Examining effects of training duration on humans' resurgence and variability using a novel touchscreen procedure
Longer reinforcement history makes problem behavior rebound harder when you later remove rewards.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ritchey et al. (2021) asked adults to swipe a tablet in one direction for coins. They gave some adults 5 minutes of coins, others 20 minutes, and others 40 minutes.
Next, they taught a new swipe direction that also paid coins. Finally, they stopped the coins. They counted how often the first swipe came back.
What they found
The 40-minute group showed the biggest comeback. Their old swipe returned three times more than the 5-minute group.
More training time equals stronger resurgence when the new reward ends.
How this fits with other research
Greer et al. (2024) saw the same pattern with children who hit or bit. Kids with longer FCT training had bigger flare-ups when rewards slowed.
Fisher et al. (2019) found higher baseline reward rates also raised resurgence. Together, the three studies say the same thing: richer history, bigger bounce.
Kestner et al. (2018) warns that resurgence shrinks if you test it twice. So run your first extinction probe long enough; you may not get the same peak later.
Why it matters
When you thin or remove reinforcement, plan for a stronger return if the client has had months of rich rewards. Add extra probe sessions and keep safety measures in place longer. Start thinning in small steps to keep resurgence low.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add two extra extinction probe sessions before you call treatment stable.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Resurgence occurs when a previously reinforced and then extinguished target response increases due to reducing/eliminating an alternative source of reinforcement or punishing an alternative response. We evaluated whether duration of reinforcement history for a target response (1) affects the degree to which resurgence is observed in humans and (2) produces different gradients of response generalization around target responding during extinction testing. We arranged a novel touchscreen interface in which university students could swipe a 3D soccer ball to spin any direction. In Phase 1, the first direction swiped became the target and produced points exchangeable for money for 3 or 1 min across 2 groups. The first swipe was recorded but had no programmed consequence in a third group. In Phase 2, swipes 180-degrees from the target resulted in points for 3 min in all groups. Point deliveries ceased for 2 min to test for resurgence in Phase 3. Target responses resurged during testing to a relatively greater extent with longer Phase-1 training but gradients of response generalization did not differ among groups. These findings extend prior research on the role of training duration on resurgence. We discuss methodological and conceptual issues surrounding the assessment of response generalization in resurgence.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 2021 · doi:10.1002/jeab.716