Spontaneous recovery of previously extinguished behavior as an alternative explanation for extinction-related side effects.

The authors wrote a theory paper. They asked: what if the ‘side effects’ we see during extinction are really old behavior coming back?

They looked at past rat and pigeon data. They argued that aggression, spike bursts, and other ‘extinction bursts’ match the timing of spontaneous recovery.

They said we should stop calling these events side effects. Instead, we should treat them as predictable returns of previously reinforced behavior.

The paper does not give new data. It shows that sudden aggression often appears right after extinction starts.

That timing fits the classic curve of spontaneous recovery, not a brand-new side effect.

So the ‘burst’ may be the old, reinforced behavior popping up again, not a brand-new problem.

Thrailkill et al. (2018) later proved the idea with live subjects. They showed that richer reinforcement during training makes bigger spontaneous recovery later.

Bachá-Méndez et al. (2007) ran rats and found whole response sequences came back during extinction. Their data give a concrete example of what J et al. predicted.

Bensemann et al. (2015) looked at humans and saw DRO accidentally strengthen other behavior. Their ‘unwanted side effect’ looks like the same process: old responses returning under new conditions.

Next time a client hits the table when you start extinction, think ‘resurgence,’ not ‘random burst.’ Track when the behavior last produced reinforcement. Add brief booster extinction or thin the schedule before you stop cold. Plan for the comeback and you will look less surprised and more in control.