SPCE 611 Extinction

T/F If the behavior analyst does not have the ability to control all the clients’ access to reinforcement, an extinction procedure should not be implemented.

True

T/F Spontaneous recovery of the target behavior will be short-lived as long as the extinction procedure remains in effect.

True

T/F Extinction produces a rapid decrease in the target behavior.

False

T/F Extinction procedures are contraindicated with behaviors that cause serious injury to the client.

True

T/F An extinction burst is the reoccurrence of a previously reinforced behavior when reinforcement for an alternative behavior is terminated.

False

Which of the following is NOT a secondary effect of extinction?

Avoiding the punisher

Which statement describes extinction from the perspective of a behavior change tactic?

Provides zero probability of reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior.

Which behavior is likely to have the greatest resistance to extinction?

Tantrums had allowed the child to obtain candy from grandparents periodically for the past year or so

Which of the following are common misuses of the term extinction?(select all that apply)

1. referring to any decrease in behavior

2. confusing forgetting and extinction

3. confusing NCR and extinction

4. confusing response blocking and extinction

When thirsty, a toddler screamed until a sibling finally brought the toddler a drink. Which form of an extinction procedure would be the most appropriate to use in this circumstance?

Extinction of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement

When a student was given a worksheet in class, the child whined and crawled under the desk. The student remained under the desk until the teacher removed the worksheet and provided no other work. Which form of extinction procedure would be the most appropriate to use in this circumstance?

Extinction of behavior maintained by negative reinforcement

An adult with intellectual and developmental disabilities gets up frequently during the night to talk and check on awake overnight staff in the group home. When an extinction procedure is implemented, the individual gets up even more frequently for the first three night. This secondary effect of extinction is referred to as a/an:

Extinction burst

An adult client with a traumatic brain injury held and rubbed the hands of other people while talking with them. Since this was causing social problems, an extinction procedure was implemented where others would not speak or make eye contact while the client held or rubbed their hands. In the initial stages of the intervention, the client began to forcefully hold and rub the hands of others and grab people by the face to try to get them to make eye contact. These behaviors represent which secondary effect(s)?

1. Increased response magnitude

2. Extinction-induced variability

A child spent most of the classroom free time sitting on the floor rocking while waving a toy fan at eye level making the light coming from the window appear to “flicker”. Which form of an extinction procedure would be the most appropriate to use in this circumstance?

Extinction of behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement

A behavior analyst developed an intervention that included extinction to decrease uncooperative behavior in a three-year-old. Since the behavior had an attention function, the intervention involved withholding attention until the child complied with a request. Which of the following are examples of that the behavior analyst would include to increase the effectiveness of the extinction procedure? (mark all that apply)

1. All family members were trained in the procedure and implemented the intervention

T/F It would be wise to apply extinction across settings.

True

T/F A primary problem of using extinction alone is that no alternative constructive behaviors are designated to replace the behavior(s) to be eliminated

True

Why is extinction somewhat more challenging for behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement?

Identifying the exact source of reinforcement and finding a way to clock the reinforcement when the behavior occurs is essential

You would like to implement an interval DRO procedure with one of your students with autism to decrease hand flapping (so that you can get the student to attend to her work eventually). You conduct some baseline observations and find that the student stops flapping her hands for about 2 minutes on average. What would be an appropriate initial DRO interval be?

1 minute, 45 seconds

T/F DRL is the intervention of choice when you do not want to totally eliminate the target behavior

True

You are working with a student who is frequently out of his seat. You decide to provide the student with reinforcement every time he is in his seat for 5 consecutive minutes. If he does not stay in his seat for 5 consecutive minutes, you withhold the reinforcer. What type of intervention have you implemented?

DRI

Andrea is 4-years-old and nonverbal. She often becomes non-compliant (she says no, pulls away, and puts in a corner) when she is told to sit at the table to work on art activities. You, as her teacher, believe that Andrea is trying to escape the task and that breaks from tasks will be an effective reinforcer for her. You want to implement DRA because Andrea is nonverbal. Which of the following would be an example of DRA?

If Andrea completes one step of the task, she can leave the table and take a short break. If she is non-compliant, she must stay at the art table

What is the difference between momentary DRO and interval DRO?

Momentary DRO requires that the individual do anything other than the target behavior at the end of the interval, while interval DRO requires the individual do anything other than the target problem behavior for the entire interval

You would like to decrease the number of times a student sharpens her pencil during class. However, you don’t want to completely eliminate this behavior. Which type of reinforcement program makes the most sense?

DRL

What is the difference between DRI and DRA?

DRI involves reinforcing a behavior that is incompatible with the problem behavior, whereas DRA involves reinforcing a behavior that may not be incompatible with the problem behavior but is more desirable.

All differential reinforcement procedures combine the use of what two principles of behavior?

Reinforcement and extinction

Assume you are teaching a large group of students, and they are very disruptive during your class. For example, the students talk out of turn, laugh, and throw things at each other. You want to improve their behavior, so you decide to implement a DRA intervention. This means you will reinforce:

None of the above

If I want to use DRI to decrease Melinda’s hitting other children in the hallway, I would:

Provide reinforcement contingent on Melinda walking down the hall with her hands in her pockets or folded across her chest