Chapter 7 Flashcards
Schedules of Reinforcement
the rules that determine how often an organism is reinforced for a particular delivered
Types of Schedule of Reinforcements
-Continuous Schedules
-Partial Schedules: Ratio & Interval
Schedule Effects
the distinctive rate/pattern of responding associated with a particular pattern of reinforcement
Continuous Reinforcement
the desired behavior is reinforced every time it occurs
-great for training new behavior
Partial Reinforcement
the response is reinforced only part of the time
4 Types of Partial Reinforcement Schedules
-Fixed-Ratio (FR)
-Variable-Ratio (VR)
-Fixed-Interval (FI)
-Variable-Interval (VI)
“Stretching the Ratio”
gradually modifying the schedule of reinforcement so as to progressively increase the # of times a behavior is required to get reinforced
Ratio Strain
a breakdown in the pattern of responding due to stretching the ratio of reinforcement too abruptly or too far
Fixed Ratio Schedule
A response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses
What kind of rate of behavior does a fixed ratio schedule create?
produces a high, steady rate of responding with only a brief pause after delivery of reinforcer
Postreinforcement Pauses
a drop in target behavior after reinforcement has been delivered
-FR
-FI
Examples of a Fixed Ratio Schedule
-After every 5th visit to Rita’s, you get a free dessert
-Delivering a food pellet to a rat after it presses a bar five times
Variable Ratio Schedules
the number of behaviors required in order to earn reinforcement varies around an average
-occurs when a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses
-common in natural environments
What kind of rate of behavior does a variable ratio schedule create?
A high steady rate of responding
-greatest activity out of all schedules
Examples of Variable Ratio Schedule
-Gambling and Lottery games
-Lab Setting: delivering food pellets to a rat after one bar press, again after four bar presses, and then again after two bar presses
Fixed Interval Schedule
the target behavior is reinforced the first time it occurs after a specific interval of time
What kind of rato of behavior does Fixed Interval Schedules have?
-Scallop pattern: rest period, followed by rapid increase of behavior due to not wanting to miss rewards
-Activity increases as deadline nears
Examples of Fixed Interval Schedules
-Paycheck
-Lab Setting: reinforcing a rat with a lab pellet for the first bar press after a 30-second interval has elapsed
Variable Interval Schedule
-the length of the interval during which performance is not reinforced varies around some average
-occurs when a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed
Examples of Variable Interval Schedules
-Pop quiz
-Lab Setting: delivering a food pellet to a rat after the first bar press following one minute interval; a second pellet for the first time response following a five minute interval; a third pellet for the first response following a three minute interval
Fixed Duration
-reinforcement contingent on the continuous performance of a behavior for some constant period of time
-requires the behavior to be performed for a period of time
Examples of Fixed Durations
-running on a treadmill for 30 minutes to then watch tv
-playing the piano for 20 minutes and then getting the iPad
Variable Duration Schedule
-the required period of sustained performance varies around some average amount of time
-schedule works around some average
Differential Reinforcement of Low Rate (DRL)
-a schedule in which a minimum amount of time must elapse between responses in order for reinforcement to occur
-clock resets if behavior occurs before time period has elapsed
-produces low rate of behavior
