What term describes when a previously reinforced behavior stops occurring due to lack of reinforcement?

The term that accurately describes the situation where a previously reinforced behavior stops occurring due to lack of reinforcement is extinction. Extinction occurs when a behavior that was once reinforced no longer receives reinforcement, leading to a decrease in the frequency of that behavior. This is a key concept in applied behavior analysis, as it highlights the importance of reinforcement in maintaining behaviors.

During the process of extinction, the individual may exhibit an initial increase in the behavior or some variation before the behavior begins to decrease, commonly referred to as an extinction burst. This phenomenon underscores the fact that the behavior was maintained by reinforcement in the past, and its cessation becomes clear when reinforcement is no longer available.

While the other options may reflect other concepts in behavioral psychology, they do not accurately represent the specific process of a reinforced behavior ceasing due to the withdrawal of reinforcement. Generalization, for instance, refers to the transfer of learned behaviors to different situations or stimuli, while discrimination involves distinguishing between different stimuli. Abandonment of a behavior is not a recognized technical term in behavior analysis, making extinction the most accurate choice for this scenario.