psy363 extinction and stimulus control

extinction burst

temporary increase in the frequency and intensity of responding when nonreinforcement is first implemented

resurgence

reappearance during extinction of other behaviors that had once been effective in obtaining reinforcement

aggression

emotional behavior, often angry and destructive, intended to cause harm

anticipatory contrast

The process whereby the rate of response varies inversely with an upcoming
(“anticipated”) change in the rate of reinforcement.

behavioral contrast

A change in the rate of reinforcement on one component of a multiple schedule produces
an opposite change in the rate of response on another component.

differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)

Reinforcement of any behavior other than a target behavior that is being extinguished.

discrimination training

As applied to operant conditioning, the differential reinforcement of responding
in the presence of one stimulus (the SD) and not another.

errorless discrimination training

A discrimination training procedure that minimizes the number of errors (i.e.,
nonreinforced responses to the SΔ) and reduces many of the adverse effects associated with
discrimination training.

extinction

The nonreinforcement of a previously reinforced response, the result of which is
a decrease in the strength of that response.

fading

The process of gradually altering the intensity of a stimulus.

generalization gradient

A graphic description of the strength of responding in the presence of stimuli that are similar to the SD and vary along a continuum.

multiple schedule

A complex schedule consisting of two or more independent schedules presented in
sequence, each resulting in reinforcement and each having a distinctive SD.

negative contrast effect

An increase in the rate of reinforcement on one component of a multiple schedule
produces a decrease in the rate of response on the other component.

partial reinforcement effect

The process whereby behavior that has been maintained on an intermittent
(partial) schedule of reinforcement extinguishes more slowly than behavior
that has been maintained on a continuous schedule.

peak shift effect

Following discrimination training, the peak of a generalization gradient will shift
from the SD to a
stimulus that is further removed from the SΔ.

positive contrast effect

The decrease in rate of reinforcement on one component of a multiple schedule
produces an increase in the rate of response on the other component.

resistance to extinction

The extent to which responding persists after an extinction procedure has been
implemented.

spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished response following a rest period after
extinction.

stimulus control

A situation in which the presence of a discriminative stimulus reliably affects
the probability of a behavior.

stimulus discrimination

In operant conditioning, the tendency for an operant response to be emitted more
in the presence of one stimulus than another.

stimulus generalization

In operant conditioning, the tendency for an operant response to be emitted in
the presence of a stimulus that is similar to an SD.