Investigations of operant ABA renewal during differential reinforcement

Kimball et al. (2020) tested whether adding differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior (DRA) to extinction would weaken ABA renewal.

They used a single-case lab design with non-clinical participants.

The team compared extinction alone with extinction plus DRA when everyone returned to the original training room.

Extinction plus DRA produced less renewal than extinction by itself.

Renewal was even smaller when the alternative response had its own brief extinction history.

In plain words: give the client something else to do and the old behavior comes back weaker when the room changes back.

Brown et al. (2020) looks like a contradiction. They also added or removed extinction during DRA, yet resurgence later was the same. The difference: Brown measured resurgence after reinforcement stopped, while Kimball measured renewal after a context switch. Same procedure twist, different relapse route.

Haney et al. (2021) extends the finding to real life. They moved feeding treatment from clinic to home and saw renewal disappear when caregivers kept DRA plus extinction during the move. The lab result holds at the dinner table.

Podlesnik et al. (2026) adds another layer. They trained the new response in several rooms from the start. Renewal dropped even more, but initial behavior reduction took longer. Kimball shows DRA helps; Podlesnik shows you can boost the effect if you practice in many places.

When you transfer treatment to a new room, the old behavior often spikes. Pair your extinction plan with DRA and keep reinforcing the alternate response after the move. If possible, practice the new skill in more than one place before the transfer. These small steps can spare you a renewal headache next week.