What Is Spontaneous Recovery?

Associated with extinction psychology, classical conditioning, and operant conditioning, spontaneous recovery occurs when a previously extinguished conditioned response extinct reemerges. Spontaneous recovery is an important process, playing a role in memory, our learning process, trauma, and mental and physical health. In this article, we’re going to cover spontaneous recovery, its role in conditioning, and how it occurs. 

Spontaneous recovery and conditioning

In his famous experiment, Ivan Pavlov, the father of Pavlovian conditioning, identified the process of spontaneous recovery psychology as he developed the theory of classical conditioning where a researcher could stimulate a normally unconditioned response, like salivation, to occur when repeatedly paired with a stimulus. Pavlov noticed that a dog can be conditioned to salivate when it hears a previously neutral stimulus like a metronome, by creating an association between the metronome and the food. If, however, the metronome was repeatedly presented without food in the food bowl, he noticed that the conditioned response (salivating) would cease, in a process called extinction. 

After a period of time, however, Pavlov reintroduced the metronome, and the dogs again began salivating. This reemergence of the conditioned salivation response after the extinction procedure, or rest period, is what we now refer to as spontaneous recovery. This same process can occur with children and an ice cream truck. 

In addition to the above example of spontaneous recovery in the classically conditioned response, spontaneous recovery can occur in an operantly conditioned response that has been extinguished. In operant conditioning, there is a learned, voluntary response to a stimulus. For example, someone who works hard and gets a promotion at their job will likely associate hard work with economic benefit and continue that behavior. If, however, the individual repeatedly works hard but is not rewarded financially, there may be a lessened response and eventually become the response may become extinct. Spontaneous recovery in this case could happen when the individual randomly receives a bonus and again associates work with more money. 

What causes spontaneous recovery?

Typically, in spontaneous recovery examples, during the process of extinction, a new association—known as an inhibitory association—is formed, often due to the presence of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus (e.g., a metronome without food). This new association may also occur when the unconditioned stimulus is presented without the conditioned stimulus (e.g., food without a metronome) and with it, extinction fades. 

In the above example, this would happen when a metronome is presented, and the dog salivates (the original response) instead of doing nothing (the inhibitory response).

Why would the dog salivate after the extinction of that response? Time is considered the biggest factor in the weakening and subsequent overriding of a secondary response. It is thought that the longer the period following extinction, the more likely spontaneous recovery is to occur. 

The original learning and original response can become stronger than the inhibitory response due to a lack of reinforcement of the latter. In the above example, extinction happened after the dog stopped associating the metronome with food. A stronger, inhibitory response—due to the association between the metronome and a lack of food—was created. If, however, a metronome isn’t present at all for an extended time, say, for several days the inhibitory response may be weakened due to a lack of reinforcement. Because of this, spontaneous recovery can occur when the dog is shown the metronome and salivates—despite the presence of a secondary association between the metronome and a lack of food.

Implications for trauma

Consider an example in which an individual is in a car crash, and their initial response is to experience frequent nervousness or worry while in a car. Over time, however, that association weakens until the person no longer feels anxiety in the car—the response is extinct. However, while driving, the individual hears loud screeching tires and honking horns, and the anxiety suddenly returns as a fear response. 

Traumatic memories can prompt spontaneous recovery due to an essential override of the inhibitory response. The person had developed an inhibitory response based on an association between driving (the unconditioned stimulus) and a lack of crash-related stimuli (the conditioned stimulus). But because this secondary association was not as strong as the original association, between driving and the crash, the screeching tires and horns cause the original response to occur. Spontaneous recovery gradually increases as an individual is exposed to a conditioned fear or response. Such a response can lead to serious mental and physical symptoms that, if severe, may rise to the level of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).* If you, or someone you love, is struggling with traumatic memories, or anything similar to PTSD, call 1-800-273-8255 (and press 1) or text 838255. For support for the deaf and hard of hearing community, please use your preferred relay service, or dial 711 then 1-800-273-8255.

Therapy methods like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help individuals cope with trauma. CBT works by helping individuals reframe unwanted thought patterns that may lead to maladaptive emotions or behaviors. In the above example, a therapist may work with the person to identify thoughts they have about the likelihood of crashing while driving or similar associations that may reinforce their trauma response. 

Addressing trauma with online therapy

Research shows that online therapy is an effective method of managing symptoms of trauma and conditioned responses that may occur as a result of spontaneous recovery. A study on the efficacy of online cognitive behavioral therapy when treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) showed that online interventions could decrease symptoms arising out of trauma. Researchers noted that online therapy could not only reduce PTSD symptoms but also increase overall quality of life and decrease depression and anxiety.

If you’d like to address topics related to trauma, memory, or other mental health concerns, consider utilizing an online therapy platform like BetterHelp. If you’re uncomfortable driving to a therapist’s office or aren’t ready to discuss a certain topic face to face, a licensed BetterHelp therapist can provide you with useful trauma- or psychology-related insights remotely, through video call, voice call, or in-app messaging. You’ll also be able to utilize exercises and other resources that can help reinforce important concepts so that you may better remember them.