Practice question
Concepts and Principles

Stimulus and stimulus class: Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization.

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: concept discrimination.

In a community outing, adolescent's grabbing preferred items changes after a specific antecedent and consequence arrangement. Which analysis best matches stimulus and stimulus class? The case file includes 7 recent sessions, 5 implementers, and 4 settings.

A
Add a punishment procedure before clarifying function, risk, or feasibility
B
Use the descriptive label as the explanation and treatment target
C
Analyze the antecedent conditions and whether responding occurs across trained and untrained stimuli in relation to adolescent's grabbing preferred items

Correct answer

D
Send the written protocol again without observing performance

Explanation

Answer C

The clue is the combination of ABC data from three outings, grabbing preferred items, and the required task: Stimulus and stimulus class. The case file includes 7 recent sessions, 5 implementers, and 4 settings. Analyze the antecedent conditions and whether responding occurs across trained and untrained stimuli in relation to adolescent's grabbing preferred items is best because it answers that clue through stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization 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: Stimulus and stimulus class. The case file includes 7 recent sessions, 5 implementers, and 4 settings.

Trap
Common trap

A punishment-first response is weaker when less intrusive, function-based, or assessment steps have not been addressed.

Next
If you missed it, review Motivating operations versus discriminative stimuli

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

Why the other choices are weaker

A
Choice A

A punishment-first response is weaker when less intrusive, function-based, or assessment steps have not been addressed.

B
Choice B

A label is not enough; the decision should be based on observable behavior and relevant variables.

D
Choice D

Written directions alone do not verify performance or correct implementation errors.

Study tags

Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalizationStimulus and stimulus classstimulus controldiscrimination

Turn this into a study plan

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

Test this weak areaStart B 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.

Try 5 similar questions

bcba-006Behavior, response, and response class: Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization.Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization, Behavior, response, and response class, stimulus controlbcba-007Stimulus and stimulus class: Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization.Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization, Stimulus and stimulus class, stimulus controlbcba-017Stimulus control examples: Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization.Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization, Stimulus control examples, stimulus controlbcba-018Stimulus discrimination examples: Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization.Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization, Stimulus discrimination examples, stimulus controlbcba-019Stimulus and response generalization: Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization.Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization, Stimulus and response generalization, stimulus control

Question FAQ

What BCBA domain does this question cover?

This practice question is tagged to Concepts and Principles. It also includes study tags for Stimulus control, discrimination, and generalization, Stimulus and stimulus class, stimulus control, discrimination.

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.

Practice interactively

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

Start diagnosticQuestion directoryMore free questions