Extinction after partial reinforcement: predicted vs. judged persistence

The partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) (i.e., increased persistence following partial reward) is one of the most important generalizations from experimental studies of learning. Many theories of PREE assume that it involves cognitive and emotional mechanisms, but investigations of PREE have focused almost exclusively on behavioral measures. Four experiments with human adults investigated whether PREE is also reflected in cognitive measures. Independent groups of subjects learned an instrumental response under CRF vs. PRF contingencies, and then predicted (Experiments 1, 2, and 3) and/or judged (Experiments 3 and 4) their own persistence under extinction conditions. Predictions of persistcnce were unrelated to prior continuous or partial reinforcement contingencies (Experiments 1, 2, and 3), but subsequent judgments of persistence behavior were accurate (Experiments 3 and 4). These results indicate that increased persistence due to occasional reward is not well represented cognitively prior to its behavioral manifestation, but it is well represented after that manifestation. Possible explanations and implications of this apparent behavior cognition dissociation are discussed.     

Altering the timing of academic prompts to treat destructive behavior maintained by escape

Following a functional analysis showing that destructive behavior was reinforced by escape, we altered the aversiveness of task demands by interspersing easy and difficult tasks and by presenting a corrective prompt as an antecedent event the next time a previously failed item was presented; this procedure was compared with one in which the corrective prompt was provided as an immediate consequence. Results of a reversal design showed that the antecedent prompt acted as an establishing operation and reduced destructive behavior to zero.     

Assessment and treatment of escape from attention in the form of conversation

The purpose of this study was to evaluate treatment procedures for problem behavior maintained by escape from attention in the form of conversation for a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. After conducting a functional analysis that confirmed this function, we implemented a preference assessment to identify some forms of attention that were not aversive. Treatment consisted of four conditions, implemented in a series of reversals. During each condition, the participant chose from some of the following concurrently available options: three forms of attention, escape from conversation, and escape from conversation with a 2‐min delay. We implemented the delay to reduce (devalue) the reinforcing value of escape from conversation. The participant preferred escape from conversation to social interaction when all four consequences were available immediately. When escape from conversation was possible with a delay, the participant's preference changed to social interaction. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.     

Stimulus–reinforcer relations established during training determine resistance to extinction and relapse via reinstatement

The baseline rate of a reinforced target response decreases with the availability of response‐independent sources of alternative reinforcement; however, resistance to disruption and relapse increases. Because many behavioral treatments for problem behavior include response‐dependent reinforcement of alternative behavior, the present study assessed whether response‐dependent alternative reinforcement also decreases baseline response rates but increases resistance to extinction and relapse. We reinforced target responding at equal rates across two components of a multiple schedule with pigeons. We compared resistance to extinction and relapse via reinstatement of (1) a target response trained concurrently with a reinforced alternative response in one component with (2) a target response trained either concurrently or in separate components from the alternative response across conditions. Target response rates trained alone in baseline were higher but resistance to extinction and relapse via reinstatement tests were greater after training concurrently with the alternative response. In another assessment, training target and alternative responding together, but separating them during extinction and reinstatement tests, produced equal resistance to extinction and relapse. Together, these findings are consistent with behavioral momentum theory—operant response–reinforcer relations determined baseline response rates but Pavlovian stimulus–reinforcer relations established during training determined resistance to extinction and relapse. These findings imply that reinforcing alternative behavior to treat problem behavior could initially reduce rates but increase persistence.     

An experimental demonstration of AAB renewal in children with autism spectrum disorder

Operant renewal is a return of extinguished behavior due to changes in contextual stimuli that control the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a response. Well‐established in classical conditioning and operant research, renewal presents itself in three forms—ABA, ABC, and AAB—and poses threats to treatment maintenance where extinction procedures are utilized. As AAB renewal may be less likely to occur than ABA or ABC renewal, the current study sought to determine if AAB renewal would occur with three participants with Autism Spectrum Disorder who were taught a simple lever pull response. Results showed that lever pulls increased for two of three participants when we introduced novel stimuli (i.e., a light and a buzzer) to alter the contextual environment after extinction. These findings suggest that AAB renewal may account for some instances of response recovery after extinction and that the procedure of this study may be beneficial to the further study of renewal and the variables that affect its occurrence within a translational model.     

Additional free reinforcers increase persistence of problem behavior in a clinical context: A partial replication of laboratory findings

Behavioral momentum theory is a quantitative framework used to characterize the persistence of behavior during response disruptors as a function of baseline stimulus–reinforcer relations. Results of several investigations have shown that alternative reinforcement can increase the resistance to change of a target response during extinction. In the present study, concomitant variable‐interval fixed‐time schedules of reinforcement for problem behavior were employed to simulate naturalistic situations involving the superimposition of response‐independent reinforcers on a baseline schedule of reinforcement for problem behavior, as in the common use of noncontingent reinforcement treatments. Resistance to change of problem behavior was assessed during postsession periods of extinction by comparing response rates in extinction following sessions with and without additional reinforcer deliveries arranged by fixed‐time schedules. For 2 out of 3 participants, problem behavior tended to be more resistant to extinction following periods in which additional fixed‐time reinforcers were delivered. These results are discussed in terms of potential effects of noncontingent reinforcement on problem behavior when the intervention is discontinued or implemented without good treatment integrity.     

The role of response force on the persistence and structure of behavior during extinction

Behavior Momentum Theory has emerged as a prominent account of resistance to change in both basic and applied research. Although laboratory studies often define precise, repeatable responses, application research often deals with response classes that may vary widely along a number of dimensions. In general, Behavior Momentum Theory has not addressed how response dimensions impact resistance to change, providing an opportunity to expand the model in new directions. Four rats pressed a force transducer under a multiple variable interval (VI) 60‐s VI 60‐s schedule of reinforcement. In one component, responses satisfied the schedule only if the response force fell within a “low” force band requirement; responses in the other schedule were required to satisfy a “high” force band. Once responding stabilized, extinction was programmed for three sessions. Then, the procedures were replicated. The results showed that response force came under discriminative control, but force requirements had no impact on resistance to extinction. In a follow‐up condition, the schedule was changed to a multiple VI 30‐s VI 120‐s schedule and the low‐force band operated in both components. The results showed that behavior maintained by the VI 30‐s schedule was generally more resistant to extinction. A secondary analysis showed that force distributions created under baseline maintained during extinction. Overall, the results suggest that differential response force requirements prevailing in steady state do not affect the course of extinction.     

Impetus for a robust science of behavior: A review of Nevin's Behavioral Momentum: A scientific metaphor

Nevin provides a scientific role model, illustrating momentum in his own research and providing impetus through his effects on the scientific behavior of his students and his colleagues. I discuss his book in the context of a review of the history of the concept of extinction, I cite his introduction of signal‐detection analysis into behavior analysis as a contribution not covered in this book, I briefly consider applications, such as the potential extension to fluency procedures in education, and I critique his concept of momentum, relating it to other metaphors for maintained behavior such as the dynamics of sensory systems and robustness in biological accounts of the stability of phenotypes.     

Choices between positive and negative reinforcement during treatment for escape-maintained behavior.

Positive reinforcement was more effective than negative reinforcement in promoting compliance and reducing escape‐maintained problem behavior for a child with autism. Escape extinction was then added while the child was given a choice between positive or negative reinforcement for compliance and the reinforcement schedule was thinned. When the reinforcement requirement reached 10 consecutive tasks, the treatment effects became inconsistent and reinforcer selection shifted from a strong preference for positive reinforcement to an unstable selection pattern.