Which of the following is the best example of extinction?
A)You change to a different slot machine because the one that you've been playing doesn't pay very often.
B)You stop buying lottery tickets until the jackpot is greater than $10 million.
C)You stop buying lottery tickets after spending several hundred dollars and never winning.
D)You purchase mega bucks tickets instead of regular lottery tickets because the odds of winning are greater.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Extinction is when a behavior that was previously reinforced no longer leads to reinforcement and therefore decreases in frequency or disappears altogether. In this case, the behavior of buying lottery tickets used to be reinforced by the possibility of winning, but after spending several hundred dollars and never winning, the behavior no longer leads to reinforcement and therefore decreases in frequency or disappears altogether. Choices A, B, and D are not examples of extinction because they all involve making a choice based on potential rewards, rather than a previously reinforced behavior decreasing in frequency or disappearing altogether.

Which of the Following Is the Best Example of Extinction