Effects of Response Effort on Resurgence

Six kids played a ball game in a small room. First, they earned candy for dropping the ball in a close basket. Then the candy stopped. Finally, the close basket was removed and only a far basket stayed.

The far basket was 6 feet away. Kids had to walk and reach high to score. The team counted how often old, easy responses came back during extinction.

When the easy basket vanished, almost no one walked to the far basket. Resurgence dropped to zero for every child.

Big takeaway: more physical work equals less relapse.

Vukelich et al. (1971) saw the same pattern with money games. When taking a partner’s cash became easy, cooperation died. Both studies show that lower effort keeps problem behavior alive.

Pizarro et al. (2018) looked at picture cards. Kids asked less when the item was hidden, because extra steps raised effort. Wilson’s lab result backs that classroom clue: if you want less of a response, make it harder to do.

Together, the three papers say effort is a silent punisher. Drop effort, behavior springs back. Raise effort, behavior stays quiet.

You can guard against resurgence without extra extinction. Just place the old toy on a high shelf, move the chair away from the door, or close the lid on the cookie jar. One simple layout change can stop a behavior from roaring back next session.