Preventing the completion of a problem behavior by physically intervening as soon as the individual starts to engage in it is called what?

• A. Extinction
• B. Response blocking
• C. Time-out
• D. DRI

Answer: (B)

Blocking a problem behavior as soon as it begins involves physically intervening to prevent the action from being completed. This approach interrupts the behavior at its onset, so the individual cannot emit the full response and therefore cannot receive reinforcement for it. It’s about stopping the act before it fully occurs, often used when safety is a concern or the behavior could escalate.

This differs from extinction, which would remove reinforcement after the behavior has already been emitted. Time-out changes what happens after the behavior occurs by removing access to reinforcement, not by stopping the act as it starts. DRI, on the other hand, strengthens a different, incompatible behavior to replace the problem one, rather than blocking the original action.