4.2 Extinction and Differential Reinforcement (DRA, DRI, DRO, DRL)
Key Takeaways
- Extinction functionally involves withholding the specific maintaining reinforcer following a target behavior, differing from procedural planned ignoring.
- Unintended phenomena accompanying extinction include extinction bursts, spontaneous recovery, resurgence, and extinction-induced aggression.
- DRA reinforces an alternative functional behavior, whereas DRI specifically requires the alternative behavior to be topographically incompatible.
- DRO reinforces the absence of the target behavior across fixed, variable, or momentary intervals.
- DRL reduces excessive rates of a behavior without suppressing it entirely, using full-session, interval, or spaced-responding IRT schedules.
4.2 Extinction and Differential Reinforcement (DRA, DRI, DRO, DRL)
Behavior-reduction strategies in applied behavior analysis prioritize non-aversive, functionally based interventions. Qualified Behavior Analysts (QBAs) rely on extinction and differential reinforcement as ethical, evidence-based methods for decreasing problematic behaviors while simultaneously expanding pro-social, functional skill repertoires.
Extinction: Procedural vs. Functional Applications
Extinction is a behavioral procedure in which reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior is discontinued, resulting in a decrease in the future frequency of that behavior. A critical clinical distinction exists between procedural and functional extinction:
- Procedural Extinction: Ignoring a behavior regardless of its maintaining function (e.g., placing a child on "planned ignoring" when the behavior is maintained by escape). Procedural extinction is ineffective and clinically inappropriate when misaligned with behavior function.
- Functional Extinction: Withholding the specific functional reinforcer that maintains the target behavior following a thorough functional behavior assessment (FBA).
Functional Extinction Across Reinforcement Functions
| Behavioral Function | Functional Extinction Operation | Clinical Implementation Example |
|---|---|---|
| Social Positive (Attention) | Planned ignoring / withholding social attention. | Maintaining a neutral facial expression and withholding vocal comments when calling-out occurs. |
| Social Positive (Tangible) | Withholding access to preferred items or activities. | Denying access to an iPad or toy when a tantrum occurs to obtain it. |
| Social Negative (Escape) | Escape extinction / continuing instruction. | Maintaining demand placement and physical guidance during task refusal until the task is completed. |
| Automatic (Sensory) | Sensory extinction / altering sensory feedback. | Placing a soft padded sleeve on a client's arm to block tactile feedback from skin-picking. |
Side Effects and Behavioral Phenomena Associated with Extinction
Extinction must never be implemented without anticipating predictable behavioral side effects and secondary phenomena:
- Extinction Burst: An immediate, temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, duration, or variability of the target behavior upon initiating extinction. QBAs must inform caregivers that behavior typically worsens temporarily before improving.
- Extinction-Induced Aggression: Emotional responding or physical aggression triggered by the sudden cessation of accustomed reinforcement.
- Spontaneous Recovery: The sudden reemergence of the target behavior after it has been suppressed and absent for a period, occurring without re-stitching of reinforcement contingencies.
- Resurgence: The reappearance of a previously suppressed behavior when a currently reinforced alternative behavior is placed on extinction or experiences a reduction in reinforcement rate.
Differential Reinforcement Procedures
Differential reinforcement combines reinforcement of a desirable target behavior with extinction for problematic behaviors. It is the preferred, least restrictive approach to behavior reduction in ABA programming.
1. Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA)
DRA involves reinforcing a desirable alternative response that serves the same function as the problem behavior while withholding reinforcement for the problem behavior. For example, reinforcing manding with a communication card ("Break please") while placing task refusal on escape extinction.
2. Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior (DRI)
DRI is a subcategory of DRA in which the alternative behavior is topographically incompatible with the problem behavior—the two behaviors physically cannot occur simultaneously. For instance, reinforcing a client for keeping hands in pockets to decrease hand-slapping.
3. Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO)
DRO (also termed zero-responding reinforcement) involves delivering a reinforcer whenever the target behavior has not occurred during a specific time interval. Any other non-targeted behavior may occur.
- Fixed-Interval DRO (FI-DRO): Reinforcement is delivered at the end of a fixed interval if the problem behavior did not occur at any point during that interval. Any instance resets the timer immediately.
- Variable-Interval DRO (VI-DRO): Reinforcement is delivered at the end of variable time intervals based on an average duration, provided zero instances occurred.
- Momentary DRO (FM-DRO / VM-DRO): Reinforcement is contingent on the absence of the problem behavior specifically at the precise moment the interval expires, rather than throughout the entire interval duration.
4. Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates of Behavior (DRL)
DRL is used when a behavior is acceptable or desirable at low rates, but inappropriate at high frequencies (e.g., asking for teacher assistance, hand-washing). DRL reduces rate without completely eliminating the behavior.
| DRL Subtype | Procedure | Clinical Application |
|---|---|---|
| Full-Session DRL | Reinforcer delivered at session end if total responses are at or below a set limit. | Delivering a reward if a student asks fewer than 3 questions in a 60-minute period. |
| Interval DRL | Session divided into intervals; reinforcer delivered per interval if responses stay below threshold. | Providing praise if fewer than 2 vocal interruptions occur during 15-minute segments. |
| Spaced-Responding DRL | Reinforcer delivered only if a specified Inter-Response Time (IRT) has elapsed since the previous response. | Reinforcing a student for taking bites of food only when at least 30 seconds elapse between bites. |
5. Differential Reinforcement of High Rates of Behavior (DRH)
DRH reinforces responses that occur at or above a specified minimum rate, used to accelerate slow-paced target behaviors such as academic task completion rate or oral reading fluency.
Extinction-Related Phenomena: Burst, Spontaneous Recovery, Resurgence, and Renewal
QBAs must discriminate four related but distinct extinction phenomena tested on the QABA blueprint:
| Phenomenon | What Happens | Clinical Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Extinction burst | Temporary increase in rate, intensity, or variability of the target behavior when reinforcement is withheld | Plan for safety and denser replacement reinforcement (e.g., FCT) before starting extinction |
| Spontaneous recovery | Reappearance of the extinguished behavior after time away from the extinction context, without reintroducing the reinforcer | Continue data collection after apparent elimination; do not abandon the plan after one quiet week |
| Resurgence | Return of a previously reinforced problem behavior when reinforcement for a replacement behavior is thinned or removed | Thin carefully; maintain intermittent support for the replacement skill |
| Renewal | Return of extinguished behavior when the learner returns to a context different from the extinction context (e.g., extinguished in clinic, returns at home) or after a context change | Program extinction and replacement skills across settings; train caregivers; use common stimuli |
Renewal is especially high-yield: problem behavior suppressed only in the treatment room often renews in the home or school if those environments still historically signaled reinforcement. Multi-setting treatment, caregiver BST, and generalization programming are the preventive tactics—not simply declaring clinic extinction “successful.”
A client engages in severe screaming maintained by escape from academic tasks. The behavior analyst directs staff to continue presenting task demands regardless of screaming, while simultaneously teaching and immediately honoring a functional sign for 'break'. Which combined procedure is being implemented?
After successfully suppressing a child's hand-biting behavior using a differential reinforcement schedule, the behavior suddenly reappears three weeks later at the start of a session, even though no reinforcement has occurred. How should the QBA identify this phenomenon?
A supervisor wants to reduce the rapid pace at which a student eats meals. The supervisor instructs the technician to provide verbal praise and a small reward only when at least 45 seconds elapse between each bite of food. Which DRL variation is being used?