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Extinction burst refers to the phenomenon of a previously reinforced or learned behavior temporarily increasing when the reinforcement for the behavior is removed. Learning theory suggests the organism is increasing the frequency of the behavior in an attempt to regain the original reinforcement for the behavior. In the absence of additional reinforcement, the behavior will diminish to lower (pre-extinction burst) levels and eventual cessation.
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References
Lerman, D. C., & Iwata, B. A. (1995). Prevalence of the extinction burst and it’s attenuation during treatment. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28, 93–94.
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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Walrath, R. (2011). Extinction Burst. In: Goldstein, S., Naglieri, J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_1073
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_1073
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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