By Free RBT Practice Test Editorial Team | Updated October 2026
This one looks easy until you notice that three of the four options sound like good, hard-working RBT behavior. So which one actually breaks the rules? Here’s the answer, plus the reason each wrong option is a trap.
The Question
Which of the following RBT independent actions would violate ethical and procedural integrity standards?
A. Implementing extinction as identified in the plan
B. Adding verbal reprimands
C. Collecting data on newly arising behaviors
D. Reporting emotional responses to the BCBA
The Answer: B
B is the one. Adding verbal reprimands means you’ve added a new procedure to the plan on your own. Worse, a reprimand is usually a punishment procedure. Section 2.05 of the RBT Ethics Code (2.0) says RBTs use restrictive or punishment-based procedures only when they’re in a documented behavior-change plan. Even then, the supervisor has to verify your competence first.
There’s a second problem too. Section 2.02 says RBTs follow their supervisor’s direction and implement services accurately. That’s procedural integrity: running the plan the way it’s written. Not a little extra. Not a little less.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
- A. Implementing extinction as identified in the plan. The key words are “as identified in the plan”. Your supervisor wrote it, you were trained on it, and you’re doing it as written. That’s exactly what integrity looks like.
- C. Collecting data on newly arising behaviors. Noticing and recording a new behavior is good practice. Your supervisor can’t respond to something nobody wrote down. Just keep it objective and pass it on.
- D. Reporting emotional responses to the BCBA. Crying, yelling or shutting down during a procedure is important information, especially during extinction, where emotional responding is a known side effect (task D.6 names it). Your supervisor needs it to judge how the plan is going, and passing it on is part of reporting what might affect progress. That’s the job.
Notice the pattern? A, C and D all keep the supervisor in the loop. B is the only option where the RBT changes the treatment without asking anyone.
Why a Quick Reprimand Feels Harmless (and Isn’t)
In the moment, a sharp “No, stop that!” can feel like common sense. It isn’t neutral, though. A reprimand adds attention, and for a learner whose behavior is maintained by attention, it might even make that behavior more likely. That’s the kind of call your supervisor makes after looking at the data, not something you decide mid-session.
It can also wreck the data. If the plan says extinction and you’re quietly adding reprimands, your supervisor is reading graphs from a treatment that isn’t actually happening.
What to Do Instead in a Real Session
- Run the plan exactly as written, even when it’s hard.
- Write down what happened in objective terms, for example “hit the table 6 times in 10 minutes after the iPad was removed”.
- Note any new behaviors and any emotional responses you see.
- Tell your supervisor the same day, and ask whether anything should change.
- If you think a different procedure would help, suggest it. Then wait for the decision.
Which Exam Tasks This Tests
This question pulls from several areas of the RBT Test Content Outline (3rd Edition). D.4 and D.5 cover extinction and punishment procedures, and D.6 covers their side effects. E.1 and E.3 are about reporting concerns and anything that might affect progress. F.1 is the Ethics Code principle of behaving with integrity.
Practice Variation
Your client’s plan uses planned ignoring for whining. A parent watching the session asks you to “just give him a time-out” because that’s what they do at home. What do you do?
Same answer, different costume. Time-out is a punishment procedure, and it isn’t in the plan. Thank the parent, keep running the plan, and pass their request to your supervisor.
Final Thoughts
When an RBT exam question asks what you’d do “independently”, look for the option where the RBT changes treatment without the supervisor. That’s almost always the violation. Want more practice like this? Try the free ethics and professional conduct quiz, read our plain-English guide to the RBT Ethics Code, or work through another worked exam question on extinction bursts. Keep going. You’ve got this!
Next one: what to do when a client’s self-monitoring checklist doesn’t match what you saw.
