In applied behavior analysis (ABA), extinction refers to the fading away and eventual elimination of undesirable behaviors. If a problem behavior no longer occurs, it’s said to be extinct, and the therapeutic process of accomplishing this is referred to as extinction.
The philosophy of ABA recognizes positive reinforcement as a way to encourage positive behavior…. Negative responses to problem behaviors do not effectively cause those behaviors to stop. Instead, it’s simple inaction, or refraining from reinforcing an undesirable behavior, while at the same time using positive reinforcement to promote desirable behavior that causes problem behaviors to naturally die out.
Reinforcement in ABA means any consequence that’s immediately delivered following a behavior, which then increases the likelihood of that behavior being repeated.
Extinction isn’t achieved through the typical discipline system—i.e., the client displays an inappropriate or undesirable behavior and the teacher reacts to that behavior in an attempt to stop the behavior. Instead, using the concept of extinction, only those behaviors that are deemed positive are reinforced, with all negative behaviors simply ignored.