ch5 extinction

Chapter 5: Extinction

Today’s Quick Overview

  • Defining Extinction

  • Extinction Burst

  • Spontaneous Recovery

  • Procedural Variations of Extinction

  • Factors Influencing Extinction

I. Defining Extinction

  • Extinction is defined as a process in which a previously reinforced behavior

    • Is no longer followed by the reinforcing consequence.

    • The behavior is weakened, resulting in a decrease in its occurrence and eventual cessation in the future.

    • Present Implication: The specific behavior is no longer reinforced.

    • Future Implication: The behavior stops occurring as a result of the absence of reinforcement.

Examples of Extinction

  • Turning the key in a broken trunk lock (no reinforcement to open the trunk)

  • Drinking from an empty soda bottle (no reinforcement of thirst being quenched)

  • Telling unfunny jokes (no positive response from the audience)

  • Trying to use a flashlight with dead batteries (no light produced)

  • Calling someone who never answers (no reinforcement of communication)

  • Parent stops reacting to child misbehavior (no reinforcement for the child’s behavior)

II. Extinction Burst

  • An Extinction Burst is characterized by the following phenomena when a reinforcer no longer follows a specific behavior:

    1. Increase in frequency, duration, or intensity of the unreinforced behavior (the individual may try harder to engage in the behavior).

    2. Increase in novel behaviors (the individual may attempt different strategies to achieve reinforcement).

    3. Increase in emotional and/or aggressive behaviors (the individual may express frustration or anger due to the absence of reinforcement).

Data Representation

  • The graph illustrated shows the responses recorded over trials indicating a transient increase in behavior prior to extinction:

    • Responses scale ranges:

    • 120, 100, 80, 60, 88, 40, 20, 0

  • Acquisition and Extinction Trial Points Over Time:

    • Time point representation with individual data collection at trials 14, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52, 55.

III. Spontaneous Recovery

  • Spontaneous Recovery occurs when the previously extinguished behavior re-emerges sometime later after it was eliminated through extinction. This suggests a latent potential for the behavior to return under certain circumstances.

IV. Procedural Variations of Extinction

  • There are two principal types of extinction procedures:

    • Extinction of positively reinforced behavior:

    • The positive reinforcer is no longer delivered following the behavior.

    • Extinction of negatively reinforced behavior:

    • The aversive stimulus is no longer removed following the behavior.

V. Factors Influencing Extinction

  • Several factors can impact the effectiveness of extinction:

    • The schedule of reinforcement prior to the initiation of extinction (an intermittent schedule may lead to more persistent behaviors).

    • The occurrence of reinforcement following the initiation of extinction (if reinforcement is introduced, it can prolong the persistence of the behavior).

    • Reinforcement of functionally-equivalent behaviors (if alternative behaviors are reinforced, it can help facilitate the extinction process).