In operant conditioning, extinction refers to which of the following?

In operant conditioning, extinction refers to which of the following?

• A. No reinforcement
• B. Continuous reinforcement
• C. Spontaneous recovery
• D. Increasing behavior

Answer: (A)

Extinction in operant conditioning happens when reinforcement that previously followed a behavior is no longer delivered. Without that reinforcement, the behavior tends to decrease in frequency over time. It’s not about continuously reinforcing every response; that would strengthen or maintain the behavior, not reduce it. It’s also different from spontaneous recovery, which is when a response reappears after a period of nonexposure following extinction. And it’s not about the behavior increasing. Sometimes you might see a brief spike in responding right after extinction starts (an extinction burst) before it declines.

Extinction in operant conditioning happens when reinforcement that previously followed a behavior is no longer delivered. Without that reinforcement, the behavior tends to decrease in frequency over time. It’s not about continuously reinforcing every response; that would strengthen or maintain the behavior, not reduce it. It’s also different from spontaneous recovery, which is when a response reappears after a period of nonexposure following extinction. And it’s not about the behavior increasing. Sometimes you might see a brief spike in responding right after extinction starts (an extinction burst) before it declines.