D.6 Secondary effects of extinction and punishment

What the outline says

Task D.6 in content area D, Behavior Reduction (14 of the 75 scored questions): "Describe secondary effects of extinction (e.g., extinction burst, response variation, resurgence, emotional responding) and punishment (e.g., emotional responses, escape and avoidance)."

Secondary effects of extinction

Extinction burst. A temporary increase in the frequency, duration or intensity of the behavior when extinction begins. Whining for the tablet may get louder and longer in the first sessions; a client who knocked on a door may bang it harder. Bursts are common even when extinction is done correctly and are not a sign of failure. If the reinforcer stays withheld, the burst fades and the behavior decreases. If the reinforcer is delivered at the peak, the client learns that more intense behavior works, and the behavior becomes harder to extinguish.

Response variation. During extinction, the client may try new forms of behavior the RBT has not seen before, such as waving, tapping and humming when yelling no longer gets attention. This variability is useful: it is what shaping relies on, because the supervisor's plan can reinforce a better form when it appears.

Emotional responding. Crying, frustration, anger and sometimes aggression can appear during extinction. A client who has never hit may hit during the first week of extinction (extinction-induced aggression). The RBT follows the plan's safety steps, records the behavior and reports it.

Spontaneous recovery. After a behavior has decreased under extinction, it can reappear for a short time, typically at the start of a session after time away, such as Monday after a long weekend. It is usually brief and weaker than before, and it fades again if the reinforcer stays withheld. Reinforcing it can bring the behavior back to its old level.

Resurgence. When a newer, reinforced behavior stops being reinforced, an older behavior that used to be reinforced can come back. A client who learned to sign BREAK instead of hitting may start hitting again when a substitute does not honor the sign. Resurgence is the reason everyone must reinforce replacement behaviors consistently and as written. When a supervisor thins the reinforcement schedule for a replacement behavior and old behavior returns, the RBT records it and reports it.

Put together, the typical course of extinction is: often a brief rise, then a gradual decrease, with possible brief returns later. Accurate data across that whole course, including the high points, let the supervisor read it correctly.

Telling the extinction effects apart

Ask what happened just before the behavior changed:

• Extinction has just started, and the same behavior is stronger: extinction burst.
• Extinction is under way, and new forms appear: response variation.
• The behavior had decreased, and it returns after a break in time: spontaneous recovery.
• A replacement behavior lost reinforcement, and an older behavior returns: resurgence.

Side effects of punishment

Emotional responses and aggression. Crying, anger and aggression, sometimes directed at the person delivering the consequence, as when a client hits the RBT who removes a token.

Escape and avoidance. Escape means getting away from punishment that is happening, such as running from an overcorrection procedure. Avoidance means staying away beforehand, such as hiding when the RBT who delivers response cost arrives or refusing to enter a bathroom where overcorrection was used. People, places and tasks paired with punishment can become aversive themselves, which damages rapport and removes chances to learn.

Other effects to recognize:

• Behavioral contrast: the behavior drops where it is punished but increases in other settings, such as cursing decreasing at school and rising at home.
• Suppression only when punishment is likely: a client stops climbing when a particular RBT is present but climbs when that RBT leaves.
• Imitation: people who are punished may copy the punishing behavior, such as a child who is often reprimanded loudly yelling "No!" at a sibling.
• Overuse: when punishment stops a problem behavior quickly, that relief negatively reinforces the adult's use of it.
• Recovery from punishment: when a punishment contingency is removed and nothing else changes, the behavior often returns toward its earlier level.

What the RBT does

Before starting a procedure, the RBT prepares for the effects the supervisor expects: removing dangerous items if a burst may include throwing, and knowing the plan's safety steps. During the procedure, the RBT stays calm and consistent, follows the plan, keeps everyone safe and records all data, including bursts, crying and aggression. If a burst goes beyond the safety limits in the plan, the RBT follows the safety or crisis steps and contacts the supervisor right away.

When a caregiver says extinction "made things worse" after two days, the RBT can explain in plain words that an early increase is common, and passes the concern to the supervisor. When a caregiver asks to leave high counts off the graph, the RBT records and graphs every data point accurately. Changes to the plan, the schedule or the procedure are always the supervisor's decision.

Common mistakes

• Giving in during a burst, which teaches the client to escalate.
• Treating a burst or spontaneous recovery as proof that the plan failed and stopping it.
• Mixing up spontaneous recovery (after a break in time) and resurgence (after a replacement behavior loses reinforcement).
• Leaving bursts, crying or aggression out of the data or session notes.
• Overlooking avoidance of people or places after punishment and failing to report it.

How it's tested

Expect short scenarios that ask you to name the effect. Look for timing cues: "just started extinction" points to a burst, "after the weekend" to spontaneous recovery, "the replacement behavior was not honored" to resurgence, "new behaviors" to response variation, and "hides from" or "refuses to enter" to avoidance. Other items ask what the RBT should do. The answer keeps the plan going, keeps people safe, records accurately and informs the supervisor.