Interlaza Prep · RBT® study guide

RBT exam study guide: the six areas, task by task

The RBT exam covers six content areas and 43 tasks. This guide walks through each task with the key ideas to know, in plain language. Read an area, then practice it.

The exam has 85 multiple-choice questions (75 scored) and a 90-minute time limit.

Open RBT practice Try free sample questions

The six areas

A · Data Collection and Graphing 8 tasks · 13 scored questions
B · Behavior Assessment 3 tasks · 8 scored questions
C · Behavior Acquisition 11 tasks · 19 scored questions
D · Behavior Reduction 7 tasks · 14 scored questions
E · Documentation and Reporting 4 tasks · 10 scored questions
F · Ethics 10 tasks · 11 scored questions

8 tasks · 13 scored questions

A · Data Collection and Graphing

A.1 · Recording every occurrence: continuous measures

Count (frequency) records each instance of the behavior; rate expresses that count per unit of observation time.
Duration is the time from the start to the end of one occurrence; total and per-episode duration answer "how long".
Latency runs from the end of a cue or instruction to the start of the response; interresponse time runs from the end of one response to the start of the next.
The measure is chosen to match the concern the supervisor names: how often, how long, or how quickly the behavior happens.

A.2 · Sampling behavior in intervals: discontinuous measures

Partial-interval recording scores an interval if the behavior happens at any point in it; it tends to overestimate how much behavior occurred.
Whole-interval recording scores an interval only if the behavior lasts the entire interval; it tends to underestimate.
Momentary time sampling scores only whether the behavior is happening at the instant the interval ends.
Discontinuous methods yield a percentage of intervals, an estimate, not a count of every occurrence.

A.3 · Measuring the lasting results of behavior

Permanent product recording measures a tangible outcome the behavior leaves behind, after the behavior has occurred.
It suits behaviors that reliably leave a product; behaviors that leave nothing must be observed as they happen.
The product must be attributable to the client: if someone else could have produced it, the record is not valid.

A.4 · Entering data and keeping graphs current

Data are entered promptly from the raw record, exactly as collected, never reconstructed from memory or estimated.
On a line graph the horizontal axis shows sessions or time and the vertical axis shows the measure; each session is one data point.
A phase change line marks a change in conditions; points are not connected across it, and a session that did not happen is not plotted as zero.

A.5 · Describing behavior and environment observably

A behavior description names actions others can see or hear and count, not feelings, intentions, traits or diagnoses.
A good definition lets two observers agree on each occurrence, helped by examples and non-examples.
Antecedents and consequences are described as specific events in the environment, not as general impressions.

A.6 · Calculating and summarizing data

Rate is the count divided by observation time, which allows comparison of sessions of different lengths.
Percentage divides the number of correct responses (or scored intervals) by the total opportunities (or intervals) and multiplies by 100.
Mean duration per occurrence is the total duration divided by the number of occurrences.
The summary is chosen to fit the data: rate when observation time varies, percentage when the number of opportunities varies.

A.7 · Reading trends in graphed data

Trend is the overall direction of the data over time: increasing, decreasing, or flat.
Trend differs from level (where the data sit on the vertical axis) and from variability (how much they bounce).
Whether a trend is good depends on the goal for that behavior; a trend is read from several points, not one.

A.8 · Risks of unreliable data and poor implementation

Inaccurate data can lead the supervisor to wrong decisions, such as declaring mastery too early or changing a plan that works.
When a plan is not implemented as written, results cannot show whether the plan itself works.
Recording errors, drifting definitions and implementation slips are reported to the supervisor, not corrected silently or filled in.

Go deeper on this area

Practice this area

3 tasks · 8 scored questions

B · Behavior Assessment

B.1 · Running preference assessments

Paired-stimulus assessment offers two items at a time until every item has been paired with every other.
In a multiple-stimulus array the chosen item is either removed for the next trial (without replacement) or put back (with replacement).
A free-operant assessment gives open access to items and records time spent with each, without removing anything.
Preferences shift, so brief assessments are repeated often, as the supervisor directs.

B.2 · Helping assess skill strengths and needs

Assessment items are given exactly as the protocol states, without extra prompts, hints or reinforcement.
The technician records the response that actually occurred, not a skill assumed from another source.
The supervisor selects assessments and interprets results; the technician collects data and reports observations.

B.3 · Helping with functional assessment

Descriptive (ABC) recording notes what happened right before and right after the behavior, in order, without guessing the reason.
Descriptive assessment observes events as they naturally occur; a functional analysis deliberately arranges test conditions.
In functional analysis conditions the technician delivers exactly the programmed consequences and follows the stop and safety rules.

Practice this area

11 tasks · 19 scored questions

C · Behavior Acquisition

C.1 · Delivering reinforcement

Positive reinforcement adds a stimulus and negative reinforcement removes one; both make the behavior more likely in the future.
Reinforcement works best when delivered immediately and only after the target response.
Schedules: continuous reinforcement for new skills; fixed or variable ratio (responses) and interval (time) schedules for thinning.
Magnitude, intensity and variety are adjusted to the effort of the task and to signs of satiation.

C.2 · Building and using conditioned reinforcers

A neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned reinforcer by being presented just before or with an existing reinforcer.
A generalized conditioned reinforcer is backed by many reinforcers and is less affected by satiation.
Conditioned reinforcers lose strength if they stop being paired with backup reinforcers.

C.3 · Running discrete-trial teaching

Each trial has an instruction, a response, a consequence and a short pause before the next trial.
The instruction is given once, clearly, and the learner is given the planned time to respond.
Correct responses are reinforced at once; errors follow the written error-correction procedure.

C.4 · Teaching in natural routines

Naturalistic teaching follows the learner's interests and arranges the setting so the learner initiates.
The consequence is naturally related to the response, such as getting the item the learner asked for.
It differs from discrete-trial teaching in who initiates, where it happens and what the reinforcer is.

C.5 · Teaching skill sequences with chaining

A task analysis breaks a complex skill into ordered, teachable steps.
Forward chaining teaches the first step first; backward chaining teaches the last step first, so the learner always finishes the chain.
Total-task chaining has the learner do every step on every trial, with prompts as needed.

C.6 · Running discrimination training

A discriminative stimulus signals that a response will be reinforced; an S-delta signals that it will not.
Reinforcement follows responses made when the SD is present and is withheld for responses made when the S-delta is present.
Positions and materials are varied so the learner responds to the relevant feature, not to an irrelevant cue.

C.7 · Using prompts and fading them

Response prompts act on the learner's response (verbal, gestural, model, physical); stimulus prompts change the materials (position, size, color).
Least-to-most moves to more help only after no response or an error; most-to-least starts with full help to keep errors low.
Time delay waits a set number of seconds after the instruction before prompting, increasing the wait over sessions in the progressive form.
Prompts are faded as planned so responding comes under control of the natural cue, avoiding prompt dependence.

C.8 · Promoting generalization

Stimulus generalization is the skill occurring with new people, settings or materials that were not part of teaching.
Teaching with several examples, people and settings makes generalization more likely; it is planned, not assumed.
Response generalization is a new but functionally similar response appearing without being taught.

C.9 · Telling maintenance from acquisition procedures

Acquisition procedures teach new skills, typically with frequent reinforcement and planned prompting.
Maintenance procedures keep mastered skills going over time with thinner reinforcement and periodic practice or probes.
Maintenance is about time; generalization is about new people, places and materials.

C.10 · Shaping new behavior

Shaping reinforces successive approximations of a target behavior that the learner does not yet perform.
Once a closer approximation is reliable, earlier approximations are no longer reinforced, and criteria rise in small steps.
Shaping changes one response gradually; chaining links different steps; prompting adds help to an existing response.

C.11 · Running token economies

Tokens are delivered immediately after the target behavior, usually with praise, and later exchanged for backup reinforcers.
Exchanges follow the planned schedule and price list, set by the supervisor.
Backup reinforcers keep their value only if they are not freely available outside the system.

Go deeper on this area

Practice this area

7 tasks · 14 scored questions

D · Behavior Reduction

D.1 · Recognizing common functions of behavior

Common functions are access to attention, access to items or activities, escape from demands or situations, and automatic (sensory) reinforcement.
Function is identified from what reliably follows the behavior, not from what the behavior looks like.
Function describes a relation with the environment, not a motive or a character judgment.

D.2 · Applying antecedent strategies

Noncontingent reinforcement delivers the maintaining reinforcer on a time schedule, regardless of behavior.
A high-probability request sequence presents several easy requests the learner usually follows, then the harder request.
Demand fading starts with few or easy demands and increases them gradually as problem behavior stays low.

D.3 · Applying differential reinforcement

DRO reinforces the absence of the problem behavior for an interval; DRA reinforces a specific alternative behavior.
DRI reinforces a behavior that is physically incompatible with the problem behavior; DRL reinforces lower rates rather than zero.
Functional communication training teaches a communication response that produces the same reinforcer as the problem behavior.

D.4 · Applying extinction

Extinction withholds the specific reinforcer that has maintained the behavior.
What extinction looks like depends on function: for escape, the demand stays in place; for attention, attention is withheld.
Extinction must be applied consistently by everyone and through any temporary increase, within the safety limits of the plan.

D.5 · Applying punishment procedures

Positive punishment adds a stimulus and negative punishment removes one; both make the behavior less likely in the future.
Time-out removes access to reinforcement for a set time and only works if the setting left behind is reinforcing.
Punishment is defined by its effect on future behavior, and only procedures in the written plan are used.

D.6 · Side effects of extinction and punishment

Extinction may bring an extinction burst, new forms of the behavior, emotional responses, and later spontaneous recovery.
Resurgence is the return of a previously reinforced behavior when a newer behavior stops being reinforced.
Punishment may bring emotional responses and escape or avoidance of the person or setting linked to it.

D.7 · Following crisis and emergency procedures

In a crisis the technician follows the written crisis plan and only procedures they were trained to use.
Safety of the client and others comes first; teaching programs pause until the situation is safe.
Incidents are reported to the supervisor and documented promptly, as workplace policy requires.

Go deeper on this area

Practice this area

4 tasks · 10 scored questions

E · Documentation and Reporting

E.1 · Passing team concerns to the supervisor promptly

Concerns and suggestions from caregivers, teachers and other providers are passed to the supervisor promptly and accurately.
The technician does not change the plan on the basis of a team member's suggestion; the supervisor decides.
Concerns are relayed even when the technician disagrees with them or thinks they are minor.

E.2 · Seeking clinical direction from the supervisor

The technician asks for direction when unsure, needs training, or notices irregular data, instead of guessing.
Questions go to the technician's own supervisor first, following the chain of command.
Safety-related questions are raised first and immediately; routine questions can wait for planned contact.

E.3 · Reporting variables that may affect progress

Illness, medication changes, sleep problems, schedule changes and family events are reported and documented promptly.
The technician reports what was observed or told, without giving medical advice or judging relevance alone.

E.4 · Writing objective session notes

Session notes describe what happened in observable terms, without opinions or labels.
Notes are completed on time and follow legal, funder and workplace requirements.
Records are never altered after the fact; corrections follow the workplace correction procedure.

Practice this area

10 tasks · 11 scored questions

F · Ethics

F.1 · Core principles of the RBT ethics code

The technician acts to benefit the client and avoid harm.
Clients and others are treated with compassion, dignity and respect.
The technician behaves with integrity: honest records, kept commitments, no shortcuts that mislead.

F.2 · Working only within demonstrated competence

A technician provides a service only after showing competence in it, as assessed by the supervisor.
When asked to do something not yet trained, the technician says so and requests training before doing it.

F.3 · Working under ongoing qualified supervision

Services are provided only while the technician has a supervisor who meets BACB requirements.
If supervision lapses, the technician does not continue services independently and reports the situation.

F.4 · Recognizing effective supervision

Effective training includes instructions, modeling, rehearsal and feedback.
Effective supervision includes direct observation of the technician working with clients.
Feedback is specific and tied to observed performance.

F.5 · Protecting confidential information

Client information is shared only with people authorized to receive it and only as much as needed.
Records are stored and transmitted securely, following workplace and legal requirements.
Clients are not discussed where others can overhear, and details that could identify them are protected.

F.6 · Making accurate public statements

Client images or information are not posted on social media.
The technician describes their credential accurately and does not present themselves as a behavior analyst.
Public statements do not promise or exaggerate outcomes of services.

F.7 · Recognizing and managing multiple relationships

A multiple relationship exists when the technician has another role with a client or family, such as babysitter or friend.
Multiple relationships risk impaired judgment, conflicts of interest and harm, so they are avoided.
When one cannot be avoided, the technician tells the supervisor and follows the plan to reduce the risk.

F.8 · Following the rules on gifts

The technician does not give or accept gifts worth more than US$10 (or the equivalent purchasing power elsewhere) with clients, stakeholders or supervisors, and also weighs the context, repeated gifts and any stricter employer rule (RBT Ethics Code 1.11).
A gift can be declined kindly, with an explanation of the rule, and the supervisor informed.

F.9 · Interpersonal and professional skills

The technician accepts feedback openly and uses it to change performance.
Active listening, seeking input and collaborating with families and team members are part of the role.

F.10 · Practicing cultural humility and responsiveness

The technician identifies their own biases and how these may affect services and relationships.
The family is the source on its own culture, values and routines; assumptions are checked with them.
Cultural humility is ongoing learning, not something completed by one training.

Practice this area

Test what you just read

Open RBT mode to practice one area at a time or take the timed mock: 85 questions in 90 minutes, corrected at the end with an explanation for every answer.

Open RBT practice

How to become an RBT: the steps Look up ABA terms in the glossary Read the official outline from the BACB

Independent study resource. Interlaza is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BACB. This guide is written in our own words from the outline, is not the required 40-hour training or the competency assessment, and does not predict or guarantee a pass.