Extinction and Recovery Notes

This week's topics: extinction and differential reinforcement.
These are often combined in clinical settings.
Rationale: stop reinforcing undesired behavior and teach an alternative behavior to access reinforcers.

Reinforcement and punishment are consequences that influence the future selection of responses.
Basic principle of operant learning: learning from consequences.
- Repeat behaviors with desirable outcomes.
- Avoid behaviors with undesirable outcomes.

What happens when an organism associates a response with a consequence, but the consequence is no longer available?
Example: a child screams, and the parent usually comforts them, but suddenly that stops.

Not species extinction.
Behavior analytic definition: no longer delivering a reinforcer for a previously reinforced behavior, leading to a decreased frequency of the behavior.

Job stops paying you: you eventually stop going.
Empty beverage: you eventually stop trying to drink from it.
Dog barks, and you pet it to calm it down. If you stop petting the dog when it barks, it will probably bark more for a while, but eventually stop.
Driving to a coffee hut for a latte that is now closed: you might try a few times, but eventually, you'll stop.

Novel behaviors may arise as the organism tries something else to get the reinforcer.
Extinction burst: a sharp increase in the frequency of the behavior after extinction is applied.
- The organism tries the response more frequently.
- A spike in the response rate, then it drops off.
- Important consideration in human services settings with aggressive behaviors.
Spontaneous recovery: recurrence of a behavior that's been placed on extinction after a pause.
Consider how the individual can access the reinforcer. Removing the ability to get the reinforcement at all isn't kind; offer means to access it appropriately.

Extinction is a nonevent: simply not providing the reinforcer.
- Not taking anything away or adding anything.
- Keep the environment neutral as though the behavior didn't happen.
Punishment is a penalty: removing something or applying an aversive stimulus.
- Saying "no" to a dog when it barks is punishment.
- Ignoring the dog is extinction.
Both result in a decrease in frequency.
Punishment is typically faster, but it has downfalls.

Suppressing stimming: stimming is calming for autistic people, and the field is moving away from trying to make individuals behave like neurotypical peers.
- Less common to treat stimming that doesn't interfere with the individual's life or cause harm.
- Different story if dangerous or interferes with learning.
Leaving a child to cry: the principle of extinction still holds, but it's not the only way to address nighttime crying and should be age-appropriate.
Fastening children to chairs with seat belts: Indicates a lack of assent; not as commonly done anymore.