Which term refers to the process of stopping a specific behavior entirely?

The term that refers to the process of stopping a specific behavior entirely is extinction. In the context of applied behavior analysis, extinction involves the removal of reinforcement that previously maintained the behavior. When a behavior is no longer reinforced, its occurrence decreases over time and can ultimately lead to its cessation. This process is based on the principle that if a behavior is consistently not rewarded, the individual is less likely to engage in that behavior again.

Behavior modification encompasses a broader range of strategies and techniques aimed at changing behavior, which can include reinforcement as well as punishment, rather than focusing solely on stopping a behavior. Reinforcement specifically refers to the process of encouraging or maintaining a behavior through rewards, making it contrary to the concept of stopping a behavior. Generalization, on the other hand, refers to the transfer of learned behaviors to different contexts or situations, which doesn’t relate to the cessation of any specific behavior. Thus, extinction is the precise term that accurately represents the process of stopping a specific behavior entirely.