Chapter 9 - Extinction of Conditioned Behavior Flashcards
extinction (definition)
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.
forgetting (definition)
A reduction of a learned response that occurs because of the passage of time, not because of particular experiences.
What are the two basic behavioral effects of extinction?
1) The target response no longer results in reinforcement
2) extinction produces an increase in response variability
renewal (definition)
Recovery of excitatory responding to an extinguished stimulus produced by a shift away from the contextual cues that were present during extinction.
renewal experiment
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.
ABA renewal
In ABA renewal, the shift is back to the context of acquisition
ABC renewal
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
ABA renewal with extinction of context A
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
acquisition vs extinction in contexts
How dose this relate to clinical stuff?
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.
reinstatement (definition)
Reappearance of an extinguished response produced by exposure to the US or reinforcer, without necessarily the CS being present during that exposure
Abusive parent example of reinstatement
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.
Is the reinstatement effect context specific?
Yes
resurgence (definition)
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.
Massed vs spaced extinction trials
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)
immediate vs delayed extinction
A more enduring loss of behavior occurs if extinction trials are delayed 24 hours after the end of acquisition
Effects of repeated extinction sessions on the magnitude of spontaneous recovery
The degree of spontaneous recovery gets progressively smaller across successive sessions
What is the effect of conducting extinction in several different contexts?
Conducting extinction in several different contexts increases the stimulus generalization of extinction if there are a large number of trials in multiple contexts
What are extinction reminder cues?
the presentation of cues that were present during extinction training
can reduce spontaneous recovery
can reduce renewal effect
What does compounding extinction stimuli do?
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
How soon does protein synthesis occur after training?
Occurs within the first hour or two of learning
How does protein synthesis relate to extinction??
If protein synthesis is inhibited during extinction, the animals don’t remember the extinction
reconsolidation
A process whereby a previously consolidated memory is placed in a labile state by reactivating the memory trace.
How does protein synthesis relate to reconsolidation?
If animals receive protein synthesis inhibitors immediately after receiving a reminder cue, they exhibit amnesia
How does reconsolidation relate to extinction?
Fear memory is especially vulnerable to extinction training if extinction is conducted while the fear memory is in the reconsolidation window
How does extinction relate to S-R response?
Extinction produces an inhibitory S-R association that was specific to a particular stimulus and response
overtraining extinction effect
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
magnitude reinforcement extinction effect
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
partial-reinforcement extinction effect
the term used to describe greater persistence in instrumental responding in extinction after partial (or intermittent) reinforcement training than after continuous reinforcement training
discrimination hypothesis
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
frustration theory
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.
sequential theory
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
frustration theory vs sequential theory
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.
behavioral momentum
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.
