ArticlePerspectives on behavior science2022
A Theory of the Extinction Burst.
Article in Perspectives on behavior science, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- On the prevalence and magnitude of resurgence during delay-and-denial tolerance teaching.Journal of applied behavior analysis · 2025Pooled it
- Reinforcer value moderates response magnitude and persistence during extinction: A randomized trial.Journal of applied behavior analysis · 2024Trial
- Human-operant evaluation of synthesized alternative reinforcement and resurgence.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2026Article
- Shaping the extinction burst: Increasing its probability and preventing its emergence across topographies.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2026Article
- The effects of reward uncertainty and alcohol intoxication on human sign- and goal-tracking.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Motivation, attention, and uncertainty: insights from animal and human research and implications for addiction.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Behavioral history effects on the maintenance of schedule-induced drinking in rats.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2026Article
- The extinction burst: Effects of alternative reinforcement magnitude.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2025Article
- A Clinical Tutorial on Using a Concurrent Operant Analysis in the Assessment and Treatment of Problem Behavior.Behavior analysis in practice · 2025Article
- On the Prospective Application of Behavioral Momentum Theory and Resurgence as Choice in the Treatment of Problem Behavior: A Brief Review.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The extinction burst: Effects of reinforcement magnitude.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2025Article
- Testing delayed, gradual, and temporary treatment effects in randomized single-case experiments: A general response function framework.Behavior research methods · 2024Article
- Updated Recommendations for Reinforcement Schedule Thinning following Functional Communication Training.Behavior analysis in practice · 2024Review
- Basic and applied research on extinction bursts.Journal of applied behavior analysis · 2023Article
- Relative effects of four resurgence-mitigation strategies informed by behavioral momentum theory.Journal of applied behavior analysisArticle
- Evaluations of heart rate during functional analyses of destructive behavior.Journal of applied behavior analysisArticle
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
A preliminary theory of a temporary increase in the rate of an operant response with the transition to extinction (i.e., the extinction burst) is proposed. The theory assumes reinforcers are events permitting access to some valuable activity, and that such activity can compete for allocation with the target response under some conditions (e.g., very high reinforcement rates). With the transition to extinction, elimination of this competition for allocation can produce an increase in the the target response, but the increase is transient because the value of the target response decreases with exposure to extinction. The theory provides a way to understand why the extinction burst is not ubiquitous, seems more common following very small ratio schedules, occurs for a short period of time following the transition to extinction, and may be eliminated with the availability of alternative reinforcement. It appears to provide a reasonable starting point for a theory of the extinction burst that does not necessarily require inclusion of invigorating effects of frustration, and it is closely aligned with Resurgence as Choice theory. Additional research on factors modulating reinforcement-related activities and how they affect the extinction burst could help to further evaluate the theory.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.