What is the extinction schedule?

What is the extinction schedule?

• A. It helps eliminate undesirable responses or behaviors by allowing the behavior to occur again and again without rewarding it. The behavior will gradually decrease in strength and frequency.
• B. It reinforces behavior with immediate reward after each attempt.
• C. It uses punishment to suppress undesired behavior.
• D. It involves random reinforcement.

Answer: (A)

Withholding reinforcement for a behavior that was previously reinforced reduces its occurrence over time. This extinction process causes the undesired behavior to fade as it no longer yields rewards, though there may be a brief initial spike in frequency before it declines. This approach is distinct from continuously rewarding the behavior, using punishment, or delivering rewards randomly, none of which describe withholding reinforcement to weaken and eventually stop the behavior.

Withholding reinforcement for a behavior that was previously reinforced reduces its occurrence over time. This extinction process causes the undesired behavior to fade as it no longer yields rewards, though there may be a brief initial spike in frequency before it declines. This approach is distinct from continuously rewarding the behavior, using punishment, or delivering rewards randomly, none of which describe withholding reinforcement to weaken and eventually stop the behavior.