Which term describes a behavior that, when learned, influences a wide range of untrained behaviors?

• A. PlacCHECK
• B. Planned Ignoring
• C. Pivotal Behavior
• D. Parametric Analysis

Answer: (C)

Pivotal behavior refers to a behavior that, once learned, influences a wide range of untrained behaviors. In ABA, teaching a pivotal skill—such as the ability to initiate interactions or to regulate motivation—often leads to collateral improvements across many other areas, like communication, social engagement, and self-management, without teaching every skill directly. This happens because pivotal behaviors sit at a central point in learning and reinforcement, so changes in them create ripple effects that generalized across contexts.

Other terms describe different ideas in ABA but don’t capture this broad, cross-domain impact. Planned ignoring is a reinforcement-based strategy used to reduce unwanted behavior by not giving attention. Parametric analysis is a research method for testing how different parameters of a reinforcement or task affect performance. PlacCHECK isn’t a standard term for this concept.