Resurgence
Also called: treatment relapse, renewal, reinstatement
Definition
The return of a previously reinforced behavior when the behavior that replaced it stops being reinforced. It is one of several forms of relapse — along with renewal, where behavior returns when the context changes, and reinstatement, where behavior returns after the old reinforcer is delivered again — and it matters most when a plan thins reinforcement for a replacement behavior too quickly.
In plain language
An old problem behavior comes back when the new behavior stops paying off. It shows why the replacement behavior has to keep working.
Example
A learner taught to ask for a break stops getting breaks when the new teacher does not know the plan. Within days the old escape behavior is back.
Not resurgence
A behavior briefly returning weeks into extinction with no change in the replacement. That is spontaneous recovery.
See also
Written from
- lerman-iwata-1996
Written from the extinction and relapse literature, including Lerman and Iwata (1996). No textbook glossary consulted.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.