GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

In the treatment of problem behavior, practitioners aim to reduce the frequency of a specific response by differentially reinforcing a socially desirable alternative behavior while withholding reinforcement for the problem behavior, thereby placing it on extinction. Under these conditions, resurgence may occur, in which a previously extinguished response reemerges following the discontinuation of reinforcement for a more recently reinforced alternative behavior due to changes in reinforcement conditions or schedules. As an alternative to the immediate withdrawal of reinforcement (i.e., extinction), gradual degradation of reinforcer quality may also reduce problem behavior by progressively reducing the value of reinforcement across trials, leading to a gradual reduction in responding to a desirable level. This study investigates how reinforcer quality affects the level of resurgence, in a controlled laboratory setting using Long-Evans rats.