Which statement is most applicable to extinction in operant conditioning?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Operant extinction: when a previously reinforced response no longer produces reinforcement, responding declines. Key concepts: reinforcement schedules, acquisition rate, resistance to extinction, and the partial-reinforcement extinction effect (PREE).

1) Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Reinforcement schedule: continuous (every response reinforced) vs. partial/intermittent (only some responses reinforced: fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, variable interval).
- Partial-Reinforcement Extinction Effect (PREE): behaviors trained under intermittent reinforcement extinguish more slowly than behaviors trained under continuous reinforcement.
- Other factors affecting resistance to extinction: magnitude/frequency of past reinforcement, deprivation state, stimulus control/discriminative cues, and number of reinforcements/experience.

2) Step-by-step reasoning
- If a response was learned under continuous reinforcement, the organism expects reinforcement after each response; when reinforcement stops, the absence is salient and responding declines quickly.
- If a response was learned under intermittent reinforcement, nonreinforced responses were part of training, so the organism tolerates nonreinforced trials and keeps responding longer when reinforcement is withdrawn.
- Therefore, conditions that slow acquisition (intermittent schedules, variable ratios or intervals) produce greater resistance to extinction.

3) Calculations
- No numeric calculations are required; logic and empirical findings (PREE) provide the basis.

4) Why the correct answer is correct
- “Factors that slow learning also make the response resistant against extinction” captures the PREE: intermittent reinforcement slows initial learning compared to continuous reinforcement but makes the learned response more persistent when reinforcement ceases. Empirical data and theoretical accounts (e.g., discrimination hypothesis, frustration theory) support this.

5) Why other options are incorrect
- “Behavioral extinction applies to species with low intelligence”: false — extinction is observed across many species and does not depend on low intelligence.
- “Extinction is inapplicable to operant conditioning”: false — extinction is a central concept in operant conditioning.
- “Quick learning leads to slow extinction”: typically false — quick learning under continuous reinforcement usually leads to faster extinction; quick acquisition does not guarantee resistance.

6) Conclusion
This explanation supports and confirms the provided correct answer: factors that slow learning also make the response resistant against extinction.

Which statement is most applicable to extinction in operant conditioning?未知题型

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