Discriminative Properties of Reinforcers Modulate Resurgence: Evidence from a Systematic Review
The reinforcer you pick can itself trigger resurgence if it carries an extinction history, so vet your rewards before using them in maintenance.
01Research in Context
What this study did
King et al. (2025) looked at seven small lab studies on resurgence. They asked: do the signals tied to reinforcers change how much old behavior pops back?
The team pulled every experiment that tested whether a reinforcer’s own history makes relapse stronger or weaker.
What they found
Across the seven studies, reinforcers were not interchangeable. A reinforcer that had been paired with extinction could itself cue resurgence.
The evidence is still early, but the pattern held: the item you pick for praise or tokens can quietly remind the client of past failures, sparking relapse.
How this fits with other research
Laugeson et al. (2014) showed that taking away the alternative cue does not cut resurgence; reinforcer control beats stimulus control. King’s review folds that result in, giving it more weight.
Craig et al. (2016) found high-rate alternative reinforcement is required for resurgence, a direct hit against behavioral momentum theory. King includes this study, so the review now supersedes the old momentum claim for resurgence cases.
Thrailkill et al. (2018) saw richer initial reinforcement create bigger later relapse. King’s summary links this spontaneous-recovery finding to the same reinforcer-history theme, showing the pattern crosses different relapse forms.
Why it matters
When you choose reinforcers for maintenance or DRA, ask: has this item ever been tied to extinction? If yes, it could act like a relapse alarm. Pick neutral or new reinforcers when you want to lower risk, and probe for resurgence before fading supports.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Various theoretical frameworks have been developed to explain the behavioral mechanisms underlying resurgence, each offering distinct predictions about the conditions that may either promote or mitigate its occurrence. One framework centers on the contextual account of resurgence, which posits the discriminative properties of reinforcers modulate relapse based on their prior association with response establishment and elimination contingencies. A growing body of basic and translational research supports this contextual account. In this review, we systematically examined the resurgence literature involving studies in which authors employed a three-phase arrangement: an initial reinforcement phase with one set of reinforcers was introduced for the target response, a second phase in which a different set of reinforcers was introduced for an alternative response, and a final phase where both reinforcers were delivered on a response-independent schedule. Six studies spanning seven highly technical experiments with human and non-human animal participants were included and summarized with respect to participant and setting characteristics, experimental designs, reinforcement schedules, and the effect of reinforcer type on relapse outcomes. Findings offer preliminary evidence that the discriminative properties of reinforcers modulate resurgence. We provide several recommendations for future basic and translational research on the contextual account of resurgence, with a particular emphasis on incentivized choice paradigms, the discriminatory properties and effects of digital versus physical reinforcers, and applications to function-informed interventions.
Perspectives on Behavior Science, 2025 · doi:10.1007/s40614-025-00482-0