Practice question
Ethical and Professional Issues

Core ethics-code principles: Scope of competence.

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

Test this weak areaPractice this domainDomain study hub

Question

Difficulty: medium. Skill: apply. Type: ethics professional judgment.

During a community outing, care team asks the BCBA to act quickly even though the requirement related to core ethics-code principles is directly relevant. What is the most appropriate response? The case file includes 2 recent sessions, 5 implementers, and 3 settings.

A
Base the decision on the descriptive label for grabbing preferred items and bypass core ethics-code principles
B
Use a familiar protocol even though it does not address scope of competence
C
Pause, document the concern, and seek consultation, supervision, referral, or training before proceeding in relation to adolescent's grabbing preferred items

Correct answer

D
Rely on care team's report alone and stop collecting direct evidence

Explanation

Answer C

The clue is the combination of ABC data from three outings, grabbing preferred items, and the required task: Core ethics-code principles. The case file includes 2 recent sessions, 5 implementers, and 3 settings. Pause, document the concern, and seek consultation, supervision, referral, or training before proceeding in relation to adolescent's grabbing preferred items is best because it answers that clue through scope of competence instead of treating the scenario as a generic behavior problem. On exam items like this, name the decision point first, then eliminate options that rely on one report, a label, a familiar protocol, or an action that skips the relevant data check.

Why this question is hard

Clue
Key scenario clue

The clue is the combination of ABC data from three outings, grabbing preferred items, and the required task: Core ethics-code principles. The case file includes 2 recent sessions, 5 implementers, and 3 settings.

Trap
Common trap

This is weaker because the label does not answer the Core ethics-code principles decision point or test Scope of competence.

Next
If you missed it, review Scope of competence

Then answer a few related scenarios before moving back to broad practice.

Why the other choices are weaker

A
Choice A

This is weaker because the label does not answer the Core ethics-code principles decision point or test Scope of competence.

B
Choice B

A familiar protocol is not enough unless it matches the assessed variables and the current decision question.

D
Choice D

Stakeholder input matters, but direct data, context, and integrity checks are still needed for a defensible answer.

Study tags

Scope of competenceCore ethics-code principlescompetencereferral

Turn this into a study plan

If this question felt difficult, practice a short drill from Ethical and Professional Issues and use the review page to turn missed items into a weak-area plan.

Test this weak areaStart E domain drillReview missed questionsExplain my own question

Related study guides

GuideDistractor patternsUse this if the wrong answer sounded plausible.GuideMissed-question reviewUse this if you want to turn the miss into a study rule.GuideScore plateau guideUse this if similar mistakes keep repeating.

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Question FAQ

What BCBA domain does this question cover?

This practice question is tagged to Ethical and Professional Issues. It also includes study tags for Scope of competence, Core ethics-code principles, competence, referral.

How should I review this practice question?

Answer the scenario before reading the explanation, compare your reasoning with the correct answer, then review why the distractors are weaker.

Is this an official BACB exam question?

No. This is an original study question for BCBA Scenario Tutor and is not an official BACB exam item.

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