BACB BCABA Exam - Topic 4 Question 117 Discussion

Actual exam question for BACB's BCABA exam

Question #: 117
Topic #: 4

Susan recorded data on a student's fidgeting behavior in the following way: She divided a 10-minute recording period into 10-second intervals and recorded in each interval a "+" if the target behavior occurred at least once. The percentage of intervals of target behavior occurrence was about 45%. The data resulting are most likely to be an

Aaccurate measure of inter-response times.

Binaccurate measure of inter-response times.

Coverestimate of the occurrence of the behavior.

Dunderestimate of the occurrence of the behavior.

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: C

by Larae at Oct 17, 2025, 02:20 PM

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Essie

9 hours ago

I lean towards A. Accurate measure of occurrence.

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Ronny

6 days ago

I feel like it's D. Underestimate could be possible.

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Tanja

11 days ago

But what if it's C? Overestimate?

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Precious

16 days ago

Agreed, it's not a precise measure at all!

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Brock

21 days ago

Definitely an overestimate, those intervals can be misleading.

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Alisha

26 days ago

Wait, how can it be accurate if it's just intervals?

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Pearly

1 month ago

That's a 45% occurrence rate.

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Caprice

1 month ago

C) overestimate of the occurrence of the behavior. Duh, it's basic statistics. Susan needs to learn about sampling methods before doing any more research.

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Reyes

1 month ago

Hmm, I'll go with C. Seems like Susan needs to work on her data collection techniques. Maybe she should try wearing a fidget spinner herself during the next observation.

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Felice

2 months ago

D) underestimate of the occurrence of the behavior. The 10-second intervals might miss some quick fidgets. This method seems flawed.

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Juan

2 months ago

I'm going with C too. Counting intervals with any occurrence is bound to inflate the percentage compared to continuous measurement.

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Leah

2 months ago

For this type of question, I think it's important to really understand the data collection method and how that could impact the results. The interval recording seems like it could lead to some inaccuracies, so I'd be cautious about choosing an answer that assumes the data is fully accurate.

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Chantell

2 months ago

I agree, B makes sense. Too short of intervals.

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Gene

2 months ago

C) overestimate of the occurrence of the behavior. Seems like the most logical answer since the recording method only captures if the behavior occurred at least once in each interval, not the actual duration.

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Leatha

2 months ago

I think it's B. Inaccurate measure.

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Bulah

3 months ago

I think it's an underestimate of the behavior.

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Filiberto

3 months ago

I see both sides, but B feels right overall.

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Helga

3 months ago

I'm a little confused about the inter-response times part of the question. Does that mean something different than just the overall occurrence of the behavior? I'm not sure how that fits in.

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Derick

3 months ago

Yeah, that's a good point. The 45% figure is likely higher than the true percentage of time the behavior was occurring. So I'd go with option C, that the data is an overestimate of the behavior.

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Nguyet

4 months ago

Okay, let me think this through. If the behavior is being recorded in 10-second intervals, and a "+" is marked if it occurred at least once, that means the data is probably an overestimate of the actual occurrence of the behavior, right? Since it doesn't capture the frequency within each interval.

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Ashanti

4 months ago

This seems like a tricky one. I'm not sure if I fully understand the question, but I think it might be asking about how the data collection method could affect the accuracy of the results.

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Willodean

4 months ago

I’m confused about the inter-response times part. I thought that was more about the timing between behaviors, not just counting occurrences.

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Fidelia

4 months ago

I practiced a similar question, and I feel like the percentage of intervals might not accurately reflect the total occurrences, leaning towards an underestimate.

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Lynelle

4 months ago

I'm not entirely sure, but I remember something about how interval recording can sometimes miss multiple occurrences, so it could be an overestimate?

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Chauncey

5 months ago

I think this might be an underestimate of the occurrence of the behavior since she only recorded a "+" if it happened at least once in the interval.

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