What is the phenomenon called when extinction is first implemented and there is a temporary increase in responding?

What is the phenomenon called when extinction is first implemented and there is a temporary increase in responding?

• A. Extinction burst
• B. Extinction
• C. Response substitution
• D. Positive punishment

Answer: (A)

Extinction burst is the temporary increase in the target behavior that often occurs when extinction is first implemented. When reinforcement for a behavior is withheld, the individual experiences a mismatch between what they expect and what actually happens. In trying to obtain reinforcement, they may escalate the behavior temporarily—increasing how often, how long, or how intensely they respond. This burst is usually brief and followed by a decline in the behavior as the extinction process continues. It’s a specific early reaction to the change in reinforcement, not the ongoing path of extinction itself. Extinction describes the broader process of withholding reinforcement, while positive punishment involves adding an aversive consequence to decrease behavior, which is not what’s described here. Response substitution refers to alternative behaviors that might occur during extinction, but the question focuses on the initial uptick in the original behavior, which is the extinction burst.

Extinction burst is the temporary increase in the target behavior that often occurs when extinction is first implemented. When reinforcement for a behavior is withheld, the individual experiences a mismatch between what they expect and what actually happens. In trying to obtain reinforcement, they may escalate the behavior temporarily—increasing how often, how long, or how intensely they respond. This burst is usually brief and followed by a decline in the behavior as the extinction process continues. It’s a specific early reaction to the change in reinforcement, not the ongoing path of extinction itself.

Extinction describes the broader process of withholding reinforcement, while positive punishment involves adding an aversive consequence to decrease behavior, which is not what’s described here. Response substitution refers to alternative behaviors that might occur during extinction, but the question focuses on the initial uptick in the original behavior, which is the extinction burst.