Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
Published on: August 24, 2012
Extinction of conditioned defensive burying
J P Pinel1, S Puttaswamaiah, D M Wilkie
1Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1W5 Canada.
Abstract:
Rats were shocked once through a wire-wrapped dowel when they contacted it in a bedding-lined test chamber. Then the amount of conditioned defensive burying was measured for several days under extinction conditions; each of the rats was placed in the chamber for 15 min every 24 hr but no more shock was administered. The frequent bursts of burying directed at the dowel on the first test were almost totally absent by the fifth or sixth. Repeated exposure to the dowel conditioned stimulus was necessary for this extinction; neither the passage of time per se nor repeated exposure to the chamber in the absence of the dowel was sufficient to produce any significant decline in the tendency for the rats to push bedding at it. Making it impossible for the subjects to engage in burying behaviour during the extinction trials by removing the bedding from the test chamber did not affect the rate of extinction.
Related Concept Videos
Principles of Classical Conditioning
During the...
Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction
Generalization occurs when a behavior reinforced in one context is performed in similar situations. For instance, a student who studies diligently for calculus and receives excellent grades might apply the same study habits to psychology and history, expecting similar results. Generalization shows how learning in one setting can influence behavior in...
Behavior Therapy
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...
Instinctive Drift
Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
Conditioned Taste Aversion
A notable characteristic of conditioned taste aversion is that it often requires only a single...

