Practice question
Experimental Design

Single-case versus group-design strengths: Internal validity and confounds.

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

Test this weak areaPractice this domainDomain study hub

Question

Difficulty: hard. Skill: analyze. Type: experimental design critique.

The team wants stronger evidence before scaling a plan for completing a multi-step job routine. Which design decision best fits single-case versus group-design strengths? The case file includes 5 recent sessions, 1 implementer, and 3 settings.

A
Change the intervention immediately based on the concern alone
B
Identify the competing explanation and strengthen experimental control before claiming an intervention effect in relation to adult client's stopping work after corrective feedback

Correct answer

C
Continue unchanged and ignore the new contextual information
D
Add a punishment procedure before clarifying function, risk, or feasibility

Explanation

Answer B

The clue is the combination of duration data showing long pauses after feedback, stopping work after corrective feedback, and the required task: Single-case versus group-design strengths. The case file includes 5 recent sessions, 1 implementer, and 3 settings. Identify the competing explanation and strengthen experimental control before claiming an intervention effect in relation to adult client's stopping work after corrective feedback is best because it answers that clue through internal validity and confounds 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 duration data showing long pauses after feedback, stopping work after corrective feedback, and the required task: Single-case versus group-design strengths. The case file includes 5 recent sessions, 1 implementer, and 3 settings.

Trap
Common trap

This is weaker because it skips the assessment, integrity, or decision rule needed before changing procedures.

Next
If you missed it, review Internal validity and confounds

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 it skips the assessment, integrity, or decision rule needed before changing procedures.

C
Choice C

Ignoring relevant data or context prevents a defensible behavior-analytic decision.

D
Choice D

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

Study tags

Internal validity and confoundsSingle-case versus group-design strengthsconfounding variablesexperimental control

Turn this into a study plan

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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 Experimental Design. It also includes study tags for Internal validity and confounds, Single-case versus group-design strengths, confounding variables, experimental control.

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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