Behavior Reduction Interventions Flashcards

A child's tantrum behavior previously maintained by adult attention suddenly increases in intensity and frequency after attention is withheld. This phenomenon is called:

Answer: Extinction burst

An extinction burst is the temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, or duration of a behavior when extinction is first implemented.

After extinction has been in place for several weeks and a target behavior has been eliminated, the behavior reappears briefly in the next session without any reinforcement being delivered. This is best described as:

Answer: Spontaneous recovery

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinguished behavior after a period of rest, without any additional reinforcement.

When is planned ignoring (extinction of socially-reinforced behavior) CONTRAINDICATED as a behavior reduction strategy?

Answer: When the behavior poses a safety risk to the client or others

Planned ignoring is contraindicated when the behavior is dangerous, because withholding attention cannot prevent physical harm during an extinction burst.

A practitioner implements extinction for self-injurious behavior maintained by automatic (sensory) reinforcement. The appropriate extinction procedure in this case is:

Answer: Sensory extinction (blocking sensory feedback)

Sensory extinction involves blocking or masking the sensory consequence that reinforces the behavior, such as using protective equipment to prevent the automatic reinforcement.

Which differential reinforcement procedure specifically reinforces the ABSENCE of the target behavior during a defined interval?

Answer: DRO

Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior (DRO) delivers reinforcement if the target behavior does not occur during the entire interval.

During extinction, an increase in aggressive behavior that was not the original target behavior is observed. This side effect is referred to as:

Answer: Extinction-induced aggression

Extinction-induced aggression is emotional behavior, including aggression, that can emerge as a side effect when a previously reinforced behavior is placed on extinction.

A teacher stops calling on a student who shouts out answers (extinction for attention). However, the student's shouting increases during math but decreases during reading. This is an example of:

Answer: Behavioral contrast

Behavioral contrast occurs when behavior decreases in one context where extinction is applied but increases in another context where the contingency has not changed.