Recurrence of phonetic responding

Garner et al. (2018) worked with kindergarten children who could already read simple phonetic words. The team first taught the kids to read Greek letters instead of words. Then they paid the children with stickers for reading Greek letters. Finally they stopped the stickers. They wanted to see if the children would go back to reading phonetic words when the new task no longer paid off.

The study used a single-case design. Each child moved through phases in the same order: first phonetic reading, then Greek-letter reading with rewards, then extinction of Greek-letter reading.

The old phonetic reading came back every time. The more stickers the children had earned for Greek letters, the stronger the return of phonetic reading. This shows that richer alternative reinforcement creates bigger resurgence when you later remove it.

The pattern was steady across all kids. No new teaching was needed for the phonetic words to reappear.

Shahan et al. (2020) later built a math model of the same idea in adults. They found that each step-down in alternative-reinforcement rate produces an exponential jump in resurgence. Their numbers back up the kindergarten observation that bigger prior rewards mean bigger relapse.

Ritchey et al. (2023) tested magnitude instead of rate. They cut the size of each reinforcer and saw resurgence grow. Their RaC2 model captured the curve, giving a quantitative update to the 2018 finding.

Greer et al. (2024) moved the idea into clinical work. They thinned alternative reinforcement for children with destructive behavior. Big early cuts produced the most resurgence, matching the classroom pattern. The lab result now has a therapy-room twin.

When you fade token boards, edibles, or iPad time, plan gradual steps. A sudden stop after rich reinforcement can bring back the very behavior you just removed. Track the old response during thinning. If phonetic reading or problem behavior resurges, you know the alternative payoff dropped too fast. Thin slower at first and the relapse stays small.