Behavioral momentum and resistance to extinction across repeated extinction tests
Each new extinction test makes the behavior weaker faster, so space your probes and never assume yesterday’s resistance still holds.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Craig and team worked with pigeons in a lab. The birds pecked a key for food on a rich schedule.
Next the researchers ran three extinction sessions in a row. They measured how many pecks happened each time.
The goal was to see if resistance to extinction stayed the same or changed across repeated probes.
What they found
Pecking dropped faster in the second and third extinction tests. Resistance to extinction weakened each time.
The data fit a behavioral-momentum model that blames two things: the change in cues and the end of food.
How this fits with other research
McIntyre et al. (2002) showed that rich histories create strong resistance. Craig agrees, but adds that even strong behavior fades if you keep testing extinction.
Fisher et al. (2018) used dense reinforcement to protect against resurgence. Craig’s results warn that repeated extinction probes can undo that protection.
Cengher et al. (2020) used extinction to spark new response forms. Their success may hinge on using few probes; Craig shows each extra test weakens momentum.
Why it matters
If you probe extinction more than once, expect faster drops and less resistance later. Plan reassessments sparingly and treat each probe as a new learning event. When you need to check maintenance, use brief, well-spaced extinction tests instead of long, repeated ones.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present experiments assessed whether resistance to extinction of pigeons' key pecking decreased across repeated extinction tests. An additional impetus for this research was to determine how the quantitative framework provided by behavioral momentum theory might be used to describe any such changes across tests. Pigeons pecked keys in two-component multiple schedules (one component associated with a higher reinforcer rate and the other with a lower rate) in which baseline and extinction conditions alternated. In Experiment 1, baseline and extinction conditions alternated every session, and, in Experiment 2, these conditions lasted for 10 and 7 sessions, respectively. Resistance to extinction decreased across successive extinction conditions in both experiments. Fits of the behavioral-momentum based model of extinction to the data returned uncertain results in Experiment 1 but implicated both generalization decrement and response-reinforcer contingency termination as the possible mechanisms responsible for behavior change in Experiment 2. Thus, these data suggest that experimental manipulations that affect discrimination of changes in reinforcement contingencies may influence resistance to extinction by modulating the disruptive impacts of removing reinforcers from the experimental context and of suspending response-reinforcer contingencies.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 2019 · doi:10.1002/jeab.557