Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of time has passed. It is a phenomenon observed in both classical and operant conditioning, where the learned association between a stimulus and a response can be temporarily lost but then reestablished without further training.
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Spontaneous recovery is believed to occur because the original learning is not completely erased during extinction, but rather the conditioned response is temporarily suppressed.
The length of time between extinction and the reappearance of the conditioned response is a key factor in spontaneous recovery, with longer intervals typically leading to a stronger recovery effect.
Spontaneous recovery is more likely to occur when the original conditioning was strong and the extinction training was relatively brief.
Factors such as stress, anxiety, and changes in context can influence the likelihood and strength of spontaneous recovery.
Spontaneous recovery has implications for the treatment of phobias and other learned behaviors, as it suggests that even after successful extinction, the original response may reappear unexpectedly.
Review Questions
Explain how spontaneous recovery is related to the process of classical conditioning.
In classical conditioning, spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of time has passed. This occurs because the original learning is not completely erased during the extinction process, but rather the conditioned response is temporarily suppressed. The reemergence of the conditioned response without further training suggests that the underlying association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli has not been fully eliminated, and the potential for the learned behavior to resurface remains.
Describe how spontaneous recovery can be observed in the context of operant conditioning.
Spontaneous recovery is also observed in operant conditioning, where a previously reinforced behavior that has been extinguished can reappear after a period of time. Just as in classical conditioning, the original learning is not completely erased during the extinction process, and the behavior can spontaneously recover without further reinforcement. This has implications for the maintenance of desired behaviors and the treatment of undesirable behaviors, as the potential for the behavior to reappear unexpectedly must be considered in the design of effective behavioral interventions.
Analyze the factors that can influence the likelihood and strength of spontaneous recovery in both classical and operant conditioning.
The likelihood and strength of spontaneous recovery can be influenced by several factors, including the strength of the original conditioning, the duration of the extinction training, and the interval between extinction and the reappearance of the conditioned response. Factors such as stress, anxiety, and changes in context can also play a role in spontaneous recovery. For example, if the original conditioning was particularly strong and the extinction training was relatively brief, the potential for spontaneous recovery is increased. Additionally, longer intervals between extinction and the reappearance of the conditioned response are typically associated with stronger recovery effects. Understanding these factors can inform the design of effective interventions to address learned behaviors, as the potential for spontaneous recovery must be considered in the long-term management of such behaviors.
The process by which a conditioned response decreases in strength and eventually disappears when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus.
Reconditioning: The process of reestablishing a previously extinguished conditioned response through further pairing of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli.