As we saw Dr Zale using positive reinforcement to increase behavior, sometimes,
we want to decrease behavior, and we can do that through extinction. And you'll
remember that we had extinction in classical conditioning also. For operant
conditioning, extinction is the process of withholding the reinforcer when the
behavior occurs. Eventually if you take the reinforce away that behavior is
going to decrease, so it's a process of removing the reinforcement and a
general decrease in behavior across time. Although it's easy to talk about
extinction, it can be difficult to implement. And one of the main reasons is
that behavior that's undergoing extinction often results in aggressive or
emotional behavior. And sometimes we originally see an increase in that
behavior, when we start the extinction process.
