B.8: Identify and distinguish among unconditioned, conditioned, and generalized punishers.
Free practice questions for this part of the BCBA, with an explanation for every option.
For one client, the word "No" has been repeatedly paired with losing access to toys, with brief time-out, and with physical blocking. "No" now reduces the behaviors it follows. "No" is best described as a(n):
- A. Unconditioned punisherIncorrect. A spoken word has no punishing function without a learning history.
- B. Generalized conditioned punisherCorrect. A stimulus paired with many unconditioned or conditioned punishers is a generalized conditioned punisher.
- C. Conditioned punisher paired with one punisherIncorrect. "No" was paired with several different punishers, not just one.
- D. Negative reinforcerIncorrect. Delivering "No" decreases behavior, so it is a punisher, not a reinforcer.
A toddler touches a hot oven door, quickly pulls her hand back, and does not touch the oven door again over the following weeks. No one had to teach her that heat is unpleasant. With respect to touching the oven door, the heat is best classified as a(n):
- A. Conditioned punisherA conditioned punisher gets its effect from a history of pairing with other punishers. Painful heat needs no such history.
- B. Generalized conditioned punisherA generalized conditioned punisher has been paired with many different punishers. Heat suppresses behavior without any pairing history.
- C. Unconditioned punisherCorrect. Painful stimulation such as heat suppresses the behavior it follows without any learning history. That makes it an unconditioned (primary) punisher for touching.
- D. Negative reinforcer for touchingA negative reinforcer increases behavior that removes or avoids it. Escaping the heat may strengthen pulling her hand back, but touching the door decreased, so for touching the heat is not a reinforcer.
When a new employee joins a call center, her team lead's frown has no effect on her behavior. A written correction form she must sign, however, already reduces the behaviors it follows. Over several weeks, each time the team lead frowns, the frown is followed by a written correction form. Now the frown alone reduces the behaviors it follows, such as long personal calls. The frown is best described as a(n):
- A. Unconditioned punisherThe frown had no effect at first and gained it only through pairing, so it is not unconditioned.
- B. Discriminative stimulus for punishmentAn SDp signals that punishment is likely if a behavior occurs. Here the frown follows the behavior and directly decreases it, so it works as a consequence.
- C. Generalized conditioned punisherA generalized conditioned punisher is paired with many different punishers. Here the frown is paired with only one.
- D. Conditioned punisherCorrect. A neutral stimulus that gains its punishing effect by being paired with an existing punisher (the written correction) is a conditioned punisher.