Measurement of nontargeted problem behavior during investigations of resurgence

Resurgence occurs when a previously extinguished behavior reemerges once a more recently reinforced behavior is placed on extinction. Previous research has suggested that nontargeted responses within the same response class recur alongside target-response resurgence (e.g., da Silva, Maxwell, & Lattal, 2008; Lieving, Hagopian, Long, & O'Connor, 2004). The purpose of this two-experiment investigation was to examine target response resurgence while simultaneously measuring the occurrence of nontargeted responses. Three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who displayed multiple topographies of problem behavior participated. In Experiment 1, a three-phase resurgence procedure was conducted and all three participants displayed target-response resurgence accompanied by the emergence of nontargeted forms of problem behavior. These findings were replicated in Experiment 2 using a 30-min assessment procedure. The implications of these findings as they pertain to the treatment of severe problem behavior and utility of a brief relapse assessment are discussed.     

A retrospective analysis of the relation between resurgence and renewal of behavior targeted for reduction

Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based treatment for behavior targeted for reduction that often combines extinction for target responses and arranges functionally equivalent reinforcement for alternative behavior. Long-term effectiveness of FCT can become compromised when transitioning from clinic to nonclinic contexts or thinning reinforcement schedules for appropriate behavior. Such increases in targeted behavior have been conceptualized as renewal and resurgence, respectively. The relation between resurgence and renewal has yet to be reported. Therefore, the present report retrospectively analyzed the relation between renewal and resurgence in data collected when implementing FCT with children diagnosed with developmental disabilities. We found no relation when evaluating all 34 individuals assessed for resurgence and renewal or a subset of individuals exhibiting both resurgence and renewal. These findings suggest that one form of relapse may not be predictive of another form of relapse.     

Stimulus contributions to operant resurgence

In two experiments, pigeons were exposed to a three‐phase resurgence procedure (train Response A; extinguish Response A and train Response B; extinguish Response B). In the first experiment, the stimuli associated with phases were different, resulting in a resurgence procedure combined with an ABC renewal procedure. Presenting the novel stimulus, C, during extinction of both responses in the third phase resulted in minimal resurgence. Subsequently, substituting the original training Stimulus A for Stimulus C resulted in resurgence with all pigeons. In the second experiment, resurgence with the same stimuli present in all three phases of the resurgence procedure (AAA) was compared concurrently with a resurgence procedure in which the ABC renewal procedure used in Experiment 1 was superimposed. Substantially more resurgence occurred with the AAA procedure compared to the ABC procedure. Although ABC renewal in combination with the resurgence procedure generated some resurgence, such recurrent responding was attenuated relative to that observed when the stimulus conditions were constant across phases. Combined with earlier research showing the enhancing effects of combining resurgence and ABA renewal procedures, the present results elaborate on how stimuli correlated with certain behavioral histories affect the course of operant resurgence.     

Renewal and resurgence phenomena generalize to Amazon's Mechanical Turk

Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a crowdsourcing platform that provides researchers with the potential for obtaining behavioral data for very little cost. However, the extent to which the results of common behavioral phenomena found in basic, translational, and applied laboratories may be reproduced (as a first step towards prospective research) via MTurk remains relatively unexplored. We evaluated renewal and resurgence arrangements using MTurk as the subject recruitment platform as a first step to determining the generality of the obtained data. Results suggested that MTurk participants produced renewal and resurgence data similar to those reported in basic, translational, and applied studies.     

A model of resurgence based on behavioral momentum theory

Resurgence is the reappearance of an extinguished behavior when an alternative behavior reinforced during extinction is subsequently placed on extinction. Resurgence is of particular interest because it may be a source of relapse to problem behavior following treatments involving alternative reinforcement. In this article we develop a quantitative model of resurgence based on the augmented model of extinction provided by behavioral momentum theory. The model suggests that alternative reinforcement during extinction of a target response acts as both an additional source of disruption during extinction and as a source of reinforcement in the context that increases the future strength of the target response. The model does a good job accounting for existing data in the resurgence literature and makes novel and testable predictions. Thus, the model appears to provide a framework for understanding resurgence and serves to integrate the phenomenon into the existing theoretical account of persistence provided by behavioral momentum theory. In addition, we discuss some potential implications of the model for further development of behavioral momentum theory.     

A preliminary evaluation of treatment duration on the resurgence of destructive behavior

Quantitative models of resurgence (e.g., Behavioral Momentum Theory, Resurgence as Choice) suggest that resurgence is partly a function of the duration of extinction exposure, with longer histories of extinction producing less resurgence. This prediction is supported by some laboratory research and has been partially supported by clinical translations that did not isolate the effects of extinction exposure prior to testing for resurgence. The degree to which different histories of extinction impact the likelihood of treatment relapse in therapeutic applications of differential reinforcement is of great interest to the clinical community, including insurance carriers and other financial providers. In the present study, we isolated the effects of extinction history for severe destructive behavior across 6 participants referred for treatment services and examined resurgence of destructive behavior when alternative reinforcement terminated. Our within-subject evaluation showed no difference in the level of resurgence or persistence of destructive behavior following short and long exposures to differential reinforcement with extinction. We discuss our failure to replicate in relation to experimental-design considerations for investigating this and other relapse phenomena in future research with clinical populations.     

Behavioral momentum theory fails to account for the effects of reinforcement rate on resurgence

The behavioral‐momentum model of resurgence predicts reinforcer rates within a resurgence preparation should have three effects on target behavior. First, higher reinforcer rates in baseline (Phase 1) produce more persistent target behavior during extinction plus alternative reinforcement. Second, higher rate alternative reinforcement during Phase 2 generates greater disruption of target responding during extinction. Finally, higher rates of either reinforcement source should produce greater responding when alternative reinforcement is suspended in Phase 3. Recent empirical reports have produced mixed results in terms of these predictions. Thus, the present experiment further examined reinforcer‐rate effects on persistence and resurgence. Rats pressed target levers for high‐rate or low‐rate variable‐interval food during Phase 1. In Phase 2, target‐lever pressing was extinguished, an alternative nose‐poke became available, and nose‐poking produced either high‐rate variable‐interval, low‐rate variable‐interval, or no (an extinction control) alternative reinforcement. Alternative reinforcement was suspended in Phase 3. For groups that received no alternative reinforcement, target‐lever pressing was less persistent following high‐rate than low‐rate Phase‐1 reinforcement. Target behavior was more persistent with low‐rate alternative reinforcement than with high‐rate alternative reinforcement or extinction alone. Finally, no differences in Phase‐3 responding were observed for groups that received either high‐rate or low‐rate alternative reinforcement, and resurgence occurred only following high‐rate alternative reinforcement. These findings are inconsistent with the momentum‐based model of resurgence. We conclude this model mischaracterizes the effects of reinforcer rates on persistence and resurgence of operant behavior.     

Punishment of an alternative behavior generates resurgence of a previously extinguished target behavior

Resurgence is often defined as the recurrence of an extinguished behavior when a more recently reinforced alternative behavior is also extinguished. Resurgence has also been observed when the alternative behavior is devalued by other means (e.g., reinforcement rate or magnitude reductions). The present study investigated whether punishment of an alternative behavior would generate resurgence. A target response was reinforced during Phase 1 and then extinguished in Phase 2 while an alternative response was reinforced. During Phase 3, response‐dependent foot shocks were superimposed on the schedule of reinforcement for the alternative response and shock intensity was escalated gradually across sessions. Resurgence of the target response was reliably observed, mostly at higher intensities. The effect was replicated in two subsequent exposures to the sequence of conditions, with resurgence tending to occur at the lowest foot shock intensity. These results suggest that devaluation of an alternative behavior via punishment can generate resurgence. Although it is difficult to reconcile the overall pattern of results with Bouton's context account, these findings are consistent with the suggestion that resurgence results from a “worsening of conditions” for the alternative behavior and with the formalization of that suggestion in terms of a choice‐based matching‐law account (i.e., Resurgence as Choice).     

Prevalence of renewal of problem behavior during context changes

Renewal is defined as the reemergence of a previously eliminated behavior following a context change. Determining the prevalence of this effect in clinical practice would allow clinicians to better anticipate the reemergence of problem behavior, such as when a patient is discharged from a treatment facility to return to their home. The current consecutive, case-series analysis determined the prevalence and magnitude of renewal when implementing behavioral treatments for problem behavior. Across 182 context changes, renewal was observed 77 times (42.3%). In the first session following the context change, problem behavior rates increased by a factor of 3 and then decreased across successive sessions. These results indicated that renewal effects may be common, but are also transient and return to rates observed before context changes.     

Stimuli previously associated with reinforcement mitigate resurgence

Resurgence refers to the recurrence of an extinguished target behavior following subsequent suspension of alternative reinforcement. Delivery of reinforcers during extinction of alternative behavior has been shown to mitigate resurgence. The present experiment aimed to determine whether delivering stimuli associated with reinforcers during resurgence testing similarly mitigates resurgence. Three groups of rats pressed target levers for food according to variable‐interval 15‐s schedules during Phase 1. In Phase 2, lever pressing was extinguished, and an alternative nose‐poke response produced alternative reinforcement according to a variable‐interval 15‐s schedule. Food reinforcement was always associated with illumination of the food aperture and an audible click from the pellet dispenser during Phases 1 and 2. Phase 3 treatments differed between groups. For one group, nose poking continued to produce food and food‐correlated stimuli. Both of these consequences were suspended for a second group. Finally, nose poking produced food‐correlated stimuli but not food for a third group. Target‐lever pressing resurged in the group that received no consequences and in the group that received only food‐correlated stimuli for nose poking. Resurgence, however, was smaller for the group that received food‐correlated stimuli than for the group that received no consequences for nose poking. Target‐lever pressing did not increase between phases in the group that continued to receive food and associated stimuli. Thus, delivery of stimuli associated with food reinforcement after suspension of food reduced but did not eliminate resurgence of extinguished lever pressing. These findings contribute to potential methodologies for preventing relapse of extinguished problem behavior in clinical settings.     

Resurgence of previously taught academic responses

Resurgence is often discussed in relation to the relapse of undesirable behavior. However, resurgence may also describe the recurrence of socially appropriate behavior, including academic responding. The recurrence of academic responses following periods of extinction may aid in the solution of novel problems. The aims of this study were to evaluate the resurgence of complex, desirable behavior related to college-level instruction and to explore problem form as an aspect of environmental context. Each participant was taught 2 response chains to solve quadratic equations across experimental phases, followed by a phase in which neither chain resulted in the correct solution (extinction). During Experiment 1, the equations presented during extinction resembled those presented during reinforcement of the alternative response. Of the 8 participants in Experiment 1, 4 attempted to use the first-taught chain to solve an equation in the extinction phase. During Experiment 2, the equations presented during extinction resembled those presented during reinforcement of the target response. Of the 8 participants in Experiment 2, 6 attempted to use the first-taught chain to solve an equation in the extinction phase. Results demonstrate the resurgence of academic responses and suggest that the form of the problem may constitute a context that affects resurgence.     

Resurgence as Choice: Implications for promoting durable behavior change

Resurgence is an increase in a previously suppressed behavior resulting from a worsening in reinforcement conditions for current behavior. Resurgence is often observed following successful treatment of problem behavior with differential reinforcement when reinforcement for an alternative behavior is subsequently omitted or reduced. The efficacy of differential reinforcement has long been conceptualized in terms of quantitative models of choice between concurrent operants (i.e., the matching law). Here, we provide an overview of a novel quantitative model of resurgence called Resurgence as Choice (RaC), which suggests that resurgence results from these same basic choice processes. We review the failures of the only other quantitative model of resurgence (i.e., Behavioral Momentum Theory) and discuss its shortcomings with respect to the limited range of circumstances about which it makes predictions in applied settings. Finally, we describe how RaC overcomes these shortcomings and discuss implications of the model for promoting durable behavior change.     

Factors that encourage generalization from extinction to test reduce resurgence of an extinguished operant response

Two experiments investigated methods that reduce the resurgence of an extinguished behavior (R1) that occurs when reinforcement for an alternative behavior (R2) is discontinued. In Experiment 1, R1 was first trained and then extinguished while R2 was reinforced during a 5‐ or 25‐session treatment phase. For half the rats, sessions in which R2 was reinforced alternated with sessions in which R2 was extinguished. Controls received the same number of treatment sessions, but R2 was never extinguished. When reinforcement for R2 was discontinued, R1 resurged in the controls. However, the alternating groups showed reduced resurgence, and the magnitude of the resurgences observed during their R2 extinction sessions decreased systematically over Phase 2. In Experiment 2, R1 was first reinforced with one outcome (O1). The rats then had two types of double‐alternating treatment sessions. In one type, R1 was extinguished and R2 produced O2. In the other, R1 was unavailable and R2 produced O3. R1 resurgence was weakened when O2, but not O3, was delivered freely during testing. Together, the results suggest that methods that encourage generalization between R1 extinction and resurgence testing weaken the resurgence effect. They are not consistent with an account of resurgence proposed by Shahan and Craig (2017).     

Baseline reinforcement rate and resurgence of destructive behavior

Concepts from behavioral momentum theory, along with some empirical findings, suggest that the rate of baseline reinforcement may contribute to the relapse of severe destructive behavior. With seven children who engaged in destructive behavior, we tested this hypothesis in the context of functional communication training by comparing the effects of different baseline reinforcement rates on resurgence during a treatment challenge (i.e., extinction). We observed convincing resurgence of destructive behavior in four of seven participants, and we observed more resurgence in the condition associated with high‐rate baseline reinforcement (i.e., variable‐interval 2 s in Experiment 1 or fixed‐ratio 1 in Experiment 2) compared to a low‐rate baseline reinforcement condition. We discuss the implications of these results relative to schedules of reinforcement in the treatment of destructive behavior and strategies to mitigate resurgence in clinical settings.     

Prevalence of renewal of problem behavior: Replication and extension to an inpatient setting

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who exhibit problem behavior often receive behavioral assessment and treatment in specialized inpatient and outpatient clinics. However, problem behavior sometimes reemerges as a function of changes in contexts and stimulus conditions, such as returning to the home environment. This reemergence is called renewal. Recently, Muething et al. (2020) found that renewal occurred in over half (67%) of cases from an outpatient clinic. Their sample was obtained exclusively from an outpatient setting and despite the applied relevance of renewal, its clinical prevalence in other populations is unknown. Accordingly, we replicated Muething et al.’s procedures and analyzed renewal in 37 inpatient treatment applications across 34 cases via consecutive‐controlled case series. Renewal was present in 59% of cases; however, we found that renewal occurred in only 24% of context changes compared to 42% reported by Muething et al. Various factors related to the prevalence of renewal were evaluated.     

Effects of differential rates of alternative reinforcement on resurgence of human behavior

Despite the success of exposure‐based psychotherapies in anxiety treatment, relapse remains problematic. Resurgence, the return of previously eliminated behavior following the elimination of an alternative source of reinforcement, is a promising model of operant relapse. Nonhuman resurgence research has shown that higher rates of alternative reinforcement result in faster, more comprehensive suppression of target behavior, but also in greater resurgence when alternative reinforcement is eliminated. This study investigated rich and lean rates of alternative reinforcement on response suppression and resurgence in typically developing humans. In Phase 1, three groups (Rich, n = 18; Lean, n = 18; Control, n = 10) acquired the target response. In Phase 2, target responding was extinguished and alternative reinforcement delivered on RI 1 s, RI 3 s, and extinction schedules, respectively. Resurgence was assessed during Phase 3 under extinction conditions for all groups. Target responding was suppressed most thoroughly in Rich and partially in Lean. Target responding resurged in the Rich and Lean groups, but not in the Control group. Between groups, resurgence was more pronounced in the Rich group than the Lean and Control groups. Clinical implications of these findings, including care on the part of clinicians when identifying alternative sources of reinforcement, are discussed.     

Assessing the combined effects of resurgence and reinstatement in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

Resurgence and reinstatement are laboratory models of relapse following treatments for problem behavior that arrange alternative sources of reinforcement, such as differential reinforcement of alternative behavior and noncontingent reinforcement. Resurgence models the elimination or reduction of reinforcers during treatment and reinstatement models the re‐presentation of reinforcers previously maintaining problem behavior. The present study examined individual and combined effects of resurgence and reinstatement in a translational model of treatment relapse with three children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We first reinforced and then extinguished an arbitrary response while providing access to a preferred toy to model a version of noncontingent reinforcement with extinction. In the following phases, we examined resurgence by removing the toy, reinstatement by presenting the training reinforcer response‐independently, and a combination of resurgence and reinstatement. Overall, relapse of target responding reliably exceeded functionally similar responses never reinforced in the experimental situation. Most importantly, relapse tended to be greater when combining resurgence and reinstatement than when assessing either alone. These findings support previous studies showing that combinations of operations can increase treatment relapse. This translational model arranging simulated problem behavior with arbitrary tasks provides a platform from which to thoroughly and systematically assess methods for understanding and improving behavioral treatments.