes the MSWO format.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Paired-stimulus presents two items at a time.
• B. Free-operant assessment gives continuous access to items without discrete selection trials.
• C. In a with-replacement format, the chosen item goes back into the array for later trials.

Review takeaway: Array presented, chosen item removed: MSWO.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.4 · Item BCBA6-F08

Sources: EBIP (Chazin & Ledford), Multiple Stimulus without Replacement Preference Assessment, Procedure overview

Correct answer: C. In a conditional discrimination, which comparison is correct depends on the sample, here the spoken instruction. The same object is right on one trial and wrong on another.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. When the same card is always correct, it is a simple discrimination.
• B. Repeating a word is echoic behavior.
• D. Copying a movement is imitation.

Review takeaway: If the correct choice depends on a sample, the trial is a conditional discrimination.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.6 · Item BCBA6-G09

Sources: Sidman & Tailby (1982), Conditional discrimination vs. matching to sample, Abstract (conditional relations: if A1, then B1)

Correct answer: B. Single-case designs compare a case's own repeated measurements across baseline and intervention phases, so the case provides its own comparison.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Random assignment to groups is a feature of group designs.
• C. Measuring only once before and once after lacks the repeated measurement single-case designs rely on.
• D. Comparing group means belongs to group designs; single-case data are usually evaluated through visual analysis.

Review takeaway: Single-case design: the case is its own control, measured repeatedly.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.4 · Item BCBA6-D05

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task D.4 (defining features); Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), p. 2 and p. 14, features of single-case designs

Correct answer: C. Equitable supervision means supervisees have equivalent opportunities to participate and learn. The Code prohibits discrimination based on disability.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Excusing the supervisee withholds supervision.
• B. Notes afterward aren't equivalent to participating.
• D. Simply shifting the problem to the supervisee does not ensure access. The supervisor should work with the supervisee and organization to arrange effective participation.

Review takeaway: Equitable supervision includes access to full participation.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.3 · Item BCBA6-I07

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.08, 4.06; BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.3

Correct answer: B. Behavior analysts are responsible for public statements that promote their professional activities, even when someone else creates them, and must make reasonable efforts to correct deceptive statements. Statements must be truthful and not exaggerated.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The Code assigns responsibility regardless of who wrote the statement.
• C. A disclaimer leaves a misleading claim in place.
• D. The duty applies when the analyst learns of the statement, not when a complaint arrives.

Review takeaway: If a statement promotes your work, you are responsible for correcting it when it's misleading.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.5 · Item BCBA6-E08

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 5.03, 5.04

Correct answer: A. A variable-interval schedule reinforces the first qualifying response after a varying amount of time has elapsed. The requirement here is elapsed time followed by an accurate entry, not a certain number of entries.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. A fixed-interval schedule uses a constant interval. These intervals vary.
• C. A variable-ratio schedule varies the number of responses required, not the waiting interval.
• D. A fixed-ratio schedule requires a set number of responses.

Review takeaway: Variable interval: reinforce the first qualifying response after a varying interval.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.9 · Item BCBA6-B09

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Table 6.3, reinforcement schedules

Correct answer: C. Latency runs from the end of the instruction to the start of the response: 1:14:20 to 1:14:44 is 24 seconds. Duration runs from the start to the end of the response: 1:14:44 to 1:16:04 is 80 seconds.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. 1 minute 44 seconds runs from the instruction to the end of the task, which is neither measure.
• B. The latency is right, but the duration was timed from the instruction instead of from the start of the task.
• D. This swaps the two measures.

Review takeaway: Latency starts at the instruction. Duration starts when the response starts.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.4 · Item BCBA6-C08

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 11–16, duration and latency

Correct answer: D. The learner's choices are controlled by position, not by the relevant stimulus. Counterbalancing the correct item's position removes left-side placement as a reliable cue; teaching and checking control by the relevant stimulus are still needed.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Responding that ignores the instruction isn't a conditional discrimination.
• B. The issue is which stimulus controls choices, not new response forms.
• C. Motivation doesn't explain a consistent left-side pattern.

Review takeaway: Check that the relevant stimulus, not an irrelevant feature, controls responding.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.6 · Item BCBA6-G10

Sources: EBIP (Chazin & Ledford), Preference Assessments, Side bias and rotating item positions; Sidman & Tailby (1982), Conditional discrimination vs. matching to sample, Abstract

Correct answer: A. Presenting items in pairs so that every item meets every other item is a paired-stimulus assessment.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. MSWO presents a larger array and removes selected items.
• C. Free-operant assessment doesn't use selection trials.
• D. Single-stimulus presents one item at a time.

Review takeaway: Every item paired with every other item: paired-stimulus.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.4 · Item BCBA6-F09

Sources: EBIP (Chazin & Ledford), Preference Assessments, MSWO vs. paired stimulus; Fisher et al. (1992), A comparison of two approaches for identifying reinforcers for persons with severe and profound disabilities, Abstract

Correct answer: A. Replacement behavior should be socially valid, meaning acceptable and effective in the setting where the client will use it, while still producing the same reinforcer (a break).

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Being easy to prompt doesn't make a response acceptable in the workplace.
• C. A sticker doesn't match the escape function.
• D. Extinction alone leaves the client without an acceptable way to get a break.

Review takeaway: Choose a replacement behavior that fits the setting where it will be used.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.3 · Item BCBA6-H08

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task H.3 (socially valid alternative behavior); Tiger, Hanley & Bruzek (2008), Functional communication training: A review and practical guide, Abstract; Ghaemmaghami, Hanley & Jessel (2021), Functional communication training: From efficacy to effectiveness, pp. 122–123, functionally equivalent communication, response efficiency, and practical implementation; Tiger (2026), Teaching communication skills, slides 24–29 and 35–40, accessible communication, generalization programming, and reinforcement arrangements

Correct answer: B. The Code allows testimonials from former clients in advertising when they are labeled as solicited or unsolicited, state the relationship, and comply with privacy and confidentiality requirements. Obtain the informed consent required for the intended use. When soliciting a testimonial, explain where and how it will be used, the risks, and the right to rescind it. Analysts must also consider that a former client may return to services.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The Code allows testimonials from former clients when its conditions are met; the outright ban applies to soliciting testimonials from current clients.
• C. Ending services doesn't remove the disclosure requirements.
• D. Writing a testimonial in someone else's name is misrepresentation.

Review takeaway: Testimonials from former clients are allowed with disclosure; soliciting testimonials from current clients for ads is not.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.5 · Item BCBA6-E09

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 5.08, 5.07

Correct answer: D. Supervision goals should target the specific need the assessment found, which here is performance, not knowledge.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The supervisee already shows the knowledge a quiz would test.
• B. More reading doesn't target the performance gap.
• C. Observation can contribute to learning, but this option neither rehearses nor demonstrates correction of the performance errors.

Review takeaway: Set goals for the gap the assessment actually found.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.4 · Item BCBA6-I08

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.06; BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.4; Parsons, Rollyson & Reid (2012), Evidence-based staff training: A guide for practitioners, Abstract

Correct answer: C. In a multiple schedule, two or more component schedules alternate, and each component is signaled by its own stimulus. The green and red lights do exactly that.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. In a concurrent schedule, two or more schedules are available at the same time and the organism chooses between them.
• B. A mixed schedule alternates components the same way but without a distinct stimulus for each one; here each component has its own light.
• D. In a chained schedule, completing one component produces the stimulus for the next. These components simply alternate.

Review takeaway: Alternating components, each with its own signal, form a multiple schedule.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.10 · Item BCBA6-B10

Sources: Saini, Miller & Fisher (2016), Multiple schedules in practical application: Research trends and implications for future investigation, Introduction (definition of a multiple schedule); Catania, Yohalem & Silverman (1980), Contingency and stimulus change in chained schedules of reinforcement, Abstract (chained vs. multiple; mixed and tandem use one stimulus); Nevin, Mandell & Atak (1983), The analysis of behavioral momentum, Abstract (two-component multiple variable-interval schedules); Borrero et al. (2010), Concurrent reinforcement schedules for problem behavior and appropriate behavior, Abstract (concurrent variable-interval schedules)

Correct answer: B. Continuous procedures capture every occurrence of the behavior during the observation. Timing every episode from start to finish does that.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Momentary time sampling records only whether the behavior is happening at the end of each interval.
• C. Partial-interval recording notes only whether the behavior occurred at any point in an interval.
• D. Whole-interval recording notes only whether the behavior lasted the entire interval.

Review takeaway: Continuous measurement captures every instance; interval and time-sampling methods produce estimates.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.5 · Item BCBA6-C09

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 2–3, 6–8 and 11–16, event, interval and time measures; University of Kansas Special Connections, Momentary Time Sample Recording, What is momentary time sample recording?; Mudford, Taylor & Martin (2009), Continuous recording and interobserver agreement algorithms, p. 165, direct measurement in scientific units

Correct answer: B. Radical behaviorism treats private events, such as thinking or talking to oneself, as behavior subject to the same kinds of controlling variables as public behavior. The self-talk is something to analyze, not a final explanation.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Treating the self-talk as the complete cause stops the analysis at an inner event instead of asking what controls both the self-talk and the avoidance.
• C. Excluding events because others can't see them is the position of methodological behaviorism, not radical behaviorism.
• D. Radical behaviorism doesn't swap behavior for hypothetical mental constructs.

Review takeaway: Radical behaviorism includes private events as behavior; it doesn't treat them as unexplained causes.

Domain A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations · Task A.3 · Item BCBA6-A04

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task A.3; Skinner (1953), Science and Human Behavior (B. F. Skinner Foundation PDF), ch. XVII, Private Events in a Natural Science, pp. 257–258

Correct answer: A. A stimulus prompt changes the teaching materials, here by making the correct stimulus more noticeable. Response prompts are given by the teacher to help the learner respond.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Verbal assistance describing the response is a response prompt.
• C. Modeling is a response prompt.
• D. Physical guidance is a response prompt.

Review takeaway: Stimulus prompts change the materials; response prompts come from the teacher.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.7 · Item BCBA6-G11

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task G.7 (stimulus and response prompts); Schreibman (1975), Effects of within-stimulus and extra-stimulus prompting on discrimination learning in autistic children, Abstract (within-stimulus prompt exaggerates the relevant stimulus); EBIP (Chazin & Ledford), Other Prompting Procedures, Most-to-Least Prompting (physical and pointing prompts)

Correct answer: C. Single-case designs show each case's repeated data, including nonresponders, without relying on a large group average. Group averages can obscure individual differences.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Generality in single-case research comes from replication; it isn't automatic.
• B. Replication is central to single-case logic.
• D. Repeated measurement is central to single-case experimental designs.

Review takeaway: Small numbers and interest in individual responses favor single-case designs.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.5 · Item BCBA6-D06

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), p. 4 (low prevalence; group means obscure individual responders)

Correct answer: D. Preference shows what a client chooses. Whether an item actually strengthens a particular response has to be tested by delivering it contingent on that response.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A high ranking doesn't show that the toy will function as a reinforcer for this response.
• B. Repeating the preference assessment still doesn't test the effect on math completion.
• C. Noncontingent delivery doesn't test whether the toy strengthens a specific response.

Review takeaway: To show an item is a reinforcer, test it contingent on the response you want to increase.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.4 · Item BCBA6-F10

Sources: EBIP (Chazin & Ledford), Preference Assessments, MSWO notes (not all preferred items function as reinforcers); Fisher et al. (1992), A comparison of two approaches for identifying reinforcers for persons with severe and profound disabilities, Abstract; BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task F.4

Correct answer: C. A replacement response competes better when it is at least as efficient as the problem behavior and is reinforced reliably.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Removing the card eliminates the alternative response.
• B. Raising the requirement makes the alternative even harder.
• D. Punishment doesn't fix the effort problem the data show.

Review takeaway: Make the replacement behavior easier than the problem behavior.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.3 · Item BCBA6-H09

Sources: Tiger, Hanley & Bruzek (2008), Functional communication training: A review and practical guide, Abstract; Borrero et al. (2010), Concurrent reinforcement schedules for problem behavior and appropriate behavior, Abstract (reinforcing the alternative shifts allocation); Ghaemmaghami, Hanley & Jessel (2021), Functional communication training: From efficacy to effectiveness, pp. 122–123, functionally equivalent communication, response efficiency, and practical implementation; Tiger (2026), Teaching communication skills, slides 24–29 and 35–40, accessible communication, generalization programming, and reinforcement arrangements

Correct answer: D. The Code says behavior analysts don't publish client information or digital content on personal social media accounts. Professional accounts require informed consent, a disclaimer, steps to limit sharing, and monitoring.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Consent doesn't lift the restriction on personal accounts.
• B. Blurring doesn't change that the video is client content.
• C. A private setting doesn't change the rule either.

Review takeaway: Client content never goes on personal accounts.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.5 · Item BCBA6-E10

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 5.10, 5.11

Correct answer: B. Extinction as an operation is what the environment does: the response no longer produces its reinforcer. Extinction as a process is the effect on behavior: the response decreases over time.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. This reverses the operation and the process.
• C. The policy is the operation only. The behavior change is the process.
• D. In negative punishment, the response causes a stimulus the person already has to be removed. Here the response simply stopped producing the refill that used to follow it.

Review takeaway: Operation: the reinforcer stops following the response. Process: the behavior decreases.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.11 · Item BCBA6-B11

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Reinforcement Schedules (extinction after reinforcement stops)

Correct answer: A. The outline calls for supervision goals based on assessment of the supervisee's skills, cultural variables, and environment, and the Code calls for individualized supervision.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Identical goals ignore differences in what each supervisee needs.
• C. Supervisee input matters, but goals should still rest on assessment.
• D. Old goals may not match current needs.

Review takeaway: Individualize supervision goals from assessment.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.4 · Item BCBA6-I09

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.4; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.06

Correct answer: B. Prompting procedures are judged by whether correct responding moves from prompted to independent over time.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Unchanged prompting shows no progress toward independence.
• C. Correct responding that depends on prompts suggests prompt dependence.
• D. Session length says nothing about independence.

Review takeaway: Evaluate prompting by the trend in independent responding.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.7 · Item BCBA6-G12

Sources: Libby, Weiss, Bancroft & Ahearn (2008), A comparison of most-to-least and least-to-most prompting on the acquisition of solitary play skills, Abstract; BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task G.7

Correct answer: C. Momentary time sampling requires a look only at the end of each interval, which suits a busy observer. It still estimates the proportion of time for a long-lasting behavior like engagement.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Partial-interval recording requires monitoring until an occurrence is seen or the interval ends, rather than only glancing at the sampling moment.
• B. Whole-interval recording also requires watching throughout each interval.
• D. Event recording isn't a discontinuous procedure, and counting episodes doesn't capture time spent engaged.

Review takeaway: When you can only glance at set moments, momentary time sampling is the practical choice for ongoing behavior.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.6 · Item BCBA6-C10

Sources: University of Kansas Special Connections, Momentary Time Sample Recording, Advantages and disadvantages; Powell, Martindale & Kulp (1975), An evaluation of time-sample measures of behavior, Abstract; Ary & Suen (1983), The use of momentary time sampling to assess both frequency and duration of behavior, pp. 144–149, sampling definitions, episode gaps, and limitations

Correct answer: C. In a free-operant assessment, time spent engaging with each item indicates preference. 150 ÷ 300 = 50%, 90 ÷ 300 = 30%, and 30 ÷ 300 = 10%. The remaining 30 ÷ 300 = 10% is time with no engagement with the listed items; the item percentages therefore total 90%, not 100%.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. No engagement indicates the lowest preference, not the highest.
• B. Being available doesn't mean being equally preferred; engagement time differed.
• D. Preference results don't show reinforcing effects on specific responses.

Review takeaway: Rank free-operant results by the proportion of time engaged, and don't overstate what they show.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.4 · Item BCBA6-F11

Sources: Roane et al. (1998), Evaluation of a brief stimulus preference assessment, Abstract; Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 11–12, duration and percent of observation time

Correct answer: D. Extinction can be followed by temporary increases or changes in behavior. Plan for consistent implementation, reinforcement of the communication response, and clear safety stopping rules before starting. If behavior poses the identified safety threat, follow the crisis plan and stop the extinction procedure rather than withholding help to protect the contingency.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Expecting an immediate decrease leaves the team unprepared.
• B. Inconsistent responding can intermittently reinforce the behavior.
• C. An automatic, unplanned stop for any increase is not a safety plan. Predefine what requires stopping and how to protect the client; safety takes priority when that threshold is reached.

Review takeaway: Plan for extinction's side effects before you start.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.4 · Item BCBA6-H10

Sources: Morin & AFIRM Team (2018), Extinction (EXT) EBP brief packet, Steps 2.2 and 2.5, packet pp. 9-10; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.15

Correct answer: A. The Code lists both lack of benefit and stakeholder noncompliance despite appropriate efforts as reasons to consider discontinuation. It also requires a written plan and a documented process.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Ending abruptly skips the required plan.
• C. The Code expressly allows discontinuation in these circumstances.
• D. Hiding a transition from the family conflicts with the duty to communicate about services.

Review takeaway: Discontinuation is allowed for listed reasons, but only through a written, documented plan.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.6 · Item BCBA6-E11

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 3.15

Correct answer: D. The vest is correlated with the availability of reinforcement for asking, so asking now occurs mainly when the vest is present. That is stimulus control by a discriminative stimulus.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The vest doesn't change how valuable help is; it signals that help is available.
• B. The vest comes before asking. It isn't delivered as a consequence of asking.
• C. Response generalization would involve new, untaught forms of asking. Here the question is when asking occurs.

Review takeaway: A stimulus that signals reinforcement is available, and so changes responding, is exerting stimulus control.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.12 · Item BCBA6-B12

Sources: Michael (1982), Distinguishing between discriminative and motivational functions of stimuli, Abstract (definition of a discriminative stimulus)

Correct answer: A. Stimulus fading gradually removes an added or exaggerated feature of the teaching material so the relevant stimulus takes over.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Waiting longer before prompting is a prompt-delay procedure.
• C. Reducing guidance fades a response prompt, not a stimulus prompt.
• D. Reinforcing successive approximations is shaping.

Review takeaway: Stimulus fading gradually removes the extra feature from the teaching materials.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.8 · Item BCBA6-G13

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task G.8 (prompt delay, stimulus fading); Schreibman (1975), Effects of within-stimulus and extra-stimulus prompting on discrimination learning in autistic children, Abstract; Baer, Wolf & Risley (1968), Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis, p. 96 (fading through a sequence of color changes); EBIP (Chazin & Ledford), Other Prompting Procedures, Most-to-Least Prompting (fading response prompts)

Correct answer: D. In a multiple baseline design, experimental control comes from change that occurs when, and only when, the intervention is introduced in each tier, replicated at three different points in time.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. High final values alone don't show that the intervention caused them.
• B. Simultaneous change across settings would suggest an outside event, and it isn't what these data show.
• C. Staggered baselines of different lengths are what the design requires.

Review takeaway: Look for change that tracks each staggered start, with untreated tiers holding steady.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.6 · Item BCBA6-D07

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 7 and 17, multiple baseline logic

Correct answer: B. A measurable goal names an observable performance, how it will be scored, and a criterion. The 90% criterion here is an example chosen by the supervisor, not a BACB requirement.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. "Get better" can't be scored.
• C. Confidence isn't observable performance.
• D. Understanding isn't directly observable.

Review takeaway: Write supervision goals the way you write client goals: observable and scorable.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.4 · Item BCBA6-I10

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.4; Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, p. iv, measurable definitions

Correct answer: A. Shorter partial intervals generally reduce overestimation of time occupied by behavior. A long interval is scored positive for a single brief occurrence and cannot distinguish one occurrence from many. An actual response rate requires a count and an observation-time denominator.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Longer intervals make the estimate less accurate.
• C. A brief behavior would almost never fill a 5-minute whole interval, so it would be badly underrepresented.
• D. Scoring one interval throws away most of the observation.

Review takeaway: Shorter intervals can improve a duration estimate; a percentage of intervals is not a response rate.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.6 · Item BCBA6-C11

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 6–8, interval recording and its limits; Ary & Suen (1983), The use of momentary time sampling to assess both frequency and duration of behavior, pp. 144–149, sampling definitions, episode gaps, and limitations

Correct answer: B. A scatterplot records whether the behavior occurred in each time block across days. It can reveal time periods to target for more detailed observation.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. One short observation may miss a behavior that happens a few times a week.
• C. Sampling during one lesson doesn't cover the whole day.
• D. Latency measures time from a cue to a response. It doesn't identify when during the day the behavior happens.

Review takeaway: Use a scatterplot to find when behavior happens, then observe those periods in detail.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.5 · Item BCBA6-F12

Sources: Touchette, MacDonald & Langer (1985), A scatter plot for identifying stimulus control of problem behavior, Abstract: time-pattern detection to identify periods and conditions for closer observation

Correct answer: C. "Aggressive" is just a summary of the hitting, so using it as the cause explains nothing. A behavioral explanation looks for environmental variables, such as antecedents and consequences, that can be tested and changed.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Radical behaviorism does include private events, and "aggressive" here is a trait label, not a private event.
• B. The report says nothing about consequences, so there's no reinforcement or punishment to confuse.
• D. The report doesn't define hitting at all; the problem is the reasoning, not the measurement definition.

Review takeaway: A label that restates the behavior can't be its cause. Look for environmental variables.

Domain A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations · Task A.3 · Item BCBA6-A05

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task A.3; Skinner (1953), Science and Human Behavior (B. F. Skinner Foundation PDF), ch. III, p. 31 (redundant descriptions offered as causes)

Correct answer: C. Responding differs between two similar stimuli because only one of them was correlated with reinforcement. That is stimulus discrimination.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Stimulus generalization would show similar responding to both tones.
• B. Response generalization involves new response forms, not responding to different stimuli.
• D. Key-pressing wasn't eliminated. It still occurs reliably to the 440-Hz tone.

Review takeaway: Different responding to similar stimuli after differential reinforcement is discrimination.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.13 · Item BCBA6-B13

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Shaping (stimulus discrimination: responding to one tone and not similar tones)

Correct answer: D. The Code requires a written transition plan, active management of the transition, and steps to minimize disruption to services.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A file handoff on the last day isn't a managed transition.
• B. The client is staying with the agency, and leaving the family on their own abandons the duty to facilitate continuity.
• C. Pausing services disrupts care the plan should protect.

Review takeaway: Transitions need a written plan with dates, activities, and responsible parties.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.6 · Item BCBA6-E12

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 3.16, 3.14

Correct answer: B. Modeling works when learners see an accurate demonstration of the full performance they are expected to reproduce, and it is typically paired with rehearsal and feedback.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A partial model leaves out what the staff member needs to learn.
• C. Narration without demonstration is instruction, not modeling.
• D. Modeling a different procedure doesn't show the target performance.

Review takeaway: Model the whole skill accurately, then have the learner practice it with feedback.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.9 · Item BCBA6-G14

Sources: Parsons, Rollyson & Reid (2012), Evidence-based staff training: A guide for practitioners, Abstract; BACB, Supervisor Training Curriculum Outline (2.0), p. 7, objective 6(a)-(d)

Correct answer: A. Punishment procedures can produce side effects such as fear and avoidance. The Code requires prioritizing positive reinforcement and continuing to evaluate punishment-based procedures.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Using punishment alone raises the risk of side effects and teaches nothing to replace the behavior.
• C. Increasing the cost without data conflicts with continual evaluation.
• D. Ongoing data are required to evaluate effectiveness and side effects.

Review takeaway: Rich reinforcement for alternatives and ongoing monitoring reduce punishment's risks.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.4 · Item BCBA6-H11

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Punishment (drawbacks); BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.14, 2.15

Correct answer: C. Once a reinforcer has been identified experimentally, descriptive observation can show how that reinforcer is distributed in the natural environment. Research has used such data to check whether responding matches relative reinforcement.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The functional analysis already identified the function; this analysis looks at how the reinforcer is distributed.
• B. Preference assessments, not caregiver observation, rank items.
• D. IOA is checked by comparing observers' records of the same sessions.

Review takeaway: After a functional analysis, descriptive data can show how the identified reinforcer is distributed in everyday life.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.5 · Item BCBA6-F13

Sources: Borrero & Vollmer (2002), An application of the matching law to severe problem behavior, Abstract

Correct answer: D. Trials to criterion is one efficiency measure, and Y needed fewer trials (45 vs. 60). Errors are a separate dimension, and X produced far fewer (4 vs. 12). Which procedure is better depends on the stated priority.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. X needed more trials, not fewer.
• B. Y produced more errors.
• C. Different trial counts are the very data that make the comparison possible.

Review takeaway: Efficiency has more than one measure. Choose the measure that matches the stated priority.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.7 · Item BCBA6-C12

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task C.7 (trials to criterion); Libby, Weiss, Bancroft & Ahearn (2008), A comparison of most-to-least and least-to-most prompting on the acquisition of solitary play skills, Abstract (errors vs. speed of acquisition)

Correct answer: C. Behavioral skills training combines instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback, and continues until the trainee reaches a performance criterion.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Feedback needs a performance to respond to, and a written test isn't a component.
• B. Modeling alone leaves out practice and feedback.
• D. Rehearsal without instructions or modeling leaves out key components.

Review takeaway: Behavioral skills training: tell, show, practice, give feedback, and repeat to criterion.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.5 · Item BCBA6-I11

Sources: Parsons, Rollyson & Reid (2012), Evidence-based staff training: A guide for practitioners, Abstract; BACB, Supervisor Training Curriculum Outline (2.0), p. 7, objective 6(a)-(d)

Correct answer: A. Client 2 improved when Client 1 began intervention, before Client 2's own intervention started. Change in an untreated tier at the same time undercuts the logic of staggered introductions.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Client 2 hadn't received the intervention yet, so the change can't be credited to it.
• C. Removing inconvenient data misrepresents the results.
• D. Only Clients 1 and 3 changed when their own intervention started, so there aren't three clean demonstrations.

Review takeaway: Change in a tier that hasn't been treated yet is a warning sign, not extra evidence.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.6 · Item BCBA6-D08

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), p. 17 (change in other series limits the evidence rating)

Correct answer: D. Instructions work best when they describe specific, observable actions in order, so staff know exactly what to do.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. "As needed" leaves the key decision undefined.
• B. "Good judgment" doesn't say what to do.
• C. "Fun" isn't a performance description.

Review takeaway: Good instructions name the specific actions and their order.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.10 · Item BCBA6-G15

Sources: Parsons, Rollyson & Reid (2012), Evidence-based staff training: A guide for practitioners, Abstract (instructions as a training component); BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task G.10

Correct answer: B. Untrained responses that serve the same function as the trained response are appearing under the same conditions. That is response generalization.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Stimulus generalization is the trained response appearing with new, untrained stimuli. Here the setting is the same and the response forms are new.
• C. Maintenance is a trained response continuing over time after training ends.
• D. Discrimination is responding differently to different stimuli; the setting didn't change.

Review takeaway: New forms of the response, same situation: response generalization.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.14 · Item BCBA6-B14

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task B.14; Stokes (1983), Citation Classic commentary on An implicit technology of generalization, Summary (effects spreading to related behaviors); Stokes & Baer (1977), An implicit technology of generalization, Abstract

Correct answer: C. Behavior analysts avoid creating multiple relationships, including personal ones, because they risk conflicts of interest. Referring the family avoids creating one.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A discount adds a financial complication on top of the personal relationship.
• B. The Code's concern includes personal relationships, not only family ones.
• D. Hiding the relationship makes the risk worse and conflicts with documentation duties.

Review takeaway: Don't create a multiple relationship you can avoid.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.7 · Item BCBA6-E13

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.11, 3.13

Correct answer: B. Under the behavioral-momentum account described in the cited paper, reinforcement delivered in a stimulus context—including reinforcement for an alternative response—can increase resistance to change in that context. This is a model-based relapse consideration, not a reason to withhold useful alternative reinforcement or a prediction that every client will relapse.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The theory specifically says reinforcement for other behavior in the same context contributes to persistence.
• C. Removing all reinforcement isn't a realistic or ethical plan.
• D. Permanent relocation isn't a relapse-mitigation plan grounded in the data.

Review takeaway: Plan for relapse risk when adding reinforcement to the context where problem behavior was reinforced.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.5 · Item BCBA6-H12

Sources: Nevin & Shahan (2011), Behavioral momentum theory: Equations and applications, Abstract

Correct answer: A. ABC records should describe observable events: what was said or done before, the specific behavior, and what happened right after.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. "Upset," "acted out," and "calmed down" are interpretations, not observable events.
• C. This offers a guessed cause instead of observed events.
• D. It keeps an inference about the teacher's feelings and leaves the consequence blank.

Review takeaway: Record what happened, not what you think it meant.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.5 · Item BCBA6-F14

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, p. v, record observed events rather than interpretations; Scatterplot tips (ABC data)

Correct answer: D. Observer drift is a gradual change in how observers apply a definition over time, which makes data from different phases no longer comparable. It is a form of instrumentation threat.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. History refers to outside events affecting the behavior itself, not the observers' scoring.
• B. Maturation refers to changes in the participant over time.
• C. Reactivity is behavior changing because someone is being observed.

Review takeaway: Guard against observer drift by reviewing definitions often and retraining observers.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.8 · Item BCBA6-C13

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), p. 11, Instrumentation (observer drift); Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, p. v, observer drift

Correct answer: C. Shaping reinforces successive approximations of a target and gradually raises the criterion, here the duration of walking.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Linking separate steps is chaining.
• B. Reinforcing every walk doesn't move duration toward the goal.
• D. Requiring 20 minutes right away may produce no reinforcement at all.

Review takeaway: Shaping raises the requirement for the same behavior step by step.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.11 · Item BCBA6-G16

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Shaping

Correct answer: D. The staff report that the task is unclear. A checklist specifying what to do and when directly addresses that reported barrier; subsequent observation checks whether it resolves the problem.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Rewarding speed could make skipped steps more likely.
• B. Reprimands don't tell staff what the required steps are.
• C. More time doesn't tell staff which steps are required.

Review takeaway: If staff don't know what's expected, clarify the task.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.5 · Item BCBA6-I12

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.5 (task clarification); Brand, Sellers, Wilder & Carr (2022), The Performance Diagnostic Checklist - Human Services: Guidance for assessment administration, Abstract (domain: Task Clarification and Prompting)

Correct answer: A. The skill continues to occur after the teaching program has ended. That is maintenance.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. The setting hasn't changed, so this doesn't show generalization to new stimuli.
• C. The response form is the same one that was taught.
• D. Acquisition happened during training. The question is whether the skill lasted.

Review takeaway: Maintenance: a skill keeps occurring after teaching ends.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.15 · Item BCBA6-B15

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task B.15; Stokes (1983), Citation Classic commentary on An implicit technology of generalization, Summary (change that lasts over time); Stokes & Baer (1977), An implicit technology of generalization, Abstract

Correct answer: B. When a multiple relationship can't be resolved right away, the Code calls for safeguards, a plan to eventually resolve it, and documentation.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Multiple relationships must be addressed however they arise.
• C. Ending services abruptly skips the appropriate steps and may harm the client.
• D. Secrecy doesn't address the conflict of interest.

Review takeaway: Unavoidable multiple relationship: safeguards, a plan to resolve it, and documentation.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.7 · Item BCBA6-E14

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.11

Correct answer: A. Relative responding tends to follow relative reinforcement. As requests pay off less and problem behavior pays off more, responding can shift back toward problem behavior.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Ending reinforcement for requests shifts allocation toward problem behavior.
• C. Intermittent reinforcement of problem behavior keeps it going.
• D. Without data, the team can't detect relapse.

Review takeaway: Keep the alternative behavior the better-paying option.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.5 · Item BCBA6-H13

Sources: Borrero et al. (2010), Concurrent reinforcement schedules for problem behavior and appropriate behavior, Abstract; Borrero & Vollmer (2002), An application of the matching law to severe problem behavior, Abstract; Tiger (2026), Teaching communication skills, slides 24–29 and 35–40, accessible communication, generalization programming, and reinforcement arrangements

Correct answer: B. The attention condition makes attention scarce and then delivers it contingent on the target behavior. Higher responding in this condition than in the control suggests attention maintains the behavior.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. This describes the escape (demand) condition.
• C. This describes the alone condition, which tests for automatic reinforcement.
• D. This describes the play (control) condition.

Review takeaway: Each test condition pairs a motivating condition with its matching contingent consequence.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.6 · Item BCBA6-F15

Sources: Iwata et al. (1982/1994), Toward a functional analysis of self-injury, Abstract (analogue conditions); Hanley, Iwata & McCord (2003), Functional analysis of problem behavior: A review, Abstract; Cox & Friedel (2022), Toward an automation of functional analysis interpretation: A proof of concept, pp. 149–150 and 153–159, test/control patterns, multiple maintaining variables, and limitations of classification

Correct answer: C. A reversal design builds its case from the behavior changing each time conditions change. Behavior stayed low in the second baseline, so only one change occurred, and that single change can't rule out other explanations.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. One phase change is not enough to demonstrate control.
• B. An effect must appear at each phase change: into intervention, back to baseline, and into intervention again. The return to baseline showed no change.
• D. Behavior stayed low in the second baseline; nothing indicates harm.

Review takeaway: These data do not demonstrate experimental control through reversal. A design that does not depend on withdrawal may be more appropriate when change is not reversible.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.6 · Item BCBA6-D09

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 5, 15–16, 19–20, ABAB logic

Correct answer: D. Basic research on fundamental behavioral processes, often with nonhuman subjects in controlled laboratory conditions, is the experimental analysis of behavior. Studies of pigeons' pecking under variable-interval schedules are a classic example.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Applied behavior analysis studies socially significant problems; this study has no applied aim.
• B. Professional practice is service delivery to clients, not laboratory research.
• C. Behaviorism is the philosophy of the science, not a program of experiments.

Review takeaway: Basic laboratory research on behavioral processes belongs to the experimental analysis of behavior.

Domain A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations · Task A.4 · Item BCBA6-A06

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task A.4; Nevin, Mandell & Atak (1983), The analysis of behavioral momentum, Abstract (pigeons on multiple variable-interval schedules)

Correct answer: A. Forward chaining teaches the steps in order, starting from the first one. The learner does the steps already mastered, and the new step is taught next.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Backward chaining starts teaching with the last step.
• C. Total-task chaining teaches every step on every trial.
• D. Shaping changes one response through approximations; this plan teaches separate steps.

Review takeaway: Forward chaining starts with the first step and adds steps in order.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.12 · Item BCBA6-G17

Sources: AFIRM / NPDC (2015), Task Analysis: Step-by-Step Guidelines, PDF p. 7, Step 2.1-2.3 (chaining)

Correct answer: B. A valid measure captures the behavior of interest. Worksheet completion can be counted reliably and still say little about conversing with peers.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Two observers could agree perfectly on worksheet counts; agreement isn't the problem.
• C. Nothing suggests the client is behaving differently because of being observed.
• D. Nothing indicates observers are changing how they score over time.

Review takeaway: A reliable count of the wrong behavior is still an invalid measure.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.8 · Item BCBA6-C14

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. iv–1, definition and measurement selection

Correct answer: D. Deprivation and satiation change how effective a reinforcer is and how often the behavior that produced it occurs. After a large meal, crackers are temporarily less valuable, so asking for them decreases.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The crackers and the therapist are still present, so the signals for asking haven't changed. What changed is the value of crackers.
• B. Extinction would require that asking stopped producing crackers; nothing in the scenario says that happened.
• C. No stimulus was added or removed after asking.

Review takeaway: Satiation lowers a reinforcer's value and the behavior that has produced it.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.16 · Item BCBA6-B16

Sources: Michael (1982), Distinguishing between discriminative and motivational functions of stimuli, Abstract (deprivation and similar operations)

Correct answer: C. Reducing the effort required for the desired response, here by making data sheets immediately available, makes that response more likely.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Retraining doesn't change the effort involved.
• B. A reminder in the office doesn't reduce the trip.
• D. An award adds a consequence but leaves the effort unchanged.

Review takeaway: Sometimes the fix is making the right behavior easier.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.5 · Item BCBA6-I13

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.5 (manipulation of response effort); Brand, Sellers, Wilder & Carr (2022), The Performance Diagnostic Checklist - Human Services: Guidance for assessment administration, Abstract (domain: Performance Consequences, Effort, and Competition)

Correct answer: A. The Code prohibits romantic or sexual relationships with former clients or stakeholders for at least two years from the date the professional relationship ended. A parent is a stakeholder.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. One year isn't the standard; the minimum is two years.
• C. The waiting period starts when services end; ending services doesn't satisfy it.
• D. Consent doesn't shorten the required period.

Review takeaway: Former clients and stakeholders: at least two years. Reaching that minimum does not remove other applicable ethical obligations.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.7 · Item BCBA6-E15

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.14; Glossary, “Stakeholder”

Correct answer: B. Low integrity limits intervention effects, so poor outcomes may reflect a plan that was never fully implemented. The repeated omission of a critical step points directly to what needs fixing.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The plan hasn't been tested as written.
• C. An overall percentage hides the critical step that was missed every time.
• D. Adding punishment doesn't solve an implementation problem and conflicts with 2.15.

Review takeaway: Fix implementation before judging the intervention.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.6 · Item BCBA6-H14

Sources: Fryling, Wallace & Yassine (2012), Impact of treatment integrity on intervention effectiveness, Abstract; Wilder, Atwell & Wine (2006), The effects of varying levels of treatment integrity on child compliance, Abstract; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.18

Correct answer: D. Responding is clearly elevated only in the tangible condition and stays low in the play (control) condition. That points to maintenance by access to tangible items.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The alone condition is near zero, which doesn't fit automatic reinforcement.
• B. Responding in the demand condition is low.
• C. The data are clearly differentiated: one condition stands well above the rest.

Review takeaway: Look for the test condition that stands above the control condition.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.6 · Item BCBA6-F16

Sources: Iwata et al. (1982/1994), Toward a functional analysis of self-injury, Abstract (analogue conditions); Hanley, Iwata & McCord (2003), Functional analysis of problem behavior: A review, Abstract; Cox & Friedel (2022), Toward an automation of functional analysis interpretation: A proof of concept, pp. 149–150 and 153–159, test/control patterns, multiple maintaining variables, and limitations of classification

Correct answer: C. In backward chaining, the trainer completes or prompts the earlier steps and the learner is taught the last step first, so each trial ends with the learner completing the chain.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Forward chaining starts with the first step, so early trials don't end with the learner completing the chain.
• B. In total-task chaining, the learner practices all steps with prompts as needed; it does not start by teaching only the final step.
• D. A single-step procedure isn't a chaining method.

Review takeaway: Backward chaining teaches the last step first; independence develops through teaching and prompt fading.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.12 · Item BCBA6-G18

Sources: AFIRM / NPDC (2015), Task Analysis: Step-by-Step Guidelines, PDF p. 7, Step 2.1-2.3 (chaining)

Correct answer: A. The question is about how long episodes last, so the critical dimension is duration. The video makes it possible to time each episode's start and end.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Ten-minute partial intervals would blur the length of episodes.
• C. Counts stay about the same even if episodes get shorter.
• D. Sampling every 10 minutes gives only a rough estimate of time and can't show the length of each episode.

Review takeaway: Match the measure to the dimension you need to see change, here how long episodes last.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.9 · Item BCBA6-C15

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, pp. 11–12, duration recording

Correct answer: B. Poor sleep changes how valuable escape from work is, which is the work of a motivating operation. The teacher signals that escape is available for screaming, which is the work of a discriminative stimulus.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. This reverses the two functions.
• C. Poor sleep doesn't signal that escape is available; it changes how much escape is worth.
• D. The teacher doesn't change how valuable escape is; the teacher signals whether screaming will produce it.

Review takeaway: A motivating operation changes what the person wants; a discriminative stimulus signals what is available.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.17 · Item BCBA6-B17

Sources: Michael (1982), Distinguishing between discriminative and motivational functions of stimuli, Abstract

Correct answer: C. Listening actively, seeking input, and collaborating are the skills the outline names, and the Code calls for collaborating with colleagues in the client's best interest.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Claiming priority shuts down collaboration.
• B. Dropping the concern without follow-up ignores input that might matter.
• D. Changing the plan without data isn't collaboration, and it may not serve the client.

Review takeaway: Listen, ask questions, and decide together using the data.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.8 · Item BCBA6-E16

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task E.8; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.10

Correct answer: D. The Code directs supervisors to use supervision and training methods that focus on positive reinforcement.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Public reprimands are punitive and disrespectful.
• B. Punitive consequences don't reflect the Code's emphasis on positive reinforcement.
• C. Feedback only when something goes wrong misses chances to reinforce good performance.

Review takeaway: Build staff performance mainly with positive reinforcement.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.5 · Item BCBA6-I14

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.06, 4.08

Correct answer: A. A changing-criterion design follows a baseline with a series of criterion shifts. Control is shown when behavior repeatedly changes to match each new criterion.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. A multielement design rapidly alternates two or more conditions to compare them.
• C. A reversal design withdraws the intervention to see whether behavior returns to baseline.
• D. A multiple baseline across behaviors introduces the intervention to different behaviors at staggered times.

Review takeaway: Behavior that moves with each new criterion signals a changing-criterion design.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.7 · Item BCBA6-D10

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), Table 1, changing criterion design

Correct answer: B. The learner can respond at any time during the activity rather than only within separately initiated trials. That identifies a free-operant arrangement. The play context is naturalistic, but a naturalistic activity can also include trial-based teaching.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Discrete-trial instruction organizes opportunities into distinct trials. The stem instead specifies ongoing learner-paced opportunities.
• C. Nothing here involves a sequence of chained steps.
• D. No matching task is used.

Review takeaway: Identify whether opportunities are organized into discrete trials or remain available for learner-paced responding.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.13 · Item BCBA6-G19

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task G.13 (trial-based and free-operant procedures); EBIP, Natural Environment Teaching (NET) and Naturalistic Instruction, What is NET?; Core NET Strategies: Incidental Teaching; AFIRM, A Case for Discrete Trial Training, Definition

Correct answer: C. The Code requires explaining assessment procedures before implementing them, obtaining informed consent before initial assessments, and designing assessments to maximize benefit and minimize risk of harm.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Informed consent is required before assessments, not only interventions.
• B. Leaving out termination criteria raises the risk of harm.
• D. Procedures must be explained before they are implemented.

Review takeaway: Consent, clear explanation, and safeguards come before any functional analysis sessions.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.6 · Item BCBA6-F17

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.08, 2.11, 2.13

Correct answer: D. Reactivity is the strongest working explanation among these options: knowing the exact observation time may change staff performance. Use authorized, less obtrusive checks across representative sessions and check for other differences before attributing the entire gap to announcement.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Drift is a change in how observers apply a definition. The difference here tracks whether the observation was announced.
• B. Maturation doesn't explain a difference that depends on announcement.
• C. Relying on the announced data would overstate integrity.

Review takeaway: Check integrity in ways that capture typical performance.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.6 · Item BCBA6-H15

Sources: Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center (2012), Measuring Behavior, p. 1, reactivity; Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), p. 11 (reactivity)

Correct answer: A. The new employee's behavior is controlled by a verbal description of the contingency, without any direct contact with the consequence. The coworker's behavior changed only after direct contact with the consequence.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. This reverses the two cases.
• C. The new employee never contacted the fine, so direct consequences can't have shaped that employee's behavior.
• D. The coworker ignored the rule until the consequence itself occurred.

Review takeaway: Rule-governed behavior is controlled by a description of a contingency. Contingency-shaped behavior comes from direct contact with the consequences.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.18 · Item BCBA6-B18

Sources: Schlinger & Blakely (1987), Function-altering effects of contingency-specifying stimuli, Abstract (contingency-specifying stimuli and rules); Snyder, Lambert & Twohig (2011), Defusion: A behavior-analytic strategy for addressing private events, Contingency-Shaped and Rule-Governed Behavior

Correct answer: C. Video review separates the measurement task from the aide's teaching task. The observer counts each occurrence and divides by the duration of the original session, not the slowed playback duration. This produces responses per unit of observation time.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The stem identifies the competing workload that prevents reliable live counting by the aide.
• B. Duration of individual responses does not supply the count and observation-time denominator needed for rate.
• D. A positive interval does not distinguish one occurrence from many; percentage of intervals is not an actual response rate.

Review takeaway: Match the measure to the required dimension and make accurate collection feasible for the observer.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.9 · Item BCBA6-C16

Sources: Mudford, Taylor & Martin (2009), Continuous recording and interobserver agreement algorithms, p. 165, continuous versus discontinuous measurement; Bicard, Bicard & the IRIS Center, Measuring Behavior, pp. 2–3 and 8, event recording and rate; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.03–2.05, privacy and records; Mudford, Taylor & Martin (2009), Continuous recording and interobserver agreement algorithms, p. 165, direct measurement in scientific units

Correct answer: B. Accepting feedback is one of the interpersonal skills the outline names, and the Code asks supervisors to evaluate their own practices using feedback from others and adjust as indicated.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Defending the practice without exploring the feedback isn't accepting it.
• C. Changing the subject avoids the feedback.
• D. Noting it without acting doesn't use the feedback.

Review takeaway: Ask for specifics, then act on what you learn.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.8 · Item BCBA6-E17

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task E.8; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.10

Correct answer: A. Delivering services to a client is professional practice. The Ethics Code defines research as data-based activity designed to generate generalizable knowledge, and it notes that using an experimental design doesn't by itself make an activity research.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Applied research aims to produce generalizable knowledge about socially significant behavior; this work aims to help one client.
• C. The experimental analysis of behavior is basic research on behavioral processes, not client services.
• D. Behaviorism is the philosophy behind the science, not an activity like writing and running a plan.

Review takeaway: Service delivery is practice; research is designed to produce generalizable knowledge.

Domain A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations · Task A.4 · Item BCBA6-A07

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task A.4; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, Glossary, “Research”

Correct answer: D. In a dependent group contingency, the whole group's reward depends on the performance of one or a few selected members.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. In an interdependent contingency, every group member must meet the criterion, or the group must meet it collectively.
• B. In an independent contingency, each person earns the reward based on their own performance.
• C. Response cost removes reinforcers after a behavior; nothing here is removed.

Review takeaway: The group's reward rides on a few members' performance: dependent.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.14 · Item BCBA6-G20

Sources: Litow & Pumroy (1975), A brief review of classroom group-oriented contingencies, Abstract

Correct answer: B. Function-based performance management starts by assessing variables that contribute to the performance problem, then selects and evaluates an intervention matched to the findings.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Assuming training is the issue risks choosing an intervention that doesn't match the cause.
• C. Incentives address consequences, which may not be the problem.
• D. Replacing staff skips the analysis of the conditions they work in.

Review takeaway: Diagnose the performance problem before treating it.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.6 · Item BCBA6-I15

Sources: Brand, Sellers, Wilder & Carr (2022), The Performance Diagnostic Checklist - Human Services: Guidance for assessment administration, Abstract (assess environmental variables; prioritize indicated interventions); BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task I.6

Correct answer: D. The play control typically makes attention and preferred materials freely available, places no demands, and programs no target-behavior consequence. This reduces the relevant motivating conditions for the tested social reinforcers and provides a comparison for the test conditions.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Preference assessments identify preferred items.
• B. The control condition's purpose is comparison, not teaching.
• C. Alone or ignore conditions assess persistence without social consequences; the play control supplies the enriched comparison.

Review takeaway: Functions are identified by comparing test conditions with the control condition.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.6 · Item BCBA6-F18

Sources: Iwata et al. (1982/1994), Toward a functional analysis of self-injury, Abstract (analogue conditions); Hanley, Iwata & McCord (2003), Functional analysis of problem behavior: A review, Abstract; Cox & Friedel (2022), Toward an automation of functional analysis interpretation: A proof of concept, pp. 149–150 and 153–159, test/control patterns, multiple maintaining variables, and limitations of classification

Correct answer: C. When integrity stays low because the procedure doesn't fit the setting, the Code points toward contextual fit and addressing conditions that interfere with delivering services.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Blaming staff doesn't address a procedure that doesn't fit.
• B. Without integrity data, the team can't evaluate the change.
• D. Client data can't show whether the intervention works when it isn't being implemented.

Review takeaway: When integrity stays low, reconsider how well the procedure fits the setting.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.6 · Item BCBA6-H16

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.14, 2.19; Fryling, Wallace & Yassine (2012), Impact of treatment integrity on intervention effectiveness, Abstract

Correct answer: C. An intraverbal is evoked by a verbal stimulus that doesn't match the response point for point. An echoic is evoked by a vocal verbal stimulus that it matches point for point and in form.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A tact is evoked by a nonverbal stimulus. No banana was present, only the question.
• B. The second response repeats the tutor's word, which is an echoic, not an intraverbal.
• D. Nothing suggests the learner wanted a banana, and textual behavior requires a written stimulus.

Review takeaway: Verbal operants are classified by what controls them, not by the word spoken.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.19 · Item BCBA6-B19

Sources: Michael (1982), Skinner's elementary verbal relations: Some new categories, Abstract (echoic, textual, point-to-point correspondence, formal similarity); Sautter & LeBlanc (2006), Empirical applications of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior with humans, Introduction (operants defined by function); Michael, Palmer & Sundberg (2011), The multiple control of verbal behavior, pp. 4–8, verbal relations and their controlling variables

Correct answer: A. A cumulative record adds each new response to the running total. Within an unreset segment, its line can only rise or stay flat, and a steeper slope means a higher response rate. A reset starts a new segment; it is not a negative response rate.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. An equal-interval line graph plots each session's value, which can go up or down.
• C. A bar graph compares values across categories.
• D. A scatterplot shows when behavior occurs across time periods.

Review takeaway: On a cumulative record, steeper slope means faster responding, and a flat stretch means no responding.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.10 · Item BCBA6-C17

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Figure 6.13 (cumulative number of responses over time); BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task C.10

Correct answer: B. Rapidly alternating two or more conditions for the same case and comparing their separate data paths is an alternating treatments (multielement) design.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A changing-criterion design shifts the performance requirement step by step.
• C. A reversal design presents conditions in extended phases and withdraws the intervention.
• D. A multiple probe design is a variation of the multiple baseline that uses intermittent probes.

Review takeaway: Rapidly alternated conditions with separate data paths: a multielement design.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.7 · Item BCBA6-D11

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), Table 1 and p. 7, alternating treatments designs

Correct answer: D. Teaching with sufficient, varied examples is a recognized way to promote generalization. Testing with untaught examples shows whether it happened.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. More practice with one example can strengthen control by that one cup's specific features.
• B. Restricting the time of day doesn't vary the stimuli.
• C. Generalization has to be planned; it often doesn't happen on its own.

Review takeaway: Vary the examples during teaching, then test with new ones.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.15 · Item BCBA6-G21

Sources: Stokes & Baer (1977), An implicit technology of generalization, Abstract (Train Sufficient Exemplars); Sprague & Horner (1984), The effects of single instance, multiple instance, and general case training on generalized vending machine use, Abstract; Tiger (2026), Teaching communication skills, slides 24–29 and 35–40, accessible communication, generalization programming, and reinforcement arrangements

Correct answer: A. The Code calls for evaluating one's own biases, involving clients and stakeholders in selecting goals, and responding to diverse needs and backgrounds.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. A standard protocol isn't a reason to override a family's practices.
• C. Dropping goals without talking with the family doesn't serve the client.
• D. This asks the family to adapt to the analyst instead of the other way around.

Review takeaway: Choose goals with the family, starting from their practices, not from your default protocol.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.9 · Item BCBA6-E18

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.07, 1.10, 2.09

Correct answer: B. Both the attention and demand conditions are clearly elevated compared with the control. That pattern suggests the behavior is maintained by more than one reinforcer.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The demand condition is just as elevated as the attention condition.
• C. The attention condition is also clearly elevated.
• D. The alone condition is near zero.

Review takeaway: More than one elevated test condition can mean more than one function.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.6 · Item BCBA6-F19

Sources: Iwata et al. (1982/1994), Toward a functional analysis of self-injury, Abstract (analogue conditions); Hanley, Iwata & McCord (2003), Functional analysis of problem behavior: A review, Abstract; Cox & Friedel (2022), Toward an automation of functional analysis interpretation: A proof of concept, pp. 149–150 and 153–159, test/control patterns, multiple maintaining variables, and limitations of classification

Correct answer: A. When skills and resources are in place, the problem lies in consequences and effort, so the intervention should change those.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Staff already know the procedure.
• C. Materials are already available.
• D. The expectations are already clear. The problem is what follows performance.

Review takeaway: Match the intervention to the variable the assessment found.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.6 · Item BCBA6-I16

Sources: Brand, Sellers, Wilder & Carr (2022), The Performance Diagnostic Checklist - Human Services: Guidance for assessment administration, Abstract (domain: Performance Consequences, Effort, and Competition); BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.08

Correct answer: D. A vocal response to a written verbal stimulus, with point-to-point correspondence but no formal similarity (print is visual; speech is vocal), is textual behavior.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. An echoic requires a vocal stimulus that the response matches in form. Here the stimulus is printed.
• B. A tact is evoked by a nonverbal stimulus. The printed word is itself verbal.
• C. An intraverbal lacks point-to-point correspondence with its stimulus. Reading STOP as "stop" corresponds point for point.

Review takeaway: Print to speech, with point-to-point correspondence but no formal similarity, is textual behavior.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.19 · Item BCBA6-B20

Sources: Michael (1982), Skinner's elementary verbal relations: Some new categories, Abstract; Michael, Palmer & Sundberg (2011), The multiple control of verbal behavior, pp. 4–8, verbal relations and their controlling variables

Correct answer: C. When data show desired outcomes aren't being reached, the Code requires assessing the situation and taking corrective action.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Continuing an ineffective plan wastes the client's time.
• B. Data are needed to evaluate any change.
• D. Motivation explanations don't point to specific corrective action.

Review takeaway: Good integrity plus no progress: reassess and change the plan.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.7 · Item BCBA6-H17

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.17, 2.18

Correct answer: B. Bar graphs compare summary values, such as means, across separate categories. That matches a comparison of four conditions.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A cumulative record shows responding accumulating over time, not averages by condition.
• C. Line graphs are best for showing changes across sessions, which the family summary doesn't need.
• D. A scatterplot shows when behavior happens during the day, not averages by condition.

Review takeaway: Comparing summary values across categories calls for a bar graph; showing change over time calls for a line graph.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.10 · Item BCBA6-C18

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task C.10 (bar graphs); Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation, pp. 18–20, session-by-session displays and visual analysis

Correct answer: C. Including stimuli from the setting where the skill is needed in the teaching setting makes the two settings more alike, which supports generalization.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Natural maintaining contingencies involve reinforcement that occurs naturally in the target setting.
• B. Sequential modification means teaching again in each new setting.
• D. Indiscriminable contingencies make it hard to tell when reinforcement is available.

Review takeaway: Bring features of the target setting into the teaching setting.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.15 · Item BCBA6-G22

Sources: Stokes & Baer (1977), An implicit technology of generalization, Abstract (Program Common Stimuli; other listed headings); Tiger (2026), Teaching communication skills, slides 24–29 and 35–40, accessible communication, generalization programming, and reinforcement arrangements

Correct answer: D. The Code requires understandable language in all communication with clients and stakeholders, and steps to make sure they understand.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Inviting questions doesn't make up for training the caregivers can't follow.
• B. Skipping training withholds a needed service.
• C. Relying on the child as interpreter is inappropriate and can compromise both accuracy and the child's role.

Review takeaway: Deliver services in a language people understand, and check that they do.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.10 · Item BCBA6-E19

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.08, 1.07

Correct answer: A. When a referred behavior may be influenced by medical or biological variables, the Code requires ensuring those needs are assessed and addressed, and documenting the referral and follow-up.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Starting a behavioral program first skips a possible medical cause.
• C. Nothing supports an attention function, and the pattern suggests a medical concern.
• D. Waiting delays addressing a possible medical need.

Review takeaway: Sudden change plus physical signs: make sure a medical assessment happens and document it.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.7 · Item BCBA6-F20

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.12

Correct answer: B. One response can be controlled by more than one variable at once. Here the nonverbal stimulus supports a tact relation and the verbal question adds intraverbal control.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The parent never said "ball," so there was nothing to echo.
• C. Nothing indicates the child wanted the ball or that the response would produce it.
• D. The length of a response doesn't determine which variables control it.

Review takeaway: Classify a verbal response by all the variables controlling it, and expect more than one.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.20 · Item BCBA6-B21

Sources: Sautter & LeBlanc (2006), Empirical applications of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior with humans, Introduction (controlling variables); BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task B.20; Michael, Palmer & Sundberg (2011), The multiple control of verbal behavior, pp. 4–8, convergent control and conditional verbal/nonverbal control

Correct answer: D. Introducing the same intervention to different behaviors at staggered points in time, while measuring all of them, is a multiple baseline design across behaviors.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A reversal design withdraws the intervention within a single series rather than staggering it across behaviors.
• B. A changing-criterion design shifts performance criteria for one behavior.
• C. An alternating treatments design compares different conditions rapidly within one series.

Review takeaway: Same intervention, several behaviors, staggered starts: multiple baseline across behaviors.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.7 · Item BCBA6-D12

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), Table 1, multiple baseline (across cases, behaviors, or situations)

Correct answer: C. When staff can't perform a skill even when asked, the barrier is a skill deficit, and training is the matching intervention.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A reminder doesn't teach a skill staff lack.
• B. Incentives can't produce a skill that isn't there.
• D. Materials are already available.

Review takeaway: Can't do it even when asked? Train it.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.6 · Item BCBA6-I17

Sources: Brand, Sellers, Wilder & Carr (2022), The Performance Diagnostic Checklist - Human Services: Guidance for assessment administration, Abstract (domain: Training); Parsons, Rollyson & Reid (2012), Evidence-based staff training: A guide for practitioners, Abstract

Correct answer: B. A technological procedure is described completely enough that a trained reader could replicate it. Vague steps that two clinicians interpret differently fail that test.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Applied concerns whether the target is socially significant; the protocol's problem is its description.
• C. Analytic concerns whether a functional relation has been shown; nothing here addresses that.
• D. Effective concerns whether the change is large enough to matter; you can't judge that until the procedure is run consistently.

Review takeaway: If two trained people can't run it the same way from the write-up, it isn't technological.

Domain A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations · Task A.5 · Item BCBA6-A08

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task A.5; Baer, Wolf & Risley (1968), Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis, p. 95 (technological: a trained reader could replicate the procedure from the description); Baer, Wolf & Risley (1987), Some still-current dimensions of applied behavior analysis, Abstract; Baer, Wolf & Risley (1968), original passages reproduced by BAAM, Detailed Version; original pp. 93–95, analytic and technological dimensions

Correct answer: A. Continuous reinforcement helps establish behavior, and intermittent reinforcement helps maintain it. Moving gradually, guided by data, reduces the risk of responding breaking down.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. An abrupt jump in the requirement risks a breakdown in responding.
• C. Stopping reinforcement abruptly is extinction.
• D. Never thinning keeps performance dependent on a dense schedule that may not continue in daily life.

Review takeaway: Thin reinforcement gradually and let the data set the pace.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.16 · Item BCBA6-G23

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Reinforcement Schedules (continuous then partial reinforcement); BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task G.16 (schedule thinning); EBIP (Chazin & Ledford), Differential Reinforcement, Considerations, step 4 (gradual changes)

Correct answer: D. Mastery in one setting doesn't guarantee generalization. The data show the goal hasn't been met where it matters, so the plan needs modification.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Closing the goal ignores the home data.
• B. Home data are what reveal the gap.
• C. The client already performs the skill in the clinic; the gap is at home.

Review takeaway: Mastered in one setting only? Program for generalization.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.7 · Item BCBA6-H18

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.18; Stokes & Baer (1977), An implicit technology of generalization, Abstract

Correct answer: C. The values alternate between about 3 and 13 with no consistent direction, so the baseline is highly variable with no clear trend. Such variability can make a later change harder to interpret. Examine the source of the alternating pattern and the experimental design rather than treating a fixed number of baseline points as an automatic permission rule.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The values swing between 3 and 13, so this is neither stable nor low.
• B. The first and last values are nearly the same, and the points alternate rather than fall.
• D. There is no steady rise across sessions.

Review takeaway: Describe level, trend, and variability before deciding whether a baseline is ready.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.11 · Item BCBA6-C19

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 18–20, level, trend, and variability; unstable baselines

Correct answer: C. The Code directs behavior analysts to actively incorporate and address diversity topics during supervision and training.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Waiting for supervisees to raise the topic isn't actively addressing it.
• B. A once-a-year training doesn't bring these topics into ongoing supervision.
• D. The duty belongs to the supervising behavior analyst.

Review takeaway: Diversity belongs inside supervision, raised by the supervisor.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.10 · Item BCBA6-E20

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.07

Correct answer: A. Assessment results may show that a client needs services from another profession. The Code requires practicing within one's competence and making referrals based on the client's needs.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Recommending services the assessment doesn't support doesn't serve the client.
• C. Delivering services outside one's competence and role conflicts with 1.05 and 2.01.
• D. Ending with no recommendation leaves the family without a path forward.

Review takeaway: Assessment can point to a referral instead of a behavior-analytic service.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.7 · Item BCBA6-F21

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 3.13, 1.05, 2.01

Correct answer: D. Two relations were trained: spoken word to numeral, and numeral to dots. Relating the spoken word directly to the dots, which was never trained, is transitivity, one of the properties used to test for stimulus equivalence.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Symmetry would be reversing a trained relation, such as selecting the spoken word when shown the numeral.
• B. Reflexivity is matching a stimulus to itself, such as the numeral 7 to another numeral 7.
• C. Stimulus generalization depends on physical similarity. A spoken word and a dot card aren't physically similar.

Review takeaway: Two linked trained relations, plus an untrained relation between their ends: transitivity.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.21 · Item BCBA6-B22

Sources: Sidman & Tailby (1982), Conditional discrimination vs. matching to sample, Abstract; McIntire, Cleary & Thompson (1987), Conditional relations by monkeys: Reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity, Abstract (reflexivity, symmetry, transitivity)

Correct answer: B. Time-out works as negative punishment only when the client is removed from a reinforcing situation. Removing a client from a nonpreferred task can instead reinforce the behavior that led to the removal.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Time-out doesn't work regardless of context. Its effect depends on what the client is removed from.
• C. Changing the length does not by itself correct the escape contingency described here; duration can also affect the consequence's value.
• D. Satiation applies to reinforcers, and the writing task was aversive.

Review takeaway: Time-out only works if the client is being removed from something reinforcing.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.17 · Item BCBA6-G24

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Everyday Connection, Behavior Modification in Children (time-out)

Correct answer: A. Each rehearsal scored 3 ÷ 4 = 75%, short of the stated criterion. Attendance and satisfaction don't replace observed performance.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Attendance doesn't show performance.
• C. Satisfaction doesn't show performance either.
• D. Completing rehearsals isn't the same as performing them correctly.

Review takeaway: Judge training by observed performance against the criterion.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.7 · Item BCBA6-I18

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.10; BACB, Supervisor Training Curriculum Outline (2.0), p. 8, objective 6(e)

Correct answer: B. Highly variable data with few points don't show a predictable pattern. More data, or finding the source of the variability, is needed before a sound decision.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The data don't support a conclusion of success.
• C. The data don't support a conclusion of failure either.
• D. Changing several things at once makes it impossible to tell what caused any change.

Review takeaway: Don't decide on three noisy data points.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.7 · Item BCBA6-H19

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 17–19, variability and within-phase patterns

Correct answer: D. Interruptions were already falling by one per session during baseline. Values in the intervention phase continue the same line, so the change can't be credited to the intervention.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Five points is not too many; more data would help, not hurt.
• B. The intervention data fall steadily, with low variability.
• C. Reaching zero isn't required to show an effect. The problem is the trend that was already there.

Review takeaway: Project the baseline trend forward before crediting the intervention.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.11 · Item BCBA6-C20

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), n. 16 (a trend continuing across a phase change); p. 18 (projected patterns)

Correct answer: C. The Code asks behavior analysts to stay aware of personal biases, take steps so they don't compromise professional work, and document those actions. It also prohibits discrimination based on socioeconomic status.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Treating a bias as experience leaves it free to affect clients.
• B. Transferring clients because of their income is itself a problem and doesn't address the bias.
• D. Lowering goals based on income is the harm the Code is trying to prevent.

Review takeaway: Name the bias, correct for it, and document the steps.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.11 · Item BCBA6-E21

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.10, 1.08

Correct answer: A. Asking what one part of a multicomponent intervention contributes, for example by comparing the package with and without that part, is a component analysis.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. A parametric analysis compares different values of one variable, such as different token exchange rates.
• C. A comparative analysis compares two different interventions against each other.
• D. An integrity check measures whether the plan was implemented as written. It doesn't test what a component adds.

Review takeaway: Does this part add to the package? That is a component analysis question.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.8 · Item BCBA6-D13

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task D.8 (comparative, component, parametric); Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), p. 3, causal questions

Correct answer: B. Behavior analysts prioritize clients' needs, explain assessment results in understandable terms, and advocate for the amount and level of service needed to meet defined goals. When the data don't show a need, recommending services anyway doesn't serve the client.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A request alone doesn't establish a need the assessment didn't find.
• C. Treating a concern the data don't support uses the family's time and resources without a clear benefit.
• D. The family should hear the results and what they mean.

Review takeaway: An assessment can show that services aren't needed. Say so clearly.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.7 · Item BCBA6-F22

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task F.7; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.01, 2.08, 3.12

Correct answer: C. Under behavioral momentum theory, the richer stimulus–reinforcer relation in Classroom 1 predicts greater resistance to the disruption. The relevant reinforcement includes contingent and noncontingent deliveries, not just what on-task behavior earns directly. This is the theory-based interpretation requested by the question.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The contingent praise for on-task behavior is equal in both rooms, so it can't explain the difference in persistence.
• B. The disruption occurs in both classrooms; the stated reinforcement-history difference is the richer context in Classroom 1.
• D. Generalization doesn't explain differences in persistence under disruption.

Review takeaway: Persistence depends on how much reinforcement occurs in a context, not only on what the target behavior earns.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.22 · Item BCBA6-B23

Sources: Nevin & Shahan (2011), Behavioral momentum theory: Equations and applications, Abstract; Nevin, Mandell & Atak (1983), The analysis of behavioral momentum, Abstract

Correct answer: D. Code 2.15 permits restrictive or punishment-based procedures only after less intrusive means have not achieved the desired results, or when an existing intervention team determines that the risk of harm to the client outweighs the risk associated with the intervention. Analysts must follow applicable requirements and review processes, continually evaluate and document effectiveness, and modify or discontinue ineffective procedures. Positive reinforcement remains the priority under 2.14.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The Code prioritizes positive reinforcement procedures.
• B. Required review processes apply.
• C. Continual evaluation is required.

Review takeaway: Read both qualifying routes in 2.15; neither removes applicable review, risk-minimization, or ongoing-evaluation duties.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.17 · Item BCBA6-G25

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.15, 2.14

Correct answer: B. When data show supervision practices are working, supervisors continue them and plan for maintenance, while continuing to evaluate outcomes.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Removing feedback abruptly risks losing the gains.
• C. Changing a practice that is working without a reason isn't data-based.
• D. Ongoing data are needed to confirm the gains last.

Review takeaway: When supervision is working, keep it going, document it, and plan for maintenance.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.7 · Item BCBA6-I19

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.10

Correct answer: A. The Code calls for collaborating with colleagues from other professions in the client's best interest, compromising when possible, and documenting the actions. Involve the client and relevant stakeholders in the informed decision; collaboration does not replace their participation.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. Ignoring the other plan risks inconsistent prompting for the client.
• C. Simply handing an unresolved professional conflict to the family is not collaboration. Explain the options and evidence while involving them in the decision.
• D. Dropping the goal doesn't serve the client.

Review takeaway: Resolve conflicting plans with the other professional, using data, and document the result.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.8 · Item BCBA6-H20

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.10

Correct answer: C. The last three baseline points average 22 per hour, and the first three intervention points average 8, so the change is immediate. The lowest baseline value (20) is higher than the highest intervention value (9), so no data points overlap.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The change is abrupt, and no points overlap.
• B. The level fell from the low 20s to under 10.
• D. The intervention values stay roughly flat between 6 and 9.

Review takeaway: Level, immediacy, and overlap together describe how clear a change is.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.11 · Item BCBA6-C21

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 18, 20, immediacy of effect and overlap

Correct answer: D. Behavior analysts follow the law and professional requirements, comply with deadlines set by relevant entities such as funders, and follow contract and funder requirements for their documentation.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A looser employer policy doesn't cancel a contractual requirement for these services.
• B. Compliance can't depend on convenience.
• C. The Code covers requirements set by funders and contracts, not only BACB rules.

Review takeaway: When requirements differ, meet all of the ones that apply to the service.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.12 · Item BCBA6-E22

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.02, 1.15, 2.05

Correct answer: C. Goals should be socially significant and informed by the client. The Code requires involving clients and stakeholders in selecting goals.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Being easy to measure doesn't make a goal meaningful to the client.
• B. Speed of mastery isn't the standard for choosing priorities.
• D. Copied goals ignore this client's priorities.

Review takeaway: Prioritize goals that matter to the client's life, and ask the client.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.8 · Item BCBA6-F23

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task F.8; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.09, 2.14

Correct answer: A. Under the strict proportional-matching assumption in the question, B₁/(B₁ + B₂) = R₁/(R₁ + R₂). Problem behavior obtains 3 of every 4 attention deliveries: 3 ÷ 4 = 75%, leaving 25% for requests. Actual behavior can depart from strict matching; this is a calculation under the stated model.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. With the stated strict-matching assumptions, equal allocation would require equal obtained reinforcement rates.
• C. Matching predicts proportional allocation, not exclusive responding.
• D. This reverses the proportions.

Review takeaway: Relative responding tends to match relative reinforcement. To shift behavior, shift where reinforcement goes.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.23 · Item BCBA6-B24

Sources: Borrero & Vollmer (2002), An application of the matching law to severe problem behavior, Abstract; Borrero et al. (2010), Concurrent reinforcement schedules for problem behavior and appropriate behavior, Abstract

Correct answer: B. Analytic means a believable demonstration that the procedure caused the change. With only one baseline phase and one intervention phase, other explanations can't be ruled out.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. The report measures correct responding, which is observable behavior, so it is behavioral.
• C. Being conceptually systematic depends on tying procedures to basic principles; the report's gap is the evidence of control, not the conceptual link.
• D. Nothing suggests the target lacks social significance.

Review takeaway: One baseline phase followed by one intervention phase shows change, not control. Analytic requires a believable demonstration of cause.

Domain A: Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations · Task A.5 · Item BCBA6-A09

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task A.5; Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), p. 5, limits of two-phase AB designs; Baer, Wolf & Risley (1968), Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis, pp. 93-94 (analytic: a believable demonstration of control); Baer, Wolf & Risley (1968), original passages reproduced by BAAM, Detailed Version; original pp. 93–95, analytic and technological dimensions

Correct answer: A. Punishment can produce fear and avoidance of the person delivering it. The Code requires ongoing evaluation of punishment-based procedures and changing them when needed.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. A decrease in the target behavior doesn't justify ignoring harmful side effects.
• C. Increasing reprimands without evaluating the observed distress and avoidance does not address the harmful side effects.
• D. Switching teachers leaves the procedure's side effects unexamined.

Review takeaway: Side effects of a procedure are data. Evaluate them and act.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.18 · Item BCBA6-G26

Sources: OpenStax, Psychology 2e, 6.3 Operant Conditioning, Punishment (fear and avoidance of the punisher); BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.15

Correct answer: D. A multiple baseline can demonstrate change at staggered intervention starts without requiring a learned skill to disappear during withdrawal. Measure all three chains repeatedly, examine baseline patterns and tier independence, and evaluate whether each chain changes when its teaching begins.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. A reversal depends on a useful reversal in the measured behavior; the stem says the learned performance is expected to persist.
• B. Deleting inconvenient observations misrepresents the record.
• C. One AB comparison does not supply the replicated demonstrations needed for a persuasive experimental-control claim.

Review takeaway: Choose a design that fits whether the target change can realistically and appropriately reverse.

Domain D: Experimental Design · Task D.9 · Item BCBA6-D14

Sources: Kratochwill et al. (2010), Single-Case Designs Technical Documentation (What Works Clearinghouse), pp. 19–20, purposes of a baseline and options for instability

Correct answer: D. The Code calls for monitoring and evaluating supervisee performance and evaluating supervision using supervisee and client outcomes.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. More frequent self-ratings are still indirect.
• B. Informal impressions are not a systematic record of the target performance.
• C. Waiting for complaints means problems are found late.

Review takeaway: Base supervision decisions on observed performance and client outcomes.

Domain I: Personnel Supervision and Management · Task I.7 · Item BCBA6-I20

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 4.08, 4.10

Correct answer: B. When a BCBA is concerned that another professional's concurrent services are affecting the intervention, the Code calls for reviewing and addressing the issue with that professional.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Telling the family to end another professional's services goes beyond the BCBA's role and skips collaboration.
• C. The Code specifically asks the BCBA to address the concern.
• D. Changing goals avoids the issue instead of addressing it.

Review takeaway: Take concerns about other services to that provider, with your data.

Domain H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions · Task H.8 · Item BCBA6-H21

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.18, 2.10

Correct answer: A. 8 ÷ 10 = 80%. A single overall percentage hides which steps were missed, and missing a critical component can matter more than missing a minor one, so report both.

Why the other options are wrong:

• B. The overall percentage alone hides the critical omission.
• C. "Implemented well" is a judgment the data don't support when a critical step was missed.
• D. Scoring zero discards the accurate information that 8 steps were done.

Review takeaway: Measure integrity at the step level, and make critical components visible.

Domain C: Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation · Task C.12 · Item BCBA6-C22

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task C.12 (accuracy, dosage); Fryling, Wallace & Yassine (2012), Impact of treatment integrity on intervention effectiveness, Abstract

Correct answer: B. The Code requires following the law and the requirements of relevant regulators, such as licensure boards. Certification and state permission to practice are separate.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Certification doesn't replace a state license where one is required.
• C. Another analyst's license does not satisfy the individual-license requirement expressly given in this scenario.
• D. In this scenario the license is required before practice begins, and a pending application isn't a license.

Review takeaway: Certification and state licensure are separate. Where a license is required, get it first.

Domain E: Ethical and Professional Issues · Task E.12 · Item BCBA6-E23

Sources: BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 1.02, 1.15

Correct answer: D. Assessment data should be interpreted to prioritize socially significant goals. A behavior whose safety risk has already prompted medical visits takes priority over one that is not interfering with the client's life. Coordinate assessment of relevant medical needs rather than treating this priority decision as a treatment protocol.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. How often a behavior occurs doesn't outweigh risk of harm.
• B. Ease of measurement doesn't set priorities.
• C. Delaying a safety priority isn't justified.

Review takeaway: Risk to the client comes first when prioritizing targets.

Domain F: Behavior Assessment · Task F.8 · Item BCBA6-F24

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task F.8; BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, 2.01

Correct answer: C. The new staff member learned from watching someone else's behavior and its consequences, then behaved that way later without being taught directly. That is observational learning.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. There was no immediate copying of the model. The stem instead emphasizes learning from another person’s behavior and its consequence, expressed later.
• B. Echoic behavior is vocal behavior that repeats another person's words.
• D. Response generalization involves new forms of a response the person was already taught, not learning a behavior by watching.

Review takeaway: Learning from watching others and the consequences they receive is observational learning.

Domain B: Concepts and Principles · Task B.24 · Item BCBA6-B25

Sources: BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), Task B.24; Zentall (2012), Perspectives on observational learning in animals (Journal of Comparative Psychology; author PDF), Definitions; Bandura's simple vs. deferred imitation

Correct answer: C. Equivalence-based instruction teaches some conditional relations and tests for others that emerge without direct teaching, which can make instruction efficient.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A. Response generalization involves new response forms, not new stimulus relations.
• B. Shaping reinforces successive approximations of a response.
• D. IOA is a measurement check, not a teaching design.

Review takeaway: Teach a few relations; test for the ones that emerge.

Domain G: Behavior-Change Procedures · Task G.19 · Item BCBA6-G27

Sources: Sidman & Tailby (1982), Conditional discrimination vs. matching to sample, Abstract (testing for equivalence after conditional-discrimination training)