Chapter 5 Flashcards
Extinction
a behavior that was previously reinforced and no longer results in that reinforcing consequence and therefore the behavior stops occurring in the future; When a behavior stops occurring because it is no longer reinforced, we say that the behavior has undergone extinction or that the behavior has been extinguished
Extinction burst
So when the behavior is no longer reinforced, it can increase in frequency, duration or intensity for a brief period of time. Emotional responses or aggressive behavior may occur
Novel Behavior
Behaviors that do not typically occur in a particular situation and may occur for a brief period when a behavior is no longer reinforced
Spontaneous recovery
The natural tendency for behavior to occur again in situations that are similar to those in which occurred before extinction
What are the two procedures of extinction
Positively reinforced behaviors
Negatively reinforced behaviors
Positively reinforced behaviors
The positive reinforcer is no longer being added after behavior
Negatively reinforced behaviors
The aversive (not pleasant) stimulus is no longer being removed after the behavior
What are some common misconceptions about extinction
Using extinction simply means ignoring behavior
WRONG
Extinction means removing the reinforcer for a behavior to stop
What factors influence extinction
the reinforcement schedule before extinction, like continuous reinforcement, or intermittent reinforcement
How does continuous reinforcement influence extinction
the behavior decreases rapidly once the reinforcement is terminated
How does intermittent reinforcement influence extinction
the behavior often decreases more gradually once the reinforcement is terminated. Produces resistance to extinction: behavior persists once extinction is implemented.
What is an example of continuous reinforcement influencing extinction
every time you put money and press button on vending machine you always get the item you want. If this behavior were to be put on extinction, your behavior would decrease rapidly. If you no longer get what you paid for, you would not continue to put money in a vending machine.
What is an example of intermittent reinforcement that influences extinction
Putting money is a slot machine is intermittently reinforced, so lets say the machine was broken and never produced a jackpot, you might put a lot of money in before finally giving up.
*This is why it’s hard for gambling behavior to stop because it is hard to determine that there is no longer reinforcement for the behavior.
What happens to the occurrence of reinforcement after extinction and why
It takes longer for the behavior to decrease because whatever reinforcement of behavior, once extinction starts, if it gets reinforced it turns into intermittent reinforcement and this makes the behavior more resistant to extinction.
Examples of extinction
- trying to open a door that is stuck
- trying to drink from an empty soda bottle
- telling unfunny jokes
- using a flashlight when its dead
