In operant conditioning, extinction refers to which of the following?

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Multiple Choice

In operant conditioning, extinction refers to which of the following?

Explanation:
Extinction in operant conditioning happens when reinforcement that previously followed a behavior is no longer delivered. Without that reinforcement, the behavior tends to decrease in frequency over time. It’s not about continuously reinforcing every response; that would strengthen or maintain the behavior, not reduce it. It’s also different from spontaneous recovery, which is when a response reappears after a period of nonexposure following extinction. And it’s not about the behavior increasing. Sometimes you might see a brief spike in responding right after extinction starts (an extinction burst) before it declines.

Extinction in operant conditioning happens when reinforcement that previously followed a behavior is no longer delivered. Without that reinforcement, the behavior tends to decrease in frequency over time. It’s not about continuously reinforcing every response; that would strengthen or maintain the behavior, not reduce it. It’s also different from spontaneous recovery, which is when a response reappears after a period of nonexposure following extinction. And it’s not about the behavior increasing. Sometimes you might see a brief spike in responding right after extinction starts (an extinction burst) before it declines.

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