Work

Evidence of AAB, ABA, and ABC renewal procedures for instrumental response in elementary school children

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The reappearance of undesirable behaviours in educational settings, even after applying extinction techniques, remains a persistent challenge for educators. One mechanism that explains this phenomenon is the renewal effect, which has been well-documented in studies with adult humans and other animals, but still underexplored in children. This study investigated the effects of applying AAB renewal procedures (Experiment 1) and ABA and ABC renewal procedures (Experiment 2) through an instrumental learning task in primary school children. The results revealed that, consistent with previous findings, a context change between the extinction and test phases contributes to the return of previously extinguished behaviour. These findings provide an innovative perspective to carry out experiments aimed at evaluating strategies to mitigate response recovery effects, thereby facilitating the subsequent designing of more effective educational interventions to prevent relapse. • There are numerous studies dedicated to renewal in non-human animals and adult humans. • The evidence on that phenomenon in children is very scarce and needs to be replicated. • This work shows the effects to apply AAB, ABA, and ABC renewal procedures in the instrumental response of children. • This is crucial for developing behavioral strategies to mitigate relapses in children.

Source: Behavioural Processes

DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2025.105191

Authors: Rosalia Baiamonte, A. Matías Gámez

Institutions: University of Córdoba, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba

Language: English

Topic: Behavioral and Psychological Studies

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,550