The effect of mindfulness on extinction and behavioral resurgence

In the present experiments, we investigated the effects of mindfulness on behavioral extinction and resurgence. Participants received instrumental training; either they received FI training ( Experiment 1 ), or they were trained to emit high rates and low rates of response via exposure to a multiple...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Learning & behavior 2012-12, Vol.40 (4), p.405-415
Main Authors: McHugh, Louise, Procter, Jonathan, Herzog, Michaela, Schock, Anne-Kathrin, Reed, Phil
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attention - physiology
Attention task
Behavior
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Conditioning, Operant - physiology
Experimental psychology
Experiments
Exposure
Extinction (Learning)
Extinction, Psychological - physiology
Female
Humans
Learning
Male
Mindfulness
Neurosciences
Psychology
Reaction Time - physiology
Reinforcement (Psychology)
Reinforcement Schedule
Schedules
Young Adult
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Summary:In the present experiments, we investigated the effects of mindfulness on behavioral extinction and resurgence. Participants received instrumental training; either they received FI training ( Experiment 1 ), or they were trained to emit high rates and low rates of response via exposure to a multiple VR yoked-VI schedule prior to exposure to a multiple FI FI schedule in order to alter their rates of responding learned during Experiment 2 . Participants were then exposed to either a focused- (mindfulness) or an unfocused-attention induction task. All participants were finally exposed to an extinction schedule in order to determine whether a mindfulness induction task presented immediately prior to extinction training affected extinction ( Experiment 1 ) and behavioral resurgence ( Experiment 2 ). During the extinction phase, the rates of responding were higher in the control group than in the mindfulness group, indicating that the mindfulness group was more sensitive to the contingencies and, thus, their prior performance extinguished more readily ( Experiment 1 ). Moreover, rates of response in the extinction components less precisely reflected previous training in the mindfulness group, suggesting less resurgence of past behaviors after the mindfulness induction ( Experiment 2 ).
ISSN:1543-4494
1543-4508
DOI:10.3758/s13420-011-0062-2