Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) Practice Test

When teaching a child swimming and they begin to perform both the front crawl and the breaststroke, what has occurred?

1. Behavior acquisition

2. Stimulus generalization

3. Response maintenance

4. Behavior substitution

The correct answer is: Stimulus generalization

The occurrence described in the scenario refers to stimulus generalization. This concept pertains to the tendency for a learned behavior to be exhibited in the presence of stimuli that are similar to the original training stimuli. In this case, the child has learned to swim using one stroke—the front crawl—and is now applying that skill to another stroke—the breaststroke. This indicates that the child has generalized their swimming skills to different contexts or stimuli, recognizing that both strokes involve similar movements and techniques required for swimming. Stimulus generalization is important in the learning process, as it allows an individual to adapt their skills and knowledge to various situations, enhancing their overall competency. In contrast, other options refer to different aspects of behavior and learning. Behavior acquisition would focus on the initial learning of a new skill, response maintenance involves retaining a learned behavior over time, and behavior substitution means replacing one behavior with another, rather than demonstrating generalization of learned skills across contexts.