Chapter 9 - Extinction of Conditioned Behavior

Question 1

extinction (definition)

Answer 1

Reduction of a learned response that occurs because the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus (in classical conditioning). Also, the procedure of repeatedly presenting a conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 2

forgetting (definition)

Answer 2

A reduction of a learned response that occurs because of the passage of time, not because of particular experiences.

Question 3

What are the two basic behavioral effects of extinction?

Answer 3

1) The target response no longer results in reinforcement

2) extinction produces an increase in response variability

Question 4

renewal (definition)

Answer 4

Recovery of excitatory responding to an extinguished stimulus produced by a shift away from the contextual cues that were present during extinction.

Question 5

renewal experiment

Answer 5

Acquisition training is conducted in the presence of one set of contextual cues, designated A.

The participants are then moved to a different context B where they receive extinction training.

The contextual cues of extinction are then changed by returning the participants to context A.

The shift from context B back to context A causes a reappearance of conditioned responding.

Question 6

ABA renewal

Answer 6

In ABA renewal, the shift is back to the context of acquisition

Question 7

ABC renewal

Answer 7

In ABC renewal, the shift is to a familiar context unrelated to either acquisition or extinction.

Illustrates the general conclusion that conditioned responding reappears with any shift away from the context where extinction was conducted

Question 8

ABA renewal with extinction of context A

Answer 8

Extinction of context A did not alter the magnitude of the renewal effect. This suggests that the renewal effect is not due to context-reinforcer associations

Question 9

acquisition vs extinction in contexts

How dose this relate to clinical stuff?

Answer 9

Original acquisition is less disrupted (if at all) by a change in context while extinction performance is highly context specific

If you acquire a pathological fear in one situation, the fear is likely to be present in many contexts.

But if you overcome your fear, that benefit will not generalize as readily to new situations.

Question 10

reinstatement (definition)

Answer 10

Reappearance of an extinguished response produced by exposure to the US or reinforcer, without necessarily the CS being present during that exposure

Question 11

Abusive parent example of reinstatement

Answer 11

A client suffering from fear caused by being raised by an abusive parent.

Extensive therapy may be successful in providing relief from these symptoms

However, the phenomenon of reinstatement suggests that the fear and anxiety may return full blown if the client experiences an abusive encounter later in life.

Question 12

Is the reinstatement effect context specific?

Answer 12

Yes

Question 13

resurgence (definition)

Answer 13

Reappearance of an extinguished response caused by the extinction of another behavior.

One response is initially conditioned and then extinguished.

A second behavior is then also reinforced and extinguished.

In resurgence, the extinction of the second response increases the frequency of the first response.

Question 14

Massed vs spaced extinction trials

Answer 14

Although massed extinction trials may produce a rapid immediate decrement in responding, the conditioned behavior is likely to return with a period of rest (spontaneous recovery) or a change in context (renewal)

Question 15

immediate vs delayed extinction

Answer 15

A more enduring loss of behavior occurs if extinction trials are delayed 24 hours after the end of acquisition

Question 16

Effects of repeated extinction sessions on the magnitude of spontaneous recovery

Answer 16

The degree of spontaneous recovery gets progressively smaller across successive sessions

Question 17

What is the effect of conducting extinction in several different contexts?

Answer 17

Conducting extinction in several different contexts increases the stimulus generalization of extinction if there are a large number of trials in multiple contexts

Question 18

What are extinction reminder cues?

Answer 18

the presentation of cues that were present during extinction training

can reduce spontaneous recovery

can reduce renewal effect

Question 19

What does compounding extinction stimuli do?

Answer 19

Presenting two extinguished stimuli at the same time can deepen the extinction of those cues

If an extinction cue is compounded with a conditioned inhibitor during extinction training, the safety signal will block extinction of the fear stimulus

Question 20

How soon does protein synthesis occur after training?

Answer 20

Occurs within the first hour or two of learning

Question 21

How does protein synthesis relate to extinction??

Answer 21

If protein synthesis is inhibited during extinction, the animals don’t remember the extinction

Question 22

reconsolidation

Answer 22

A process whereby a previously consolidated memory is placed in a labile state by reactivating the memory trace.

Question 23

How does protein synthesis relate to reconsolidation?

Answer 23

If animals receive protein synthesis inhibitors immediately after receiving a reminder cue, they exhibit amnesia

Question 24

How does reconsolidation relate to extinction?

Answer 24

Fear memory is especially vulnerable to extinction training if extinction is conducted while the fear memory is in the reconsolidation window

Question 25

How does extinction relate to S-R response?

Answer 25

Extinction produces an inhibitory S-R association that was specific to a particular stimulus and response

Question 26

overtraining extinction effect

Answer 26

Less persistence of instrumental behavior in extinction following extensive training with reinforcement (overtraining) than following only moderate levels of training. This effect is most prominent with continuous reinforcement

Question 27

magnitude reinforcement extinction effect

Answer 27

Less persistence of instrumental behavior in extinction following training with a large reinforcer than following training with a small or moderate reinforcer. This effect is most prominent with continuous reinforcement

Question 28

partial-reinforcement extinction effect

Answer 28

the term used to describe greater persistence in instrumental responding in extinction after partial (or intermittent) reinforcement training than after continuous reinforcement training

Question 29

discrimination hypothesis

Answer 29

An explanation of the partial-reinforcement extinction effect according to which extinction is slower after partial reinforcement than continuous reinforcement because the onset of extinction is more difficult to detect following partial reinforcement

has been shown false - individuals learn something long lasting from partial reinforcement that is carried over even if they subsequently receive continuous reinforcement

Question 30

frustration theory

Answer 30

according to frustration theory, persistence in extinciton results from learning something counterintuitive, namely to continue responding when you expect to be nonreinforced or frustrated

with sufficient training, intermittent reinforcement results in learning to make the instrumental response int he face of the expectation of nonreward.

Question 31

sequential theory

Answer 31

A theory of the partial-reinforcement extinction effect according to which extinction is retarded after partial reinforcement because the instrumental response becomes conditioned to the memory of nonreward

Question 32

frustration theory vs sequential theory

Answer 32

sequential theory makes more of a contribution when training trials are scheduled close together and it is easier to remember what happened on the preceeding trial.

In contrast, the emotional learning described by frustration theory is less sensitive to intertrial intervals and thus provides a better explanation of the partial-reinforcement extiction effect when widely spaced training trials are used.

Question 33

behavioral momentum

Answer 33

the susceptibility of responding to disruption by manipulations such as pre-session feeding, delivery of free food, or a change in the schedule of reinforcement

Higher rates of reinforcement produce behavior that has greater momentum and is less susceptible to disruption.