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Utah State University

Psychology Faculty Publications

Extinction

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Persistence And Relapse Of Reinforced Behavioral Variability, Ann Galizio, Charles C. J. Frye, Jeremy M. Haynes, Jonathan E. Friedel, Brooke M. Smith, Amy L. Odum Jan 2018

Persistence And Relapse Of Reinforced Behavioral Variability, Ann Galizio, Charles C. J. Frye, Jeremy M. Haynes, Jonathan E. Friedel, Brooke M. Smith, Amy L. Odum

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present study examined persistence and relapse of reinforced behavioral variability in pigeons. Pigeons emitted four‐response sequences across two keys. Sequences produced food according to a lag schedule, in which a response sequence was followed by food if it differed from a certain number of previous sequences. In Experiment 1, food was delivered for sequences that satisfied a lag schedule in both components of a multiple schedule. When reinforcement was removed for one component (i.e., extinction), levels of behavioral variability decreased for only that component. In Experiment 2, food was delivered for sequences satisfying a lag schedule in one component …


Experience With Dynamic Reinforcement Rates Decreases Resistance To Extinction, Andrew R. Craig, Timothy A. Shahan Mar 2016

Experience With Dynamic Reinforcement Rates Decreases Resistance To Extinction, Andrew R. Craig, Timothy A. Shahan

Psychology Faculty Publications

The ability of organisms to detect reinforcer-rate changes in choice preparations is positively related to two factors: the magnitude of the change in rate and the frequency with which rates change. Gallistel (2012) suggested similar rate-detection processes are responsible for decreases in responding during operant extinction. Although effects of magnitude of change in reinforcer rate on resistance to extinction are well known (e.g., the partial-reinforcement-extinction effect), effects of frequency of changes in rate prior to extinction are unknown. Thus, the present experiments examined whether frequency of changes in baseline reinforcer rates impacts resistance to extinction. Pigeons pecked keys for variable-interval …


A Model Of Resurgence Based On Behavioral Momentum Theory, Timothy A. Shahan, Mary M. Sweeney Jan 2011

A Model Of Resurgence Based On Behavioral Momentum Theory, Timothy A. Shahan, Mary M. Sweeney

Psychology Faculty Publications

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 …


Behavioral Momentum Theory: Equations And Applications, John A. Nevin, Timothy A. Shahan Jan 2011

Behavioral Momentum Theory: Equations And Applications, John A. Nevin, Timothy A. Shahan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Behavioral momentum theory provides a quantitative account of how reinforcers experienced within a discriminative stimulus context govern the persistence of behavior that occurs in that context. The theory suggests that all reinforcers obtained in the presence of a discriminative stimulus increase resistance to change, regardless of whether those reinforcers are contingent on the target behavior, are noncontingent, or are even contingent on an alternative behavior. In this paper, we describe the equations that constitute the theory and address their application to issues of particular importance in applied settings. The theory provides a framework within which to consider the effects of …