In single-subject designs, which term refers to a design in which the intervention is withdrawn to observe whether target behavior returns to baseline?

• A. Withdrawal
• B. Reversal
• C. Multiple Baseline
• D. Stimulus

Answer: (A)

Withdrawal refers to removing the intervention to see if the target behavior returns toward its baseline level. In single-subject designs, this withdrawal helps show that the observed change was caused by the intervention itself: if behavior shifts back toward baseline when the treatment is taken away, it indicates experimental control by the intervention. Often, this is followed by reintroducing the intervention to demonstrate that the change can be replicated, which strengthens the evidence of a functional relation. A multiple baseline design avoids withdrawal by staggering when the intervention is applied across targets, so it doesn’t test reversibility. The term stimulus isn’t about withdrawing or controlling the intervention, making it unrelated to this description. Thus, the action of removing the treatment to observe reversion best fits the concept of withdrawal.