Effects of a timeout contingency on the development of resurgence: An exploratory study with rats

This experiment assessed the effects of a timeout (TO) contingency for target responding during treatment, on the development of resurgence. Rats were exposed to a two-component multiple schedule (VI 30-s VI 30-s) across three phases. In the first phase, target lever presses were reinforced in both components. During the second phase, alternative lever presses were reinforced while target responses were either placed on extinction in one component or followed by a 30-s TO in the other. In the final test phase, when alternative responding was also placed on extinction, greater resurgence of the target response was observed in the extinction component compared to the TO component. These findings suggest that timeout may be an effective procedure for mitigating resurgence. Further research is warranted to examine how variables such as timeout duration and reinforcement frequency influence its aversiveness and effectiveness in reducing resurgence.