Extinction Burst | Encyclopedia MDPI

Extinction Burst: History

Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Contributor: Tinley Hu

An extinction burst is a temporary increase in the rate of an operant response that follows the withdrawal of the reinforcement maintaining it^[1]^[2]. It is a transitional phenomenon, confined to the period immediately after the transition to extinction rather than persisting as a new steady state^[2]. Whether it is detected depends on measurement: prevalence is considerably higher when only the first minute after the transition is scored than when response rates are averaged across the session^[3]. Bursts are not universal; in applied treatment of problem behaviour, bursting and extinction-induced aggression occur in nearly half of cases and are less frequent when extinction forms part of a treatment package than when used alone^[4].

extinction burst
operant extinction
response rate
transitional behaviour
extinction-induced aggression

References

Brian R. Katz; Kennon A. Lattal; What is an extinction burst?: A case study in the analysis of transitional behavior. J. Exp. Anal. Behav. 2020, 115, 129-140, 10.1002/jeab.642.
Timothy A. Shahan; A Theory of the Extinction Burst. Perspect. Behav. Sci. 2022, 45, 495-519, 10.1007/s40614-022-00340-3.
Anthony N. Nist; Timothy A. Shahan; The extinction burst: Impact of reinforcement time and level of analysis on measured prevalence. J. Exp. Anal. Behav. 2021, 116, 131-148, 10.1002/jeab.714.
Dorothea C. Lerman; Brian A. Iwata; Michele D. Wallace; SIDE EFFECTS OF EXTINCTION: PREVALENCE OF BURSTING AND AGGRESSION DURING THE TREATMENT OF SELF‐INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR. J. Appl. Behav. Anal. 1999, 32, 1-8, 10.1901/jaba.1999.32-1.

©Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons-Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.