PSYC*2330 Chapter 9: Extinction of Conditioned Behaviour

Question 1

A reduction of a learned response due to the omission of the US or reinforcer is referred to as what?

Answer 1

Extinction

Question 2

In classical conditioning, what does extinction involve?

Answer 2

Repeated presentations of the CS without the US

Question 3

Does extinction of an S-O association stem from classical conditioning or instrumental conditioning?

Answer 3

Classical conditioning

Question 4

In instrumental conditioning, what does extinction involve?

Answer 4

No longer reinforcing the instrumental response

Question 5

Does extinction of an R-O association stem from classical conditioning or instrumental conditioning?

Answer 5

Instrumental conditioning

Question 6

Why is extinction functionally important?

Answer 6

It allows a learned behaviour to change and adjust to environmental changes

Question 7

T or F: Not many reinforcement schedules are in effect forever.

Answer 7

True

Question 8

Is extinction an active or passive process?

Answer 8

Active

Question 9

T or F: Extinction occurs due to forgetting.

Answer 9

False

Question 10

What is forgetting

Answer 10

A decline in responding due to the passage of time

Question 11

T or F: When forgetting, non-reinforcement is required to cause a decline in responding.

Answer 11

False. Non-reinforcement of the CS/instrumental response is not required.

Question 12

Is forgetting an active or passive process?

Answer 12

Passive

Question 13

What type of extinction procedure involves repeatedly showing a fearful cue in a nonthreatening or safe environment?

Answer 13

Exposure therapy

Question 14

The inability to extinguish fear memories is a key feature of what disorder?

Answer 14

PTSD

Question 15

T or F: Virtual reality technology can be used for exposure therapy.

Answer 15

True

Question 16

What are the two basic behavioural effects of extinction?

Answer 16

• A decrease in the target response
• An increase in response variability

Question 17

What is the extinction burst?

Answer 17

When the removal of a reinforcer causes a short-term increase in responding before the response rate decreases

Question 18

What emotional reaction is induced by withdrawal of an expected reinforcer?

Answer 18

Frustration

Question 19

T or F: In extinction procedures, frustration often energizes behaviour.

Answer 19

True

Question 20

In extinction procedures, when is aggression most likely?

Answer 20

Early in the extinction period, but subsides thereafter

Question 21

T or F: The decrease in behaviour observed in extinction is opposite of what occurs during acquisition.

Answer 21

True

Question 22

T or F: Extinction reverses/eliminates the effects of acquisition.

Answer 22

False. Extinction does not reverse or eliminate the effects of acquisition.

Question 23

What are four ways that an extinguished response can reappear?

Answer 23

• Spontaneous recovery
• Renewal
• Reinstatement
• Resurgence

Question 24

What is spontaneous recovery?

Answer 24

The reappearance of an extinguished response caused by the passage of time

Question 25

What is the critical factor in procedures of spontaneous recovery?

Answer 25

Introducing a period of rest between the end of extinction training and assessments of responding

Question 26

What is renewal?

Answer 26

The recovery of an extinguished response due to a change in context

Question 27

Why is extinction disrupted by a change in context, as seen in the renewal effect?

Answer 27

Memory of extinction is context-specific, and when cues change between the extinction phase and the testing phase, the retrieval of the memory of extinction is disrupted

Question 28

Does the original acquisition performance generalize between contexts more or less easily than the acquisition of extinction performance?

Answer 28

Original acquisition generalizes easier than extinction

Question 29

Why can spontaneous recovery be viewed as a form of renewal?

Answer 29

Spontaneous recovery can be thought of as being caused by a temporal shift in context

Question 30

What is reinstatement?

Answer 30

The recovery of an extinguished response when re-exposed to the original US or reinforcer

Question 31

Drug relapse precipitated by re-contact with an abused drug is an example of what type of reinstatement?

Answer 31

Stress-induced reinstatement

Question 32

What is stress-induced reinstatement?

Answer 32

The reinstatement of an extinguished response due to stress

Question 33

What is cue-induced reinstatement?

Answer 33

The reinstatement of an extinguished response caused by exposure to a cue previously associated with the US

Question 34

What is resurgence?

Answer 34

The reappearance of an extinguished response caused by the extinction of another response

Question 35

What are 7 ways to enhance extinction?

Answer 35

- The number of extinction trials - The spacing of extinction trials - The timing of extinction trails - Repeated extinction/test cycles - Extinction in multiple contexts - Extinction retrieval cues - Compound extinction

Question 36

Is a more profound decrease in conditioned responding produced by a larger or smaller amount of extinction trials?

Answer 36

A larger number of trials produces a more profound decrease in responding

Question 37

To produce a more rapid decrement in responding, are massed or spaced extinction trials recommended?

Answer 37

Massed

Question 38

Is spontaneous recovery and/or renewal more likely when massed or spaced extinction trials are used?

Answer 38

Massed

Question 39

What results in a more rapid loss of conditioned behaviour, conducting extinction trials immediately after acquisition or delaying extinction?

Answer 39

Conducting extinctions trials immediately after acquisition

Question 40

Is spontaneous recovery and/or renewal more likely when extinction trials are conducted immediately after acquisition, or when there is a delay between acquisition and extinction?

Answer 40

More likely when extinction is conducted immediately after acquisition

Question 41

In terms of memory consolidation, why are immediate extinction trials said to be more effective than delayed extinction trials?

Answer 41

By introducing extinction immediately, the memory of acquisition won't be fully consolidated and is thus more susceptible to change by the extinction procedures

Question 42

T or F: Extinction needs to happen immediately after a fear response for expose therapy to be effective.

Answer 42

False

Question 43

With repeated extinction/test cycles, what pattern is observed in spontaneous recovery rates?

Answer 43

After each extinction/test cycle, less spontaneous recovery occurs

Question 44

Does repeating the extinction/test cycle reduce or promote the reappearance of extinguished behaviour?

Answer 44

Reduces the reappearance of extinguished behaviour

Question 45

Conduction extinction in multiple contexts can reduce, or even eliminate, what effect?

Answer 45

The renewal effect

Question 46

Does introducing cues present during extinction training enhance or impede extinction performance?

Answer 46

Extinction retrieval cues enhance extinction performance

Question 47

How might extinction cues reduce the renewal effect?

Answer 47

By reactivating cues associated with the extinction context in a new context

Question 48

Does presenting two stimuli during extinction strengthen or weaken the extinction of those cues?

Answer 48

Strengthen/deepen extinction

Question 49

T or F: Compound extinction prevents spontaneous recovery of an element.

Answer 49

True

Question 50

The effectiveness of compounding cues suggests that extinction operates in part by an error-correction process similar to which model of classical conditioning?

Answer 50

The Rescorla-Wagner model

Question 51

How can the prediction error be increased in an extinction trial when no reinforcer is presented?

Answer 51

By compounding two conditioned stimuli

Question 52

Why is it more effective to have a larger prediction error in an extinction trial?

Answer 52

Because it will induce greater surprise and correction, leading to a greater reduction in responding