Extinction, Punishment and Safety Limits

Some behavior-reduction plans change what happens after a behavior. This lesson teaches you to recognize two of those changes, extinction and punishment, and to predict their side effects. It also shows where your role ends when someone could get hurt.

Describing a procedure here is not recommending it. An RBT does not choose these procedures on their own. You implement one only when three things are true: it is written into an authorized, documented plan; your qualified supervisor directs you to use it; and your supervisor has confirmed you can do it correctly.

The plan is not the only rule you follow. Laws and regulations, client-rights and consent protections, and your workplace's policies can add requirements. Which ones apply depends on your setting. Take any question about them to your supervisor.

Goals

By the end, you should be able to:

• Classify a described procedure as extinction, positive punishment, negative punishment or negative reinforcement, and name the fact that decides it.
• Explain why ignoring, a break or a time-out is not automatically extinction or punishment.
• Recognize the common side effects of extinction and punishment.
• Choose the safe action from a written plan, and report what happened objectively.

Before you start: A reinforcer is a consequence that makes a behavior more likely in the future. A behavior's function is what it gets or avoids for the person, such as attention, an item, or a break from a task.

Extinction: the payoff stops

Plain meaning: The behavior used to get something. Now that same thing no longer follows it.

Extinction means the reinforcer that kept a specific, defined behavior going stops following that behavior.

Example. Rae calls out "Look at me!" during table work. The team's assessment found that staff attention keeps the calling out going. Rae's plan says staff do not respond to call-outs, and they respond quickly when Rae taps a "talk" card. Calling out is now on extinction, because the reinforcer that maintained it, attention, no longer follows it.

Change one fact. Suppose calling out actually gets Rae out of the worksheet, because the session pauses every time. Now staff looking away removes nothing that matters to Rae. If the work still pauses, Rae still gets the payoff. For this function, extinction would mean the work continues as the plan describes.

So extinction is not another word for ignoring. Ignoring is extinction only when attention was the payoff.

Extinction also never means withholding care. Rae still gets water, bathroom breaks, comfort after an injury, and safety. Only the specific reinforcer for the specific behavior stops.

Check: Jo throws puzzle pieces on the floor. Staff found that throwing usually gets Jo a different toy. Which change is extinction? (a) Staff stop talking to Jo for the session. (b) The different toy no longer follows throwing. (c) Jo misses snack.

Answer: (b)

The toy was the payoff, so stopping the toy is extinction. Choice (a) removes attention, but attention was not maintaining the throwing. Choice (c) takes away something unrelated, which is not extinction. It could also deny normal care.

Punishment: judged by what happens next

Plain meaning: Something changes right after a behavior, and the behavior then happens less often in similar situations.

Punishment is defined by that observed future decrease. It is not defined by what the adult intended, or by how unpleasant the consequence looks. "Positive" and "negative" mean added and removed. They do not mean good and bad.

• Positive punishment: something is added. Each time Lee interrupts, an adult adds a brief correction: "Wait for your turn." If interrupting decreases over the next sessions, the correction worked as positive punishment. If interrupting increases, the correction may be working as attention, which is a reinforcer.
• Negative punishment: something is removed. Lee loses one earned token after interrupting. If interrupting decreases, that is negative punishment.

Time-out from reinforcement means access to reinforcement is removed for a period after a behavior. It does not mean any break or any removal. Suppose Lee is moved away from a boring task, and the behavior then increases. In that case, time-out let Lee escape the task, and it did not work as punishment.

Negative reinforcement versus negative punishment. Both remove something, so ask what happened to the behavior afterward:

• Negative reinforcement: something unpleasant is removed, and the behavior becomes more likely.
• Negative punishment: something wanted is removed, and the behavior becomes less likely.

Check: Mia whines during cleanup, and the adult finishes cleaning for Mia. Whining during cleanup increases over the week. Which process is this?

Answer: Negative reinforcement

The unpleasant task was removed, and the behavior increased. Many people answer "negative punishment" because something was removed. That label requires a decrease, and whining went up.

Check: carrying out the plan. Lee's plan says: "After Lee interrupts, remove one earned token and record it." Your supervisor has checked that you can do this correctly. During group, Lee interrupts. A coworker says, "Take two tokens and skip Lee's snack too. That will work faster." What do you do?

Answer: Remove one token, record it, and take the suggestion to your supervisor

Do exactly what the plan says: one token, then record it. Adding a second token or skipping snack would change the procedure without authorization, and skipping snack could deny normal care. So do not carry out the coworker's suggestion, even if it sounds faster. Pass it to your supervisor for review through the authorized plan-change process.

Side effects to watch for and report

Extinction

• Extinction burst: a short-term increase in how often, how long or how intensely the behavior occurs, soon after extinction starts. A burst does not always happen. It does not prove the team identified the function correctly. It never means you must keep going through danger.
• Response variation: new forms of the behavior appear. For example, Rae starts clapping loudly or tugging a sleeve instead of calling out.
• Emotional responding: crying, anger or other distress.
• Resurgence: an old behavior that had been reduced returns when a newer behavior that was being reinforced also stops working. Suppose Rae's "talk" card goes unanswered for a whole session, and the old calling out comes back. That is resurgence. Spontaneous recovery is different: the old behavior returns after time passes, such as at the start of a new day. It does not depend on a replacement behavior losing its reinforcer.

Punishment

• Emotional responses: fear, anger or distress.
• Escape and avoidance: the person tries to get away from the person, task or setting connected with the consequence. For example, a learner begins hiding before sessions.

Check: On Monday, Jo's throwing had dropped to zero. On Tuesday morning, nothing else had changed, and Jo threw twice. Is this resurgence?

Answer: No, this is more consistent with spontaneous recovery

The behavior returned after time passed. No replacement behavior had stopped being reinforced, and that condition is required for resurgence.

When safety comes first

Your role as a trained RBT:

• Before a session: Implement punishment or restrictive procedures only when they are in an authorized, documented behavior plan, your supervisor has directed you to use them, and your supervisor has confirmed your competence. Follow any legal, client-rights, consent and workplace requirements that apply in your setting. If a step is unclear or beyond your training, ask your supervisor first. Prepare your materials and data sheets, and read the crisis or emergency plan in advance.
• When behavior becomes dangerous: The safety or emergency plan overrides routine continuation. Stop the routine procedure, get help as the plan directs, and contact emergency services when the situation calls for it. Then inform your supervisor, follow your organization's policies, and document what you did.
• Reporting: Describe what you observed, not your interpretation.

This lesson cannot train physical crisis skills. Those require hands-on training from your organization.

Objective reporting in practice:

• Observation: "Rae called out 12 times in 30 minutes and pushed the chair over once."
• Interpretation: "Rae was trying to manipulate staff." Leave this out of the report.
• Missing data: If you were not recording for 10 minutes, write that the data are missing. Do not record zero for that period.
• Different time periods: Counts over different lengths of time are not directly comparable. 12 call-outs in 30 minutes is 12 ÷ 30 = 0.4 per minute. 12 call-outs in 60 minutes is 12 ÷ 60 = 0.2 per minute. The same count gives different rates.

Practice on your own

1. Each time Kai rips a page, the plan removes 2 minutes of tablet time. Ripping stays the same over three weeks. Is this negative punishment?

Answer: Not shown

Something was removed, but no decrease was observed. Punishment requires that the behavior becomes less likely. Report the data to your supervisor.

2. Noor's plan says: each time Noor puts their feet on the table during group work, the adult says one brief statement, "Feet on the floor." Nothing else changes after the behavior: Noor keeps their materials, seat and activity, and no other consequence follows. Every session lasts 30 minutes. Feet on the table happened about 9 times per session in the first week and about 3 times per session in the third week. Which process does the data show for the "Feet on the floor" statement?

Answer: Positive punishment

Something was added (the statement) right after the behavior, and the behavior decreased. Added plus decrease is positive punishment. The sessions are all 30 minutes, so the counts can be compared fairly: 9 ÷ 30 = 0.3 per minute, and 3 ÷ 30 = 0.1 per minute.

The fact that nothing else changed matters. If the adult had also taken something away at the same moment, two consequences would have changed together, and the data could not show which one produced the decrease.

The tempting wrong answer is "attention reinforcement," because the adult talks to Noor. A statement counts as reinforcement only if the behavior goes up afterward. Here it went down. The same words could work as reinforcement for a different learner whose behavior increased.

3. During Kai's extinction plan, Kai starts tapping the table and humming, which are behaviors not seen before. What is this called?

Answer: Response variation

New forms of the behavior appeared. This is not resurgence, because these are not old behaviors returning after a replacement behavior stopped working.

4. Kai's plan says: "Withhold attention for shouting. If Kai hits their head, stop the extinction procedure, follow the crisis plan, and call the supervisor." At 10:12, Kai begins hitting their head. A coworker says, "It's just a burst, keep going."

(a) What do you do?

(b) Afterward, write a short session note. Make it observable and measurable, and do not guess at Kai's motive.

Answer: Follow the written crisis plan, then write what you saw and measured

(a) Stop extinction and follow the crisis plan. Get help, contact emergency services if the situation calls for it, and inform your supervisor. A burst never gives permission to continue through danger, and the written plan overrides your coworker's advice.

(b) A model note:

"From 10:05 to 10:12, Kai shouted 6 times. At 10:12, Kai hit their forehead with an open hand 5 times. At 10:12, I stopped the extinction procedure and followed the crisis plan. At 10:14, I called the supervisor. A coworker suggested continuing extinction; I followed the written crisis plan. Shouting was not recorded from 10:12 to 10:30 because I was following the crisis plan."

Why this works: every statement describes something a second observer could see or count, with times attached. It marks the gap in shouting data as not recorded instead of writing zero. It leaves out interpretations such as "Kai was trying to get attention" or "this was just a burst."

5. Sam's written plan says: "After Sam grabs a peer's markers, remove one earned token and record it." Your supervisor directed you to use it and confirmed you can do it correctly. Over two weeks, grabbing drops from about 6 to about 2 times per 30-minute session. During the same two weeks, you also record this: on 4 of 5 days, Sam walks to the far corner of the room when you arrive. On 3 of 5 days, Sam cries when the token board is brought out. Which possible side effects of punishment do these new observations match, and what do you do?

Answer: Possible escape/avoidance and emotional responding; record them and tell your supervisor

Walking away from you when you arrive matches escape and avoidance: Sam moves away from a person connected with the consequence. Crying when the token board appears matches emotional responding: distress tied to the materials used in the procedure.

The word possible matters. The timing fits, but these observations do not prove the token removal caused them. Something else may also have changed, such as illness, sleep, medication or a new schedule. Your supervisor decides what the pattern means and whether the plan should change.

The tempting wrong answer is "The plan is working, so nothing else matters." Grabbing did decrease, but new effects still need to be reported. Another mistake is deciding on your own to stop removing tokens. Changing the procedure is your supervisor's decision, so tell them promptly and follow their direction. If any behavior becomes dangerous, follow the safety or emergency plan first.

Your note should describe what you saw, not a motive. Write "Sam walked to the far corner when I arrived on 4 of 5 days," not "Sam is afraid of me" or "Sam is avoiding work on purpose."

Recap

• Extinction stops the specific reinforcer that maintained a defined behavior. It is not ignoring by default, and it is never withholding care.
• Punishment means something is added (positive) or removed (negative), and the behavior decreases afterward.
• If a removal increases the behavior, it worked as negative reinforcement. If an added consequence increases the behavior, it may be working as reinforcement, such as attention.
• Watch for bursts, response variation, resurgence and emotional responses during extinction. Watch for emotional responses, escape and avoidance during punishment.
• You do not choose these procedures. Implement them only as written in an authorized plan, as your supervisor directs, after your competence is confirmed, and within any legal, client-rights, consent and workplace requirements. Take questions and suggestions to your supervisor.
• When safety is at risk, follow the emergency plan, get help and inform your supervisor.
• Report what you observed and measured. Mark missing data as missing, and compare counts only over equal time periods or as rates.

Sources

• Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2023, updated 09/2024). RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), Behavior Reduction and Documentation and Reporting domains. https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/rbt-outline-3rdEd/
• Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2021, updated 08/2024). RBT Ethics Code (2.0): Introduction (supervision; following applicable laws and other entities' requirements); standards 1.03, 1.06, 2.02, 2.05, 2.06 and 2.07; Glossary ("Client's Rights"). https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/rbt-ethics-code
• Morin, K., & AFIRM Team. (2024). Extinction, Updated. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules. https://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/Extinction-Brief-Packet-Morin-AFIRM-Team-Updated-2024-1.pdf
• Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel, P., Killcross, S., & McNally, G. P. (2018). Behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of punishment: implications for psychiatric disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology, 43, 1639–1650. Article. © 2018 The Authors. CC BY 4.0. Concepts paraphrased; course examples are original. Research descriptions are not treatment instructions.
• Shahan, T. A., & Craig, A. R. Resurgence as Choice. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5406271/

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This study resource is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). BACB, Registered Behavior Technician and RBT are registered trademarks of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Source citations do not imply endorsement by their authors or publishers.