BxLog is PTB’s exam prep blog, edited and curated by veteran ABA professionals with a mission to provide candidates helpful tools and guidance along their BCBA® exam prep journey. Explore short videos and articles containing valuable information including explanations of Test Content Outline concepts and ABA terminology, study tips, mock exam questions with answer breakdowns, and lifestyle advice to maintain a healthy exam prep regimen.
PTB co-founder Dana Meller explores the procedure of shaping, discussing the two key features that define its effectiveness.
Refer to BCBA® Task List (5th ed.) Section G-7: Use shaping.
Shaping Success: Understanding the Procedure and its Dynamic Duo Read More
Everyone feels like they won’t pass the BCBA® exam, not just you. PTB co-founder Dana Meller talks about the experiences her students share as they prep for the exam. And surprise surprise, you are not alone in feeling scared, dealing with the pressures of everyday life, and trying to negotiate so many variables. If that’s you and you’re struggling, the good news is that it’s temporary. And the payoff, that is fantastic.
Dana Do’s: That Feeling of Freaking Out Over the BCBA® Exam Read More
Test your ABA terminology knowledge. PTB co-founder Dana Meller discusses one of the six attitudes of science that focuses on data-based decision-making, explaining how this attitude emphasizes our reliance on facts and objective quantification.
Refer to BCBA® Task List (5th ed.) Section A-2: Explain the philosophical assumptions underlying the science of behavior analysis (e.g., selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, pragmatism).
Put Your ABA Knowledge to the Test ➠ Identifying the Attitude of Science Read More
There are many devices you can employ to retain information for the BCBA® exam. For example, if you happen to be musical like PTB co-founder Dana Meller, try out mnemonic devices.
Study Tip: Enhancing Retention for the BCBA® Exam Read More
PTB co-founder Dana Meller hones your experimental design skills with a focus on the alternating treatments design’s confounding variable.
Refer to BCBA® Task List (5th ed.) Section D-5: Use single-subject experimental designs (e.g., reversal, multiple baseline, multielement, changing criterion).
PTB co-founder Dana Meller shares an easy way to break down the 7 dimensions of ABA by using the dimensions to define what it means to be a behavior analyst, which in turn, makes it much easier to discriminate between each dimension.
BCBA® Task List (5th ed.) Section A-5: Describe and define the dimensions of applied behavior analysis (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968).
Dana Do’s: How to Easily Break Down the 7 Dimensions of ABA Read More
What is the fundamental philosophical assumption of science? PTB co-founder Dana Meller dives into the crucial role of objective observation and measurement in shaping our understanding of behavior and how it forms the foundation of this evidence-based scientific field.
Refer to BCBA® Task List (5th ed.) Section A-2: Explain the philosophical assumptions underlying the science of behavior analysis (e.g., selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, pragmatism).
Unearthing the Bedrock of Scientific Inquiry with this Key Philosophical Assumption Read More
Explore the world of self-management with PTB co-founder Dana Meller as she discusses how controlled responses and self-controlling behaviors lead to improved behavior.
Refer to BCBA® Task List (5th ed.) Section G-20: Use self-management strategies.
Self Evaluate Your Understanding of ABA Terminology ➠ Self Management Read More
Test your Experimental Design skills with PTB co-founder Dana Meller as she reviews and breaks down a mock exam question about reversal design variations that display only one reversal. Included is a description of A-B-A, B-A-B, and A-B-A-B reversal designs.
Refer to BCBA® Task List (5th ed.) Section D-5: Use single-subject experimental designs (e.g., reversal, multiple baseline, multielement, changing criterion).
PTB co-founder Dana Meller breaks down a BCBA® mock exam question about the concept of stimulus equivalence, focusing on the one that leads to an untrained relation with a reverse relation.
Refer to BCBA® Task List (5th ed.) Section G-12: Use equivalence-based instruction.