Prepare for the ACVREP Orientation and Mobility (OandM) Exam. Use our study aids and multiple-choice questions, each with detailed explanations. Boost your confidence and succeed!

Multiple Choice

Which term describes the removal of a reinforcer leading to loss of the previously learned behavior?

Extinction occurs when the reinforcement that originally maintained a behavior is no longer provided. Without that reinforcement, the behavior gradually loses its frequency and can eventually disappear. This is different from punishment, which decreases behavior by introducing an aversive consequence or removing something desirable, and from shaping, which builds a new behavior by reinforcing successive approximations. Sometimes a brief spontaneous recovery can occur after extinction, where the behavior reappears temporarily before fading again.

Extinction occurs when the reinforcement that originally maintained a behavior is no longer provided. Without that reinforcement, the behavior gradually loses its frequency and can eventually disappear. This is different from punishment, which decreases behavior by introducing an aversive consequence or removing something desirable, and from shaping, which builds a new behavior by reinforcing successive approximations. Sometimes a brief spontaneous recovery can occur after extinction, where the behavior reappears temporarily before fading again.