Resurgence of infant caregiving responses

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to identify the conditions likely to produce resurgence. The preparation was a simulated caregiving context, wherein a recorded infant cry sounded and was terminated contingent upon specified caregiving responses. The general sequence of experimental conditions was modeled after Epstein (1983). In each of three experiments, a reinforcement history was created for one or more responses, and those responses were then extinguished. Each previously reinforced response was measured in a resurgence test condition in which an additional response was reinforced and placed on extinction in the same session; resurgence occurred when previously reinforced responses reemerged during the resurgence test. Experiment 1 was conducted to determine whether resurgence would be obtained with human participants in a negative reinforcement preparation. Experiments 2 and 3 were conducted to determine whether responses with a longer history of reinforcement or a more recent history of reinforcement would show the strongest resurgence effect. Results of all three experiments suggest that resurgence is a phenomenon that can be obtained in preparations involving human subjects with responses that are maintained by negative reinforcement. Additionally, results from Experiments 2 and 3 provide evidence that the response with a longer history of reinforcement is likely to resurge, regardless of the relative temporal proximity of the history.