Topic 6: Extinction Flashcards
Operant Extinction
Procedure of withholding reinforcers that maintain a behavior
Classical extinction
The procedure of presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus
Defining operant extinction
1) Behavior that has been previously reinforced
2) Is no longer followed by the reinforcing consequences
3) As a result the behavior is weakened (decreases/stops occurring) in the future
Positive reinforcement
-Extinction involved removal of positive reinforcer
-eg) NO LONGER getting candy for crying
Negative reinforcement
-Extinction involves no longer removing aversive stimulus
-eg) NO LONGER getting out of eating your vegetables when you cry
Define classical extinction
1) Conditioned stimulus that has been previously paired with an unconditioned stimulus and produces a conditioned response
2) No longer followed by the unconditioned stimulus
3) As a result the conditioned response is weakened (decreases, or stops occurring)
Extinction burst
-ONLY occurs in operant conditioning (intentional behaviors)
-Increases in frequency, duration, and/or intensity of the unreinforced behavior during the extinction process
-eg) Remote not working–press button harder, push button faster, push it for a longer period of time in order to be reinforced ( TV turns on)
Increase in operant variability
-Other behaviors are more likely to occur during extinction
-greater likelihood of reinstating reinforcement or contacting other sources of reinforcement
-eg) Pushing button for vending machine does not work so you start to shake the machine
Emotional responses
-Heightened emotional state during extinction can lead to aggression
-A response used to lead to a particular consequence but doesn’t any longer; violates expectations
Spontaneous recovery
-The tendency for extinguished behavior to occur again in situations the same as or similar to hose where it had been previously reinforced
-Can occur after a span of time has elapsed
-Re-acquisition after an extinguished behavior occurs quicker than during initial training
-This is why extinction is NEW learning and not UNlearning
How to prevent spontaneous recovery
-Repeated sessions of extinction (multiple settings) are required to prevent spontaneous recovery
-Vary environments to generalize extinction in other scenarios
Partial Reinforcement Effect (PRE)
-Schedules that reinforce more intermittently (irregularly) take longer to extinguish than schedules than reinforce less intermittently
-eg) Getting a gold star right when you hand in homework=fast extinction VS getting a gold star a few weeks after homework=slower extinction process to occur
resistance to extinction
-Occurrence of reinforcement following the initiation of extinction
-Reinforcement of functionally-equivalent behaviors
Functional extinction
-Based on functional assessment information
-Alter antecedents and/or consequences identified in the functional assessment
Nonaversive extinction
Does not involve punishment procedures
