Lecture 5

Question 1

A response that must be met to obtain reinforcement.

What is this?

Answer 1

Schedule of reinforcement

Question 2

What type of reinforcement is this?

Each individual response in reinforced, each lever pressed is rewarded.

Answer 2

Continuous reinforcement schedule

Question 3

What type schedule of reinforcement lies between continuous reinforcement and extinction.

E.g. A slot machine where you only win some of the time

Answer 3

Intermittent

Question 4

What type of reinforcement schedule doesn’t offer reinforcements?

What is the consequence of it?

Answer 4

Extinction; decrease the likelihood of the behavior

Question 5

What are the two kinds of intermittent reinforcement schedules?

Give examples with a slot machine.

Answer 5

Interval schedules = When (time)

E.g. a slot machine that pays every 10 mins

Ratio schedules = How often (number)

E.g. A slot machine that pays every 100 pulls

Question 6

What is a fixed ratio reinforcement? What is the formula?
What does this type of schedule produce in terms of responding?

What do higher ratios produce?

Give an example.

5pts

Answer 6

• A fixed number of responses is required for each reinforcement
• FRn
  n= number of responses required
• Produces rapid rates of responding
• Higher ratios lead to longer post-reinforcement pauses

Ex- A kid gets paid $1 for every 5 newspapers delivered (FR5)

Question 7

What is a variable ratio schedule?

What does this type of schedule produce in terms of responding?

Is there a post-reinforcement pause?

Give an example.

5pts

Answer 7

• varying, unpredictable number of responses
• Reinforcement depends an average number of responses
• Rate of response is high and steady
• little to no post-reinforcement pause
• Dating apps and gambling
• On a variable ratio 5 (VR10) schedule, a rat has to do an average of 10 lever presses for each food pellet

Question 8

Reinforcement is contingent upon the
first response after a fixed, predictable
period of time.

What type of reinforcement schedule is this?

Give an example.

Answer 8

Fixed interval reinforcement schedule.

FI- 60mins: a patient on a morphine drip will only receive morphine when pressing the dispenser after 60 mins has elapsed.

Question 9

Reinforcement is contingent upon
the first response after a varying,
unpredictable (average) period of
time.

Produce a moderate, steady rate of response with little or no post-reinforcement pause.

What type of reinforcement schedule is this?

Give an example.

Answer 9

Variable interval schedules

Ex:
Trial 1: Lever press, 5 sec pause, reward

Trial 2: Lever press, 12 sec pause

Trial 3: Lever press, 7 sec pause, reward etc.

Question 10

Reinforcement is contingent on performing a
behavior continuously throughout a period of time.

What type of schedule is this?

Answer 10

Duration schedule

Question 11

What is the difference between duration and interval schedules?

Answer 11

Duration: Requires continuous responding

Interval schedules: Requires a certain amount of time to pass before the response is rewarded

Question 12

What is differential reinforcement of high and low rates (otherwise known as response rate schedules)?

What does it depend on?

Give examples.

Answer 12

• Depends on the organisms rate of response
• High rate: high rate of response is reinforced
  Ex- winning a race
• low rate: low rate of response is reinforced
  Ex- being praised for eating your food slowly

Question 13

• The reinforcer is delivered independently of any response.
• A response is not required for the reinforcer to be
  obtained.
• ‘Free’ reinforcer

What type of schedule is this? What are the 2 types.

Give an example example.

Answer 13

Non-contingent schedule –> Fixed time and variable time

• FT (fixed time): A behavior is reinforced after a fixed period of time regardless of its behavior
• Ex: Receiving a gift on your birthday every year

Question 14

Non-contingent reinforcement may account for
some forms of…

• Behaviors may be accidentally reinforced by the
  coincidental presentation of reinforcement

What type of behavior is this?

Answer 14

Superstitious behavior

Question 15

A fox runs after a rabbit in the hopes of securing
his dinner. However, he doesn’t always succeed.

What type of reinforcement schedule is involved?

Answer 15

Response rate with variable ratio

Question 16

You have to sit in the waiting room for approximately
60 minutes before your doctor’s appointment.

a. Intermittent VI60
b. Intermittent VR60
c. Continuous
d. Response rate

Answer 16

a. intermittent VI60

Question 17

Forever 21 has its annual sale at the same time every year:

(A)Fixed ratio
(B)Fixed interval
(C) Variable ratio
(D) Variable interval

Answer 17

b. fixed interval

Question 18

Overview:

What are the 4 intermittent schedules?

What are the 3 simple schedules?

What are the 3 complex schedules?

Answer 18

Fixed interval, variable interval, fixed ratio, variable ratio

Duration, response rate, non-contingent

Conjunctive, adjusting, chained

Question 19

A type of complex schedule in which
the requirements of two or more
simple schedules must be met before
a reinforcer is delivered.

Wat type of schedule is this?

What type of schedule does it require ?

Give an example.

3pts

Answer 19

Conjunctive schedule

In order to get paid: You have to work a certain amount of hours a week (FD-40hrs) and you have to deliver a certain number of papers (FR 50).

• Requires both a ratio and an interval schedule

Question 20

• A sequence of two or more simple schedules, each of which has its own SD and the last of which results in a terminal reinforcer.
• Must be completed in a particular order

What type of complex schedule is this?

Give an example.

Answer 20

Chained schedule

Paying for items at the grocery store.

1. Line up at the cash
   –> variable Interval
2. Wait for the prompt on debit machine
   –> fixed interval

Question 21

An increase in the strength and/or efficiency of responding as one draws near to the goal.

What concept is this?

Answer 21

Goal gradient effect

Question 22

• Training the final link first and the initial link last,
  in order to make the chain more effective.
• The sight of each stimulus is both a secondary
  reinforcer for the previous behavior and a
  discriminative stimulus for the next behavior.

What type of chaining is this?

Answer 22

Backward chaining

Question 23

An event is reinforcing to the extent that it is
associated with a reduction in some type of
physiological drive.

What theory is this?

What is a limitation?

Answer 23

Drive reduction theory

Not all behaviors appear associated with reduction in a physiological drive.

Question 24

What is the Premack Principle?

What does it focus on?

Give an example.

3pts

Answer 24

A high-probability behavior (the reinforcer) can be used to reinforce a low probability behavior.

• Focus is on how a reinforcer can increase the future likelihood of a behavior

Example: Lever pressing (low probability behavior) reinforced by eating food (high probability behavior)

Question 25

What is the response deprivation hypothesis?

Explain what is happening in this example:

• If given free access, Noah might play on his iPhone for 3-hrs per night.
• If his access to his phone is restricted to only 15 minutes per day, it he will be unable to reach his preferred level

4pts

Answer 25

A behavior can serve as a reinforcer when: 1. access to the behavior is restricted and
2. its frequency falls below the preferred level of occurrence

• Noah will be in a state of deprivation with regard to playing on his phone
• He will now be wiling to work to obtain additional time on his phone

Question 26

For variable intervals/ratios, what does the word variable imply?

Answer 26

• An approximate, an average

Question 27

What does an adjusting schedule depend on?

Answer 27

Performance