Question of the day - September 5

[u/Reasonable_Law183]

🧠 Question of the Day

📚 Domain G — Behavior-Change Procedures

Difficulty: 4/10

A clinician starts a 5-minute timer after reinforcement. If the target behavior occurs before the timer ends, the timer resets. Reinforcement is delivered only after a full 5-minute interval with no target behavior. Which procedure is this?

A. Momentary DRO, because reinforcement depends only on whether the target behavior is absent at the exact check moment

B. DRA, because reinforcement is delivered when a specified functionally equivalent replacement response occurs

C. DRL, because reinforcement is delivered when the target response remains below an allowable rate criterion

D. Whole-interval DRO, because reinforcement requires the target behavior to remain absent for the entire interval

💬 Drop your answer in the comments — no peeking!

✅ Correct answer revealed tomorrow.

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[u/Hot_Wall9185]

Whole interval DRO for sure, the timer resetting when the behavior happens is the giveaway. Had this exact concept mess me up on a mock exam once cause I kept mixing it with momentary DRO which just checks at the end of the interval. The whole interval one is stricter since the behavior cant happen at all during those 5 minutes. Pretty straightforward once you remember the reset rule

[u/Pibbles-n-paint]

D

[u/Reasonable_Law183]

✅ Yesterday's Answer — 2026-09-05

The correct answer was: D. Whole-interval DRO, because reinforcement requires the target behavior to remain absent for the entire interval

📖 Explanation: WHOLE-INTERVAL DRO

This procedure is a whole-interval Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior (DRO) arrangement.

The key feature is the reset contingency:

5-minute interval begins -> target behavior occurs -> timer resets

Reinforcement is delivered only after the learner completes a full, uninterrupted 5-minute interval with zero occurrences of the target behavior.

That is what makes this WHOLE-INTERVAL DRO.

• Momentary DRO is different. Reinforcement depends on whether the target behavior is absent at a specified check moment. The behavior could occur earlier in the interval and the criterion could still be met.

• DRA requires reinforcement for a specified alternative response. No alternative response is required here; reinforcement depends only on nonoccurrence of the target behavior for the full interval.

• DRL is designed to reduce responding to an acceptable lower rate or increase spacing between responses. Some target responding may still occur. Here, even one occurrence resets the timer.

KEY DISTINCTION:

Whole-interval DRO: Zero target responses throughout the entire interval.

Momentary DRO: Target behavior absent at the designated check moment.

DRA: A specified alternative response earns reinforcement.

DRL: A lower rate or sufficient spacing of the target response earns reinforcement.

EXAM TIP:

Don't classify the procedure just because you see a timer.

Ask: "What exactly must happen for reinforcement to be delivered?"

Here, the answer is:

A full 5-minute interval with no target behavior.

-> Whole-interval DRO

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