Comprehensive Notes on Extinction Procedures

When reinforcement is withdrawn, individuals often exhibit increased response variability, meaning they try many different behaviors to achieve the previously reinforced outcome.
Example: Calling a child for dinner. If a child doesn't respond, the parent might first raise their voice, then use the child's full name, then go to the child's room to prompt them directly. These varied responses are an attempt to elicit the previously reinforced behavior (child coming to dinner).
Following the initial increase in response variability, an extinction burst may occur. This is a temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, or duration of the previously reinforced behavior shortly after reinforcement is removed.
- Example continued: The child might loudly protest or throw a tantrum when dinner is announced, even more intensely than before, hoping to gain attention or delay bedtime, as these behaviors might have been inadvertently reinforced in the past.

Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of time has passed without exposure to the conditioned stimulus or reinforcer.
- This suggests that extinction does not entirely erase the learned association but rather suppresses the behavior.
- Example: After successfully extinguishing a dog's barking at the doorbell, the dog might spontaneously start barking again at the doorbell a week later, even without any reinforcement in that interim period.

Several factors can affect the rate and completeness of extinction:

Schedule of Reinforcement:
- Behaviors reinforced on a continuous reinforcement (CRF) schedule extinguish more quickly when reinforcement is removed because the change is more noticeable and immediate.
- Behaviors reinforced on an intermittent (partial) reinforcement schedule are more resistant to extinction. Intermittent reinforcement, especially variable ratio (VR) and variable interval (VI) schedules, makes the behavior more persistent because the subject learns to expect that reinforcement might eventually come, even after many non-reinforced responses.
Magnitude of Reinforcement: Larger magnitudes of reinforcement tend to make behaviors more resistant to extinction.
Number of Previous Reinforcements: A higher number of past reinforcements can lead to greater resistance to extinction.
Effort Required for Response: Behaviors that require less effort are often more resistant to extinction.
Discriminative Stimuli: The presence of discriminative stimuli associated with reinforcement can make extinction more challenging, as these cues signal the potential for reinforcement.

Extinction procedures are commonly used in applied behavior analysis (ABA) to reduce undesirable behaviors.
Key considerations for effective extinction:
- Consistency: Reinforcement must be consistently withheld every time the undesirable behavior occurs.
- Combination with Reinforcement of Alternative Behaviors: Extinction is often more effective when combined with positive reinforcement of a desired, functionally equivalent alternative behavior (differential reinforcement).
- Safety: For behaviors that are harmful (e.g., self-injury), extinction must be carefully managed, often in conjunction with other interventions, to ensure the individual's safety during potential extinction bursts.