ABA glossary
Spontaneous recovery
Definition
The brief reappearance of a behavior that had decreased under extinction, usually after time has passed (such as a weekend or the start of a new session), even though extinction is still in place. It is usually weaker and short-lived if extinction continues.
In plain words
Extinguished behavior does not simply vanish. After a break, the behavior may show up again for a short time, as if the person is checking whether it works now. If the behavior still does not produce the reinforcer, it fades again, usually faster than before. If someone reinforces it during this return, the behavior can come back strongly. That is why consistent responses matter even after a behavior seems to be gone.
Example from a session
Lily's flopping to the floor had stopped working and had dropped to almost zero over three weeks. After a long weekend, she flops twice in the first 10 minutes of Monday's session. The RBT follows the plan exactly as before, continuing the activity and reinforcing Lily's appropriate requests, and records both flops. By midweek, flopping is back near zero.
For BCBA candidates and supervisors
Spontaneous recovery is one of several relapse phenomena analysts plan for, along with resurgence, renewal (return when the context changes), and reinstatement (return after noncontingent delivery of the old reinforcer). Teaching caregivers that a brief return is expected, and how to respond, helps prevent the behavior from being reinforced at its most vulnerable point. Spontaneous recovery was first described in respondent conditioning and also occurs with operant extinction.
Often confused with extinction burst, resurgence
A burst is an increase right after extinction starts; spontaneous recovery is a brief return after the behavior had already decreased, typically following a break in time. Resurgence is a return triggered by losing reinforcement for an alternative behavior, not by the passage of time.
Exam tip
Look for a time gap: a weekend, a vacation, or the start of a session after a behavior had been reduced. A brief return under those conditions, with extinction still in place, is spontaneous recovery.
Can you spot spontaneous recovery in a scenario?
Practice BCBA B.11 with exam-style questions and instant feedback.