Effects of different physical-effort requirements on resistance to extinction in humans

ABSTRACT The role of physical effort on the resistance to change is controversial. While some studies show that physical effort negatively affects resistance to change, others did not report this effect. We sought to examine the effects of different physical effort requirements on resistance to extinction in a systematic replication of a previous experiment. Five undergraduates pressed two spring buttons under a multiple variable-interval (VI) VI schedule during Baseline (BL). Each response that fulfilled the VI contingency and the physical-effort requirement (50 or 10 N) produced 100 points. The participants changed the total points earned for money at the end of each experimental session. During Test, participants responded in a multiple extinction (EXT) EXT schedule. We observed greater resistance to extinction in the Low-Effort (i.e., 10N) Component during most test sessions for three participants. We discuss individual differences in terms of extinction as a process and as a procedure.