Why Extinguished Behaviors Return
One of the most significant challenges in applied behavior analysis is maintaining treatment gains over time and across settings. Even when an intervention successfully reduces problem behavior through extinction, that behavior can return under certain conditions. Two well-studied phenomena that account for this return are renewal and reinstatement. Understanding these effects is essential for BCBAs who want to design interventions that produce lasting behavior change rather than temporary suppression.
Both renewal and reinstatement are grounded in basic behavioral research, with decades of laboratory studies documenting their parameters. The translation of this basic research into clinical practice is a growing area of applied behavior analysis that has direct implications for how we design, implement, and maintain interventions.
Renewal: Context-Dependent Return of Behavior
Renewal occurs when a behavior that was extinguished in one context returns when the individual is moved to a different context. The critical variable is the change in context, which can include changes in the physical environment, the people present, the time of day, or any stimulus conditions that differ from those present during extinction.
Types of Renewal
Researchers have identified three primary types of renewal, each named according to the sequence of contexts involved:
- ABA Renewal: A behavior is reinforced in Context A, extinguished in Context B, and then the individual returns to Context A. The return to the original training context produces renewal. This is the most commonly studied and often the most robust form of renewal. Clinically, this occurs when problem behavior is extinguished in a clinic setting (B) but returns when the client goes home to the original environment (A) where the behavior was first reinforced.
- ABC Renewal: A behavior is reinforced in Context A, extinguished in Context B, and then the individual is moved to a novel Context C. Even though Context C was never associated with reinforcement, the behavior returns. This finding suggests that extinction learning is specific to the extinction context (B), and any departure from that context can produce renewal.
- AAB Renewal: A behavior is reinforced and then extinguished in the same context (A), and then the individual is moved to a novel context (B). Although weaker than ABA or ABC renewal, this effect demonstrates that even without a return to the reinforcement context, a change in context can disrupt extinction.
Mechanisms of Renewal
The leading explanation for renewal comes from contextual learning theory. According to this account, extinction does not erase the original learning. Instead, extinction produces new learning that is context-dependent. The individual learns that the behavior is no longer reinforced in the extinction context, but the original learning (that the behavior produces reinforcement) remains intact. When the context changes, the extinction learning loses its influence, and the original learning drives behavior once again.
This analysis has a profound implication: extinction is not unlearning. It is new learning that competes with original learning, and the context determines which learning controls behavior at any given time.
Reinstatement: Reinforcer Re-Exposure Effects
Reinstatement occurs when a behavior that was extinguished returns after the individual is exposed to the reinforcer that previously maintained it, even though the reinforcer is delivered noncontingently (independent of the behavior). For example, if a child's tantrum behavior was maintained by attention and then extinguished, the behavior may reinstate if the child receives a burst of noncontingent attention from a new caregiver who does not know the treatment plan.
How Reinstatement Differs from Resurgence
While resurgence involves the return of a target response when an alternative response loses reinforcement, reinstatement involves the return of an extinguished response following noncontingent delivery of the reinforcer. The key variable in reinstatement is the re-exposure to the reinforcer, not the loss of alternative reinforcement. Understanding this distinction is important for both clinical practice and the BCBA exam.
Variables That Affect Reinstatement
Research has shown that several factors influence the magnitude of reinstatement:
- Amount of reinforcer re-exposure: Greater exposure to the reinstating reinforcer produces greater reinstatement.
- Type of reinforcer: Reinstatement is function-specific, meaning the behavior is most likely to reinstate when re-exposed to the same type of reinforcer that originally maintained it.
- Extinction history: More thorough extinction may reduce (but not eliminate) vulnerability to reinstatement.
- Context: Reinstatement is stronger when it occurs in the context associated with original reinforcement.
Clinical Strategies to Mitigate These Effects
Conducting Extinction in Multiple Contexts
One of the most effective strategies for reducing renewal is conducting extinction in multiple contexts rather than just one. When extinction occurs across several settings, with different people, and at different times, the extinction learning becomes less context-specific and more generalizable. This is a direct application of the principle of programming for generalization.
Gradual Context Transitions
Rather than making abrupt changes between treatment and generalization contexts, plan gradual transitions. Introduce elements of the natural environment into the treatment setting incrementally, and extend treatment procedures into the natural environment systematically. This approach reduces the salience of context changes that trigger renewal.
Training Caregivers Across Settings
Ensure that all relevant caregivers in all relevant settings are trained to implement extinction and reinforcement procedures consistently. When the contingencies remain consistent across contexts, the context change becomes less relevant as a signal for the availability of reinforcement for problem behavior.
Monitoring for Reinstatement Triggers
Identify situations where the client might receive noncontingent access to the reinforcer that maintained problem behavior. Train caregivers to recognize these situations and respond appropriately. For attention-maintained behaviors, this might mean ensuring that social attention is delivered proactively on a schedule rather than in bursts that could reinstate problem behavior.
Building Strong Alternative Response Repertoires
When alternative responses are well-established and continue to contact reinforcement across settings, the individual has less reason to revert to the original problem behavior, even when context changes occur. Ensure that functional communication responses are fluent, generalized, and consistently reinforced in all relevant environments.
Exam Preparation Focus
For the BCBA exam, be prepared to identify and distinguish between renewal, reinstatement, resurgence, and spontaneous recovery. Understand the three types of renewal (ABA, ABC, AAB) and what each reveals about the nature of extinction. Know that renewal suggests extinction is new, context-dependent learning rather than the erasure of original learning. Be ready to apply these concepts to clinical scenarios and to recommend strategies that promote maintenance and generalization of treatment effects.