A rat in the Skinner box is rewarded with a food pellet every nth time he presses a lever. When the reward function is turned off, the lever pressing does not disappear.
Instead, we see an increased flurry of lever pressing occur. The rat desperately performs the act that previously was rewarded even though it is no longer productive.
A great deal of what we see these days looks like extinction burst behavior.
Frame that. Put it on the wall.
People eventually quit pushing the lever.
We’re talking rats here.
They never stop.
:(
Interesting information. I have not heard of that.
I’ve always likened the Lib response as that of a snake who’s been stepped on or pinned down, which flails away, trying desperately (in vain) to get away or find something to bite.