Resurgence with and without an alternative response
Keep the communicative alternative response available during extinction to reduce resurgence of problem behavior.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kimball et al. (2018) asked a simple question. If you take away the new communication response during extinction, does the old problem behavior come back stronger?
They ran a single-case experiment. In one phase the alternative response stayed available while the team withheld reinforcement for the target response. In another phase they removed the alternative response too.
The study compared how much resurgence happened in each setup.
What they found
Resurgence was stronger when the alternative response was absent.
When the communication option stayed in reach, the old behavior returned less. The team saw this pattern across participants.
How this fits with other research
BStagnone et al. (2025) extends the story. They taught one, two, or three alternative responses. More responses kept the new skills alive longer, but did not cut resurgence much.
Marshall et al. (2025) looked at dozens of cases. About one-third of transitions during delay and denial teaching showed resurgence. Their numbers line up with Kimball’s lab finding: expect some relapse, but keep the alternative response handy to keep it small.
Muething et al. (2024) add a warning. They checked 34 clinical files and found resurgence and renewal do not predict each other. Seeing one does not tell you the other is coming.
Why it matters
You can lower resurgence by leaving the communication response in the learner’s hands. Do not remove the card, the sign, or the device when you start extinction. Keep it available, even if you are withholding the reinforcer. This simple step can spare you a big spike in problem behavior next session.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Resurgence is the reemergence of a previously reinforced response that occurs after the elimination or reduction of reinforcement for an alternative response. Resurgence is problematic in the context of treatment because the reemergence of a previously reinforced destructive response could be detrimental to treatment gains. In the current translational study, we examined a modified resurgence procedure in which the alternative response was either present or absent during extinction. Four participants were exposed to three phases that consisted of (1) reinforcement of a target response, (2) extinction of the target response and differential reinforcement of an alternative response, and (3) extinction of both responses. Results for four out of five assessments showed greater resurgence when the alternative response was absent during Phase 3. Results suggest that more robust resurgence might occur if the alternative response is not available as opposed to the alternative response contacting extinction.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2018 · doi:10.1002/jaba.466