Resurgence as Choice in Context: Treatment duration and on/off alternative reinforcement

Abstract

Resurgence as Choice (RaC) is a quantitative theory suggesting that an increase in an extinguished target behavior with subsequent extinction of an alternative behavior (i.e., resurgence) is governed by the same processes as choice more generally. We present data from an experiment with rats examining a range of treatment durations with alternative reinforcement plus extinction and demonstrate that increases in treatment duration produce small but reliable decreases in resurgence. Although RaC predicted the relation between target responding and treatment duration, the model failed in other respects. First, contrary to predictions, the present experiment also replicated previous findings that exposure to cycling on/off alternative reinforcement reduces resurgence. Second, RaC did a poor job simultaneously accounting for target and alternative behaviors across conditions. We present a revised model incorporating a role for more local signaling effects of reinforcer deliveries or their absence on response allocation. Such signaling effects are suggested to impact response allocation above and beyond the values of the target and alternative behaviors as longer-term repositories of experience. The new model provides an excellent account of the data and can be viewed as an integration of RaC and a quantitative approximation of some aspects of Context Theory.

Keywords: discrimination; lever pressing; matching law; operant behavior; rats; resurgence.

© 2019 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Figures

Fig. 1.

Predicted target response rates across a range of Phase 2 treatment durations during which the target behavior (previously reinforced on a VI 30-s schedule for 30 days in Phase 1) is extinguished and the alternative behavior is reinforced on a VI 10-s schedule. The alternative behavior is also then placed on extinction on the 4th, 8th, 16th, 24th, or 32nd session. The data points at zero on the x-axis represent Phase 1 target response rates.

Fig. 2.

Predicted first-session Phase 3 target response rates in the as a function of the session in which alternative reinforcement is removed for the alternative behavior (4th, 8th, 16th, 24th, or 32nd session). Note that both axes are logarithmic.

Fig. 3.

Predicted target response rates presented as in Figure 1, but with the inclusion of the predictions for a condition in which on/off alternative reinforcement is presented across sessions.

Fig. 4.

Obtained target response rates in the first session of the Phase 3 resurgence test as a function of the session in which resurgence testing began (4th, 8th, 16th, 24th, or 32nd session) for all groups exposed to constant alternative reinforcement in Phase 2. The small data points represent individual rats in each treatment duration group. The line is a linear regression using all individual-subject data. The large data points represent group geometric means. Note the log–log axes.

Fig. 5.

Mean target response rates during the last session with alternative reinforcement in Phase 2 versus the first resurgence test session in Phase 3 for the all constant alternative reinforcement groups and similar data for the corresponding sessions for the On/Off alternative reinforcement group. Error bars represent ±1 SEM.

Fig. 6.

Target response rates for individual rats in the On/Off alternative reinforcement group for the final transition between alternative reinforcement on (i.e., day 31) versus off (day 32).

Fig. 7.

Response rates for target (top panel) and alternative (bottom panel) behavior across sessions for all groups. Data for the different groups are represented by differently colored solid lines. Mean target behavior response rates in the final three sessions of Phase 1 are presented above zero on the x axis. The predictions of RaC for each group are shown as dotted lines of the same color as for the data. All data were fitted simultaneously. Note the logarithmic y axes.

Fig. 8.

Response rates for target (top panel) and alternative (bottom panel) behavior across sessions for all groups. Data for the different groups are represented by differently colored solid lines. Mean target behavior response rates in the final three sessions of Phase 1 are presented above zero on the x axis. The predictions of RaC2 for each group are shown as dotted lines of the same color as for the data. All data were fitted simultaneously. Note the logarithmic y axes.

Fig. 9.

Response rates for target behavior across sessions for all groups. Data for the different groups are represented by differently colored solid lines. Mean target behavior response rates in the final three sessions of Phase 1 are presented above zero on the x axis. The predictions of Behavioral Momentum Theory for each group are shown as dotted lines of the same color as for the data. Note the logarithmic y axes.