Examining effects of response-cost punishment and extinction in isolation and in combination on resurgence

Abstract

Resurgence is the return of a previously reinforced and extinguished target response when conditions worsen for an alternative response. The present experiment examined resurgence when worsening alternative conditions by introducing extinction of alternative responding, high-magnitude response-cost punishment of alternative responding, or a combination of extinction and the high-magnitude response cost. Overall, resurgence was robust under all three conditions. Resurgence with combined punishment and extinction (but not punishment alone) was greater than with extinction in isolation during the first min of testing. However, the combined manipulation did not produce greater resurgence than punishment alone. Overall, our findings did not support the conclusion that high-magnitude punishment and extinction have additive effects on resurgence. This could be due to the specific parameters of punishment used in the present study.