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Extinction as discrimination: the molar view.

William M Baum1

  • 1University of California, Davis, CA 94108, USA. wbaum@sbcglobal.net

Behavioural Processes
|March 20, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Extinction learning in pigeons suggests behavior change is a discrimination, not response weakening. Faster food rates during training lead to slower extinction, supporting a molar view of behavior.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Psychology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Learning and Conditioning

Background:

  • Traditional molecular behaviorism views extinction as response strength decay.
  • The partial-reinforcement extinction effect contradicts this, showing slower extinction after partial reinforcement.
  • This effect suggests extinction may be a discrimination process.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the partial-reinforcement extinction effect in pigeons.
  • To test whether extinction is better explained as discrimination or response weakening.
  • To explore the relationship between food delivery rate and extinction persistence.

Main Methods:

  • Four pigeons were trained using a variable-interval schedule of food delivery.
  • Sessions alternated between reinforcement and extinction periods.
  • The rate of food delivery was systematically varied across conditions.

Main Results:

  • Results confirmed and extended the partial-reinforcement extinction effect.
  • Persistence of pecking and time to extinction were inversely related to the rate of food acquisition.
  • Higher food rates during training led to slower extinction.

Conclusions:

  • Extinction is supported as a transition in behavioral allocation, not a loss of response strength.
  • The findings align with a molar view of behavior and learning.
  • Repeated cycles of reinforcement and deprivation may be ecologically relevant for vertebrate evolution.