Examining Resurgence and Repetition with the Evolutionary Theory of Behavior Dynamics

Recently, Redner et al. (2022) examined the nature of resurgence across repeated iterations of the traditional three-phase resurgence procedure with four pigeons. Although extant research findings in this area are mixed, Redner et al. found that resurgence generally increased in magnitude with repetition. These findings provide a baseline against which future research examining resurgence using this three-phase procedure can be compared and contrasted. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine resurgence via concurrent schedule arrangements similar to those described by Redner et al. with 30 artificial organisms (AOs) animated by the Evolutionary Theory of Behavior Dynamics (McDowell, 2004). We quantified the prevalence of resurgence across iterations and found that resurgence occurred in 86.7% (156 of 180) iterations across all 30 AOs. This is strikingly similar to the resurgence prevalence estimates of 87.5% reported by both Redner et al. (2022). However, we also found that the magnitude of target responding generally did not change significantly with repetition. This finding is inconsistent with Redner et al. but is consistent with the predictions of prominent quantitative models of behavioral persistence and a number of relevant studies (Volkert et al., 2009; Gratz et al., 2019). We also conducted exploratory analyses to examine how several variables (e.g., sensitivity to reinforcement, reinforcer magnitude, number of sessions of exposure to various phases) affect the prevalence and magnitude of resurgence among AOs. •Artificial organisms animated by the evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics (ETBD) worked on repeated iterations of a three-phase resurgence paradigm.•The prevalence of resurgence across repetitions was highly similar to estimates from Redner et al. (2022).•The magnitude of target responding generally did not change significantly with repetition.•These results are consistent with live-organism behavior from applied studies (Volkert et al., 2009; Gratz et al., 2019).