Association for Behavior Analysis International

Resurgence refers to the recurrence of a previously reduced target response when reinforcement conditions for an alternative response worsen. Differences in resurgence can be influenced by the reinforcement histories of both the target and alternative responses. When target responding is reduced by degrading its reinforcement contingencies, resurgence is mitigated compared to when the target response is eliminated via extinction. This study compared resurgence following the degradation of target responding through varying timeout durations and extinction. Resurgence was assessed in a 3-component schedule across two experiments with three rats, where target responding was reduced by extinction or by 2-, 5-, and 30-second timeouts. In Experiment 1, Phases 1 and 2 ended after 15 reinforcers, while in Experiment 2, the phases ended after 15 and 30 reinforcers, respectively. Preliminary results indicate that when phases ended after an equal number of reinforcers, resurgence was mitigated following 2- and 5-second timeouts in two subjects but occurred at similar levels following extinction and the 30-second timeout. In contrast, greater alternative reinforcement in Phase 2 mitigated resurgence across both timeout and extinction conditions. These findings suggest that extending alternative reinforcement contingencies during the degradation of target responses could help in reducing resurgence.

Renewal is an increase in the rate of responding of a previously eliminated behavior due to a change in context. These context changes typically occur when the target behavior may be reinforced in one context (A). Then, an alternative response in a novel context is reinforced, while the target behavior is eliminated (B). Finally, treatment encounters either a familiar context (A) or a new context (C). When a familiar context is encountered, this is considered ABA renewal, whereas a novel context is considered ABC renewal. Previous prevalence studies regarding renewal of targeted behaviors have commonly included extinction and they have not examined treatments without extinction. Therefore, we examined the prevalence of renewal where extinction was not used. We used a consecutive case series analysis of clients admitted to an intensive day treatment program between 2021-2024. Individuals were included if they received a treatment that did not incorporate the use of extinction (e.g., differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, token economy; N=13) and if they experienced at least one context change during their admission. Of the 32 cases where extinction was not used, bursts of target behavior were observed in seven cases (21.88%).

Human-laboratory experiments of behavioral resurgence often show human responding lacking sensitivity to extinction contingencies. The current experiments aimed to evaluate whether baseline phase length or the presence of competing activities during a three-phase procedure influenced target response elimination and resurgence in a novel, gamified arrangement. Across both experiments, participants played an arcade style “space shooter” video game on a laptop computer, earning points as reinforcers for destroying either the target or alternative spaceship on the screen according to a variable-interval 3-s (VI 3) schedule of reinforcement. During Experiment 1, exposure to baseline contingencies for three minutes relative to four minutes was compared across two groups of participants for the potential impact on resurgence of target responding. In a second experiment, we evaluated the presence or absence of competing activities (e.g., collectible gems, speed boosts) on target response elimination. Participants experiencing longer baseline durations exhibited more persistent target responding during Phase 2 and 3 as well as higher levels of resurgence. Additionally, we observed quicker response elimination with participants who did not have access to competing activities. Results will be discussed in terms of the implications of this arrangement on future human-laboratory research on response relapse.