Decreasing a Behavior with Extinction Chapter 5 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Extinction When a response (previously reinforced) is not followed by reinforcement, the individual is less likely to engage in the behavior again. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Extinction Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Extinction Controlling reinforcers for the behavior that is to be decreased Reinforcers from others or from environment can undo extinction Make sure that the reinforcers you are withholding are actually the ones maintaining the behavior Extinction combined with positive reinforcement for an alternate behavior Extinction most effective when alternate behavior is reinforced Setting in which extinction is carried out Minimize the influence of alternative reinforcers on the undesirable behavior (from others in the old setting) Maximize the chances of the behavior modifier persisting with the program Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Extinction Instructions: Make use of rules May speed up behavior change Extinction may be quicker after continuous reinforcement When behavior was constantly reinforced, quick to extinction Intermittent reinforcement may lead to slower extinction Behaviors slow to extinguish are said to be slow to extinction Behavior being extinguished might get worse before it gets better Extinction burst – increase in responding during extinction In situations where extinction burst may be harmful, need to take preventative measures or extinction should not be used Extinction may produce aggression Aggression lower in programs that reinforce alternative behaviors Extinguished behavior may reappear after a break this is called spontaneous recovery Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Pitfalls Extinction program might be undone by other, less knowledgeable people Desirable behavior may be extinguished when insufficient reinforcement is given Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Pitfalls of Extinction Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Guidelines for Effective Application of Extinction Select behavior to be decreased Be specific Select proper location (behavior might get worse before getting better) Select behavior for which you can control the reinforcers maintaining it Preliminary considerations Keep track of how often behavior occurs before extinction Identify current reinforcers Identify desirable alternate behavior Identify effective reinforcers for the desirable alternate behavior Select setting in which extinction will work best Let all relevant individuals know what is going on (what is being extinguished and what is being reinforced) Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Guidelines for Effective Application of Extinction (cont.) Implementing the Plan Tell the individual about the plan before starting Use rules of reinforcement if rewarding alternate behavior Be consistent Weaning from the program Be prepared for occasional relapses Three possible reasons for failure: Attention withholding is not the reinforcer Undesirable behavior is receiving intermittent reinforcement from another source The desired alternative behavior has not been strengthened sufficiently Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.