Escape extinctionExtinction is an effective technique used to reduce unwanted... is a behavioralBehavioral refers to one of the seven dimensions of&nbs... strategy used in AppliedApplied means that the behaviors targeted for change in... BehaviorBehavior refers to any activity or action that living o... Analysis (ABA) to reduce or eliminate behaviors that are maintained by escape or avoidance of a task or demand. In this procedure, the individual is no longer allowed to escape or avoid the task following the occurrence of the undesired behavior. Instead, the task or demand remains in place until it is completed, teaching the individual that engaging in the challenging behavior will not result in escaping the task.
Example
A student named Sarah frequently throws tantrums when asked to complete her math homework, and as a result, her teacher or parents often allow her to stop the task or take a break. This reinforces the tantrum behavior because it allows Sarah to avoid the homework. To implement escape extinction, Sarah’s teacher decides that when a tantrum occurs, the task will not be removed. Instead, Sarah is required to stay with the homework until it is completed. Although her tantrums may initially increase (extinction burstAn Extinction Burst refers to a temporary inc...), over time, Sarah learns that tantrums no longer result in escape from the task, and the behavior decreases.
Extinction, Attention ExtinctionAttention Extinction, also known as planned ignoring, is a s...