Which term describes continuing to perform a trained skill even when reinforcement is no longer provided?

• A. Maintenance
• B. Generalization
• C. Transfer of control
• D. Stimulus Control

Answer: (A)

Maintenance is the tendency for a trained skill to continue to be performed even after reinforcement is no longer provided. It shows that the behavior has become durable and persists once the explicit reinforcement contingencies are faded or removed. To understand it in practice, you might measure how well a learner continues to perform a skill after reinforcement has been reduced or stopped, verifying that the response remains stable over time.

Generalization, in contrast, refers to producing the skill in new settings, with different people, or using different stimuli—even if reinforcement schedules change. Transfer of control involves the behavior coming under the influence of a different stimulus or set of stimuli than the ones that originally controlled it. Stimulus control is about discrimination, where the response occurs in the presence of a specific stimulus and not in others.

So, continuing to perform a trained skill without ongoing reinforcement is maintenance, reflecting lasting learning beyond the immediate reinforcement situation.