Support Report

What is extinction?

Extinction is when reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior is no longer provided, resulting in a decrease in the frequency of that behavior.1 In other words, the challenging behavior no longer works or pays off.

Examples:

• No longer having access to a drug when you are addicted to that drug.
• No one paying attention when you scream, if your screaming used to lead to attention.
• Being required to complete a task before leaving a room when you have previously ran out of the room to escape completing the task.
• Someone yelling for an item no longer receives the item after yelling.