At first, Sally thought it was funny when her five-year-old used bad language, and she would laugh despite herself. However, Sally soon realized that she was encouraging this behavior, and she stopped laughing when her child used inappropriate language. But to her dismay, as soon as Sally decided not to laugh anymore, the child began to use bad language more often before she finally stopped using it. What best explains why the child's inappropriate behavior increased temporarily?
A) Habituation
B) Re-acquisition of the response
C) An extinction burst
D) Spontaneous recovery

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

An extinction burst occurs when a behavior that was previously reinforced is no longer being reinforced. The behavior temporarily increases as the individual tries harder to obtain the reinforcement. In this case, the child's use of bad language was previously reinforced by Sally's laughter, but when Sally stopped laughing, the reinforcement was removed, leading to an initial increase in the behavior.

At First, Sally Thought It Was Funny When Her Five-Year-Old