Practice question
Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations

Interpret private events within a radical behaviorist framework.

Original BCBA scenario practice question with answer explanation and wrong-choice notes.

Question

Difficulty: medium. Skill: apply. Type: applied scenario.

During an interview, a young child says, "I do dropping to the floor because I feel nervous." How should the BCBA use this statement? The team wants the next step to be defensible from the current data.

A
Treat nervousness as the sole cause and stop assessment
B
Ignore the statement because private events are never relevant
C
Use only self-report data for the behavior plan
D
Treat the statement as useful information while continuing to assess observable contexts

Correct answer

Explanation

Answer D

Radical behaviorism can include private events, but practice still requires analysis of observable variables and consequences.

Why the other choices are weaker

A
Choice A

Private-event reports do not replace assessment of behavior-environment relations.

B
Choice B

Private events can be relevant as behavior and as context for assessment.

C
Choice C

Self-report can supplement but should not replace needed direct and indirect assessment.

Study tags

Private EventsSelectionismRadical Behaviorism

Practice interactively

Try more BCBA scenario questions in the interactive practice mode, then use review tools to track missed domains and flagged items.

Start practiceMore free questions