Extinction Burst: Why It Gets Worse Before Getting Better

An extinction burst is characterized by a temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, or duration of behavior being extinguished through operant conditioning. This phenomenon occurs when the reinforcement for a previously learned behavior is removed, leading to an initial escalation of the behavior before it decreases and eventually ceases. While not all instances of extinction involve such bursts, they are observed in some cases, particularly during the treatment of problematic behaviors.

Extinction bursts can complicate the treatment of behavioral disorders, as they may temporarily increase undesired behaviors like aggression or self-injury, making it challenging to assess the effectiveness of interventions.

Examples of extinction bursts include intensified drug-seeking behaviors in cocaine addiction during withdrawal and increased intensity of toddler tantrums when parents refuse to give in to demands, highlighting the importance of consistency in the extinction process to achieve behavioral change.

What is an extinction burst

An extinction burst is a sudden increase in the frequency, intensity, or duration of an operant behavior after the reinforcement has been removed and before the behavior completely stops.

In operant conditioning, habitual behavior is learned or reinforced by adding a favorable reinforcer (positive reinforcement) or removing an aversive reinforcer (negative reinforcement). The reinforcer is eliminated during extinction, and the unwanted behavior eventually ceases to occur^​1​.

Even though the extinction process ultimately ends a target behavior, a dramatic increase is often observed during the early stages of extinction. This extinction burst period can be found in humans and animals^​2​.

Not all extinctions go through extinction bursts. Bursts only appear in a small portion (roughly one-third) of cases in some treatments for problem behaviors^​3​.

Spontaneous recovery vs extinction burst

Spontaneous recovery is the return of extinguished behavior after extinction has passed for some time. Some people confuse this relapse effect with extinction bursts.

The difference between spontaneous recovery and extinction burst is that spontaneous recovery is a complete return after the disappearance of a behavior. In contrast, an extinction burst is a temporary increase in behavior being extinct.^​4​

Using extinction burst in treating behavior disorders

Extinction is often used to decrease undesired behavior in children, such as aggression, self-injurious behavior, and property destruction.^​5–8​

Extinction can be an effective treatment in removing maladaptive behaviors. Still, extinction bursts are problematic side effects because the negative behavior being removed initially increases rather than decreases during the extinction procedure.

With behavior problems such as self-harm, bursts of aggressive behavior can pose a risk to the individuals, even if it is just a temporary increase.

Extinction bursts make it difficult to determine whether the behavioral interventions are effective.

For example, unsuitable treatment may continue longer if incompatibility is mistaken for extinction burst. Potentially effective treatment may be stopped too early if an extinction burst is mistaken for a negative end result.

Extinction burst examples

Cocaine addiction

Cocaine addiction is a chronic relapsing disease. The compulsive drug-seeking behavior when the drug is not readily available characterizes drug addiction^​9​.

Since drug-related events or stimuli in everyday life can easily trigger a relapse, drug addiction can be difficult to overcome^​10​. 

An addict’s most common strategy for extinction of drug use is abstinence.

During withdrawal, extinction bursts cause such drug seeking behavior to intensify when cues are present in the natural environment^​11​.

If the addict is successful in getting and administering the drug during the bursts, extinction fails and the behavior patterns are reinforced.

Toddler tantrums

Extinction is used in parenting quite often.

In dealing with toddler tantrums, extinction is one popular parenting technique.

Some parents consider toddler tantrums voluntary behaviors that a child uses to get what they want. If the child’s parent stops giving in, the bad behavior will become extinct because of the lack of reinforcement. 

However, the first time the parent refuses to give in, the child is likely to become even more upset, increasing the intensity of the tantrum due to extinction bursts.

If parents give in at this point, the extinction fails. The child’s tantrum throwing is reinforced and the behavioral patterns continue.

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