Extinction and Stimulus Control Flashcards
Extinction
the non-reinforcement of a previously reinforced response, a decrease in the strength of the response occurs
- not unlearning, but learning that the operant response no longer predicts a reward
- decline in response = process of extinction
What is a critical step in extinction?
identifying the correct reinforcer that elicits the behaviour
- might think candy makes a child whine, but it could be the accompanying attention from the parent as well - so only removing one won’t be effective (only partially), both must be removed
could also only be the attention, and not the candy, so knowing which is effective is a critical step in extinguishing behaviour
Extinction burst
a temporary increase in the frequency and intensity of responding when extinction is first implemented
ex: If someone denies you something you want you’ll yell to obtain what u want
ex: Rat will press the bar rapidly when food is no longer delivered
increase in variability
trying a variety of methods for attaining the reward
ex: rat may try pressing the side of the bar
ex: pressing all the apps on ur phone when it wont respond
Emotional behaviour
feelings of frustration
ex: rat may feel agitated if it stops getting food
aggression
an emotional response
- a rat may attack another rat
Resurgence
the reappearance of other behaviors that have once before been effective in getting a reinforcement
ex: rat may dig at the ground
ex: we may try to shut off the phone to restart it
- evolutionary component to it means stronger change of it resurging
depression
low activity
ex: the hungry rat may sit in a corner of the cage
Problems with side effects of extinction
- may stop extinction from being successful
- side effects can be strengthened if someone gives in and provides the subject with the reinforcer without intent
ex: children who think it’s okay to throw tantrums (mother gives them candy and reinforced wrong behaviour) become adults who may think it’s okay to throw tantrums
Resistance to extinction
the extent to which responding persists after the extinction procedure is implemented
- a very persistent response = high resistance to extinction
ex: begging for over an hour
- one that disappears quickly = low resistance to extinction
ex: begging that stops after 5 mins
what can the persistence of responding be influenced by?
the presence of a SD
- consistency in the outcome of behavior is important
ex: if a dog begs in the presence of a child (SD), and the child gives him scraps, the dog will continue to beg (persistence) BUT if the dog begs in the presence of a mother (SDp) and gets yelled at, the begging will begin to extinguish
What factors can affect resistance to extinction?
- schedule of reinforcement
- history of reinforcement
- magnitude of the reinforcer
- degree of deprivation
- previous experience with extinction
- distinctive signal for extinction
schedules of reinforcement
PRF - will extinguish more slowly than a behavior or a CRF schedule - you can’t predict when you’ll get the reinforcer
- resistance is particularly strong following a VR schedule
history of reinforcement
the more reinforcers they received for a behavior in the past will lead to a greater resistance to extinction
- It it easier to extinguish an unwanted behavior when it first happens cause it hasn’t been reinforced much yet
magnitude of reinforcer:
large magnitude = larger resistance
small magnitide = smaller resitence
ex: lever pressing may take longer to extinguish after training with large pellets of food rather than small ones
degree of deprivation
the larger the deprivation, the greater the resistance to extinction
ex: if a rat is only a little hungry it will stop lever pressing sooner than a hungry one
previous experience with extinction
when sessions of extinction are alternated with sessions of reinforcement
- the larger the number of prior exposures to extinction, the quicker the behavior will extinguish - decline in spontaneous recovery
if a rat experiences several sessions of extinction randomly with several sessions of reinforcement, it will eventually learn to stop lever pressing soon after the start of an extinction session (will know whats happening)
distinctive signal for extinction
when there is an SD that signals extinction, it will be facilitated
Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)
when another behaviour other than the target behaviour is reinforced, extinction is helped in this case
ex: paying attention to a child if they’re doing anything other than fighting with their sibling
Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)
reinforcing a behaviour that is incompatible with the target behaviour
ex: paying attention when a child is acting very friendly with their sibling
why are side effects greatly reduced with DRO and DRI
there is no deprivation of reinforcement, something is being reinforced regardless
Stimulus control
the presence of a SD affects the probability of the behaviour
ex: if a 2000 hz tome signals that lever pressing will lead to food - then the behaviour of lever pressing is under stimulus control
example of an application in removing unwanted behaviours
- if u want to minimize screentime, only check your Facebook account when you get a notification
- where you study can lead to focusing more, if you’re in a library for example you may know you’ll focus more (library becomes a cue for studying)
Stimulus generalization
an operant response may be emitted in the presence of a stimulus that is similar to an SD, the more similar, the stronger the response
ex: rat may lever press when it hears a 2000hz tone, it may also press a lever in the presence of a 1800hz tone (similar to 2000)
