DEVELOPING A TECHNOLOGY FOR THE USE OF OPERANT EXTINCTION IN CLINICALSETTINGS - AN EXAMINATION OF BASIC AND APPLIED-RESEARCH

Extinction of operant behavior, which involves terminating the reinfor cement contingency that maintains a response, is important to the deve lopment, generalization, and reduction of behavior in clinical setting s. We review basic and applied research findings on variables that inf luence the direct and indirect effects of extinction and discuss the p otential value of a general technology for the use of extinction. We s uggest that current research findings are not sufficient for the devel opment of a comprehensive, applied technology of extinction and provid e extensive guidelines for further studies on factors that may affect the course of extinction in clinical settings.