Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) Practice Test

If a child engages in hand-biting when alone, what is the likely function of this behavior?

1. Attention seeking

2. Automatic reinforcement

3. Escape from demands

4. Access to tangibles

The correct answer is: Automatic reinforcement

The likely function of hand-biting when a child is alone is automatic reinforcement. This means that the behavior itself is reinforcing for the individual, providing some form of internal satisfaction or sensory stimulation. Automatic reinforcement occurs when a behavior directly leads to a consequence that enhances the likelihood of the behavior occurring again, without the need for social interaction or external rewards. In the case of the child biting their hand, the action may produce sensory feedback that is pleasurable or soothing in some way, fulfilling a need for sensory input or self-soothing, which often occurs without any external prompting or observation from others. When looking at the behavior of hand-biting in this context, it emphasizes that some behaviors can be reinforced by their own consequences rather than by the social responses or tangible rewards typically associated with other types of functions such as attention-seeking or access to items.