Introduction to Extinction

Introduction

        Extinction refers to the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior decreasing or disappearing. In other words, the conditioned behavior eventually stops and it also refers to the fading and disappearance of behavior that was previously learned by association with another event.

        For example, imagine that you taught your dog to shake hands. Over time, the trick became less interesting. You stop rewarding the behavior and eventually stop asking your dog to shake. Eventually, the response becomes extinct, and your dog no longer displays the behavior.

Extinction in Classical Conditioning

        Classical conditioning occurs when an association is formed between a biologically significant natural stimulus and a neutral stimulus to cause an involuntary response. In classical conditioning, when a conditioned stimulus is presented alone without an unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response will eventually cease. 

        In classical conditioning, extinction occurs when the conditioned stimulus is applied repeatedly without being paired with the unconditioned stimulus. Over time, the learned behavior occurs less often and eventually stops altogether, and CS returns to neural. In the example of Pavlov’s dogs, after Pavlov subsequently rang the bell many times without bringing food, the dogs gradually stopped salivating at the sound.

Extinction in Operant Conditioning

        Operant conditioning refers to associating a natural stimulus (unconditioned stimulus) with reinforcement or punishment (conditioned stimulus) to change a voluntary behavior (conditioned response).Operant extinction refers to the weakening and eventual stop of the conditioned behavior. For example, a child associates the sound of a microwave with her favorite snack, and she rushes into the kitchen. But after dad uses the microwave several times without making the snack, she gradually stops.

Rationale of extinction

                Extinction procedures are combined with reinforcement procedures so that learners with ASD develop more appropriate skills in place of challenging or problematic behaviors that prevent the occurrence of more acceptable, purposeful behaviors. They can be used with other intervention strategies, including functional communication training, differential reinforcement, non-contingent reinforcement, and/or response interruption/redirection. The use of extinction is not limited to a particular behavior or skill, but typically is used to address disruptive, aggressive, perseverative and stereotypical behaviors, or any other problematic behavior that prevents developmental growth. It is recommended that extinction procedures be used after other more positive interventions have been tried and shown to not work (e.g., differential reinforcement, curriculum modification, etc.). This is mainly due to the extinction burst that might occur as the learner seeks to receive reinforcers previously provided following the occurrence of the unwanted behavior.

 Examples of specific skills that were the focus of extinction interventions in the evidence-based studies include:

o    functional communication

o    self-injurious behaviors

o    sleep problems

o   eliminating challenging behavior during classroom instruction 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Heinz Hartmann Ego Psychology and the Mechanisms of Adaptation

  Heinz Hartmann devoted considerable time to the study of the Ego's Defenses and their functions from the perspective of the Adaptation. However, he seems not to have expanded on the defenses explained by Freud. The ego mobilizes defenses to protect itself from four types of dangers including conflicts among: ·          The id, ego, and super ego conflict. ·          Conflict in interpersonal relations. ·          Conflict in social norms. ·          Conflict in response to trauma. Mechanism of Adaptation: Heinz Hartmann described the "Mechanisms of Adaptation" that are more or less firmly established in the ego of an adult and always run to the same course unconsciously, just as Anna Freud describes the "Defense Mechanisms". These mechanisms are established in the ego to defend against un-described or disturbin...
Read more

Basic Concepts in Experimental Psychology

  Perception                Perception can be defined as our recognition and interpretation of sensory   information. Perception also includes how we respond to the information. We can think of perception as a process where we take in sensory information from our environment and use that information in order to interact with our environment. Perception allows us to take the sensory information in and make it into something meaningful. Cognition Cognition is a term referring to the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension. These processes include thinking, knowing, remembering, judging and problem-solving. These are higher-level functions of the brain and encompass language, imagination, perception, and planning. The earliest definition of cognition was presented in the first textbook on cognitive psychology published in 1967. According to Neisser, cognition is "those processes by which the sensory input i...
Read more

Assessment techniques by George Kelly

 The Interview Kelly’s primary assessment technique was the interview. As he put it, “If you don’t know what is going on in a person’s mind, ask him; he may tell you!” (1958, p. 330). Adopting what he called a “credulous attitude,” Kelly accepted the client’s words at face value, believing this was the best way to determine the person’s constructs. He also recognized that a person might deliberately lie or distort the reported version of events. However, what the client said must be respected, even if not always fully believed. Self-Characterization Sketches: Another technique used to assess a construct system is to have the person write a self characterization sketch. Kelly’s instructions to the client were as follows. “I want you to write a character sketch of [client’s name] just as if he were the principal character in a play. Write it as it might be written by a friend who knew him very intimately and very sympathetically, perhaps better than anyone ever really could know h...
Read more