Which phenomenon occurs when a previously extinguished behavior reappears after extinction has reduced its frequency to baseline?

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Study for the ABA SAFMEDS Exam with comprehensive flashcards and challenging multiple choice questions. Each question offers hints and detailed explanations. Ensure your readiness for the exam day!

Multiple Choice

Which phenomenon occurs when a previously extinguished behavior reappears after extinction has reduced its frequency to baseline?

Explanation:
Spontaneous recovery describes when a behavior that was extinguished comes back after a period of no reinforcement, even though extinction reduced its frequency back toward baseline. Extinction lowers the response by withholding reinforcement, but it doesn’t erase the original learning; after some time or a change in context, the previously learned response can briefly reappear. This shows that the underlying association is still present and can reemerge without new reinforcement. The other processes—maintenance involves keeping a behavior going with ongoing reinforcement, shaping builds a target behavior through successive approximations, and imitation is copying another’s behavior—do not capture why a previously suppressed behavior reappears after a pause.

Spontaneous recovery describes when a behavior that was extinguished comes back after a period of no reinforcement, even though extinction reduced its frequency back toward baseline. Extinction lowers the response by withholding reinforcement, but it doesn’t erase the original learning; after some time or a change in context, the previously learned response can briefly reappear. This shows that the underlying association is still present and can reemerge without new reinforcement. The other processes—maintenance involves keeping a behavior going with ongoing reinforcement, shaping builds a target behavior through successive approximations, and imitation is copying another’s behavior—do not capture why a previously suppressed behavior reappears after a pause.

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