Schedules of Reinforcement Flashcards
in the real world, instrumental responses _____ get reinforced each time they occur
what is the name for this concept
rarely
intermittent schedules of reinforcement
what is a schedule of reinforcement and what do they determine for the isntrumental bhv
program or rule that determines which repsonse is followed by delivery of the reinforcer
rate pattern and persistence
what could a delivery of a reinforcer depend on
occurance of a certain nb of responses
time
presence of certian stimuli
occurrence of other responses
combination of these factors
what do the different delivery of reinforcer schedules influence
how an isntrumental response is learned
how it is maintained
pattern of responding
schedules of reinforcement are highly relevant to the ______ of bhv
motivation
T or F: whether someone works hard or is lazy depends on their personality
F: more on schedule of reinforcement used
what are some human applications for scheduled reinforcements for motivation
employers, workers, teachers, students
how are schedules of reinf studied in the lab
skinner box
who discovered brain stimulation reward (BSR)
Olds and Milner
what did Olds and Milner find
rats press lever for electrical stimulation of certian areas in the brain (brain stimulation reward)
- self-stimulate till exhaustion (ignore food and water)
- press lever at very high rates
which areas of the rbain support self-stimulation
multiple
T or F. some sites of the brain sustain self-stim, while others are aversive
T
how often were animals reinforced in the first experiments
for every response
what is the simplest form of operant bhv
fixed ratio 1 (FR1) / continuous reinforcement (CRF)
1 pellet delivered/press of lever
what is an exmaple of continuous reinforcement
contingency management programs for substance use treatment (reward for clean urine test)
what was the problem with FR1
time and resource consuming, dont need to reinforce every response
what is a simplle reinforcement schedule
1 single factor determines which occurrence of the instrumental response is reinforced (module 1 thing at a time)
what is the name for when reinforcement is not provided on every response
partial reinforcement (intimate reinf)
what factors can be manipulated in operant responding schedules
ratio: nb responses required for reward
interval: time/delay btw each reward
how can the ratio and interval variables vary
fixed or variable
what are ratio schedules based on
ratio of responses required to recieve reinforcem
what is FR
fixed ratio schedule: reinforcm delivered after specific nb of responses
FR5: reinforcem every 5 responses
FR1: every response
what do fixed ratio schedules cause in bhv
post-reinfrocem pause (PRP): break in responding after each reinforcer
(Pre-ratio pause)
relates to procrastination
what is VR and RR
Variable ratio: nb presses required is unpredictable but varies around some mean (4,3,5,2,1 wihtout replacem)
random raito: with replacem, 1,2,3,4 or 5 every time
RR6: reinf every 4,5,6,7,8 repsonses
T or F. the range of the VR can vary
T
what are life examples of variable ratio schedules
gambling, golfing, fishing
what is FI + example
fixed interval: reinf for the 1st press after a fixed delay
FI2: reinf given 2min after 1st repsonse
paid/hour
what is VI + example
variable itnerval: reinf for 1st press after variable delay
VI10: reinf given 8,9,10,11,12 min after 1st response
self-employed, uber: will make average hourly rate, but some hours better than others
example of FI vs VI for exams, which would u study more for
FI: fixed exams
VI: pop quizes +++
all ratios and intervals besides FR1 are cases of ____ ______
partial reinforcm: not every response is rewarded
why have so many different ratio schedules
different learning techniques
what is the best schedule for initial learning
FR1: fast, easy
if FR10 initially, will take a long time for animal to understand what to do
disadvantage of FR1
satiety and reduced effort cuz so easy
what is the best way to get steady continuous bhv
variable raito and interval cuz cant predict, just always work cuz it might be just 1 away
which (interval or ratio) produces steady reliable bhv over long periods of time
interval schedules
Most jobs are on what type of schedule
fixed interval
which schedule (I or R) will deliver higher rates of responding and why
ratio schedule
promote shorter inter-response times (IRT)
what is Inter-response times (IRT) and how do they vary in ratio and interval schedules
time btw 2 responses being reinforced
Ratio: rapid responding = reinforced
Interval: reinforced only after allotted time, doesnt promote higher response rates
which schedules provides more direct feedback function on performance
ratio
the more u work the more u get rewarded
interval: limit of rew in given time, (max)
in ___ schedule, u cant increase reinf rate above a certain limit no matter how much ++ response
interval
what jobs are on ratio schedule
doctors, lawyers, hairdressers
$ depend on nb of clients
can lead to burnout
what jobs are on interval schedules
maxi, post office
+effort =/= +$
only hope hard work is recognized and results in raise
is variability/uncertainty rewarding itself?
yes,
does variability promote gambling bhv
yes by sensitixing our rew pathways (amphetamine)
variable or fixed ratios are a source of stress and anxiety
variable
what happens if u progressively increase ratio/interval
discouraged, give up
what technique is used to measure motivation
progressive ratio (PR)
nm repsonses for rew increases every trial
what is the end point measured in progressive ratio
break point (BP): last ratio attained BEFORE giving up
what is an example of progressive ratio in life
$ pay for a coffe
effort in studying
what imp finding of pigeons in a pelican
still have bhv 6 yrs later
why did pigeons in pelican fail
public perception, technological advances
how are choices in real life more complex
constantly making decisions
nb of choices are extensive
reinforcements are diverse
how do we study decision-making
concurrent schedule: choose btw 2 response alternative, each reif on its own schedule of reinf (at the same time)
T or F. in a concurrent schedule, animal needs to chose 1 at a time
F. animal is free to change back and forth btw response at any time
what is best option: VI60 or FR10?
FR if easy
VI if hard
min effort for max rew
how to calculate response rate
Bl/(Bl+Br)
distribution of bhv in concurrent schedules is influenced by _____ ________
reinf schedules
can the reinf rate be calculated
rl/(rl+rr)
T or F. when reinf schedules on both options are the same, response and reinf rate will likely match
T
what happens in concurrent schedules when 2 response alternative are not reinf on same schedule
matching law: relative rate of response on a particular repsonse doesnt depend on rate of reinf of that response alone, depends on rates of reinf of other alternative activities the ind may perform
we always favor best reinf, but always do both to check we are not missing anything
schedules we use to motivate ppl have to account for alternatives in their environment
when does matching law not apply
undermatching: reduced sensitivity to particular resp or reinf
- dont chose it so often cuz less valuable
- sick of chocolate, so wont do bhv to get it anymore, too tired to do physical activity
overmatching: response bias to particular type of resp or reinf
- chose more cuz resp or outcome is prefered
- prefer to walk longer than sprint short
- prefer to get ice cream than chocolate
what is choice with commitment
once selection is made, other alternatives no longer available (university) (apt)
how is choice with commitment tested in animals
concurrent-chain schedules
- choice link: chose A or B schedule
- terminal link: B closed till A is completed (commitment)
if given choice of A: VI and B:FI, which is more popular
VI prefered over FI for same overall rate of reinf
overvalue immediate rew even if less often
do we always chose most optimal outcome when given choice
no, can be made to choose suboptimal
ex:
1. 0.2=1 ; 0.8=0
2. 0.2=0.5 ; 0.8=0.5
- is overall more beneficial, but we take 2 cuz there is certainty. we understand what the markers predict, sense of control (intolerance to uncertainty)
what is self-control
complex choice
choose large delayed rew or immediate small rew
why is it hard to motivate to do work for large but delayed rew
we want immediate
delay discounting: value of reinf declines w/ time (25$ today or 50$ in 2 yrs)
delay discounting can also act as a measure of ____
impulsivity
how can we measure self-control
choice btw 2 levers: 2 now vs 4 later
effort stays the same (press lever)
why would keeping lever be problematic for self-control experiment
animal wont be able to determine what schedule is
what type of function does delay discounting take mathematically
hyhperbolic decay
what does the delay discounting equation say
big delay = small value
big magnitude = less affected by time
rapid decline as time goes, then more steady
what can be inferred from delay discounting
when choice of immediate rew = delay rew: rate of discount
what does delay discounting depend on
impulsivity
high : 100$ = 50$ in 10 days
low: 100$ = 5$ in 10 days
what modification of delay discounting experiment makes it easier to have self-control
increasing delay for small and big rew
if u have to wait for both, will be willing to wait longer for big rew
how does delay discounting vary with age
wait more with age, less impulsive
what is low delay discounting rate correlated with
high IQ, education level, income, GPA
what is the relation btw delay discounting and addiction
steeper delay discounting correlates with addiction
cause or consequence
how to determine if addiction or delay discounting comes first
longitudinal study: low self-control is predictive of drug abuse
T.F. self control can be trained
yes, by repeatedly using delayed rew
