Conducting extinction in multiple contexts attenuates relapse of operant behavior in humans

Abstract

In one experiment with human participants, we investigated the effects of using multiple contexts during extinction on the renewal of operant responses. Undergraduate students played a videogame in which they learned to shoot at enemies in Context A. Then, all participants experienced an extinction training. For half of the participants, extinction trials were conducted in a single context, whereas the other half received extinction in three different contexts. Finally, all participants were tested in Context A. We observed that conducting extinction in multiple contexts attenuated ABA renewal. The present results suggest that conducting extinction in multiple contexts can be used as a behavioral technique to reduce operant renewal.