Abstract
Resurgence of previously suppressed behavior can occur when differential reinforcement is discontinued. Recent research has investigated strategies to mitigate resurgence, including punishing the target response during alternative reinforcement. A punishment strategy consisting of reinforcer loss contingent on the target response (response cost) does not appear to attenuate resurgence, but these effects had not been replicated with other negative-punishment procedures, such as timeouts. This study investigated effects of timeouts on subsequent resurgence when adults responded to earn points during a computer task. Timeouts did not affect subsequent resurgence. These findings, in combination with previous research, suggest that negative punishment may not reduce the likelihood of subsequent resurgence.
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This study was completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a bachelor’s degree by the first author, under the supervision of the second and third authors.
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Houchins, A.L., Williams, C.L. & St. Peter, C.C. Time-Out During Alternative Reinforcement Does Not Reduce Resurgence: An Exploratory Study. Psychol Rec 72, 325–330 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00455-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00455-6