schedules of reinforcement

Question 1

What kind of learning can occur that does not involve new behaviour?

Answer 1

• change in the rate of behaviour

- change in the pattern of performance

Question 2

What causes changes in rate and pattern of performance?

Answer 2

Changes in reinforcement contingencies

Question 3

What is a schedule of reinforcement?

Answer 3

The rule describing the delivery of reinforcement

Question 4

What are schedule effects?

Answer 4

The pattern and rate of performance produced by a particular schedule of reinforcement

Question 5

Are there other schedules other than reinforcement?

Answer 5

Yes, schedules of punishment

Question 6

What are the main simple schedules?

Answer 6

• continuous reinforcement 1:1

- intermittent reinforcement x:1

Question 7

What is intermittent reinforcement?

Answer 7

When reinforcement occurs on some occasions and not others- most common schedule in the natural environment

Question 8

Are there other schedules other than reinforcement?

Answer 8

Yes, schedules of punishment

Question 9

What are the main simple schedules?

Answer 9

• continuous reinforcement 1:1

- intermittent reinforcement x:1

Question 10

What is intermittent reinforcement?

Answer 10

When reinforcement occurs on some occasions and not others- most common schedule in the natural environment

Question 11

What are the 4 primary types of intermittent schedule?

Answer 11

• fixed ratio (every x #)
• variable ratio (every average #)
• fixed interval (every x amount of time) scallop
• variable interval (every average amount of time)

Question 12

What are post-reinforcement pauses?

Answer 12

Pauses that occur immediately after reinforcement, before the animal resumes the behaviour

Question 13

What are other simple schedules?

Answer 13

• Fixed duration (continual performance)
• variable duration
• differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) reinforcement only no behaviour after time
• differential reinforcement of high rate (DRH)
  reinforcement only after minimum number of performances in given period
• fixed time (non-contingent)
• variable time (non-contingent)

Question 14

What is the run rate?

Answer 14

The rate at which the organism performs once it has resumed work after reinforcement

Question 15

What is stretching the ratio?

Answer 15

Thinning the schedule, shaping process that uses successive approximations of the desired behaviour are reinforced by increasing the ratio over time

Question 16

What schedule can cause superstitious behaviour?

Answer 16

VT

Question 17

What problematic event can occur from stretching the ratio?

Answer 17

Ratio strain, when stretching is done too rapidly making the tendency to perform break down

Question 18

What is the opposite of continuous reinforcement?

Answer 18

Extinction

Question 19

What is the partial reinforcement effect? (PRE)

Answer 19

The tendency for behaviour that has been maintained on an intermittent schedule to be more resistant to extinction than behaviour that has been on continuous reinforcement
- the thinner the reinforcement schedule, the greater the number of acts during extinction

Question 20

What are the hypotheses that explain the PRE?

Answer 20

• discrimination hypothesis
• frustration hypothesis
• sequential hypothesis
• response unit

Question 21

What are the hypotheses that explain the PRE?

Answer 21

• discrimination hypothesis

- frustration hypothesis

Question 22

Explain the frustration hypothesis.

Answer 22

Nonreinforcement causes frustration so anything that reduces frustration is reinforcing. During extinction, frustration is reduced by not responding. In intermittent schedules, the animal continues to perform during frustration which is reinforced, and performing while frustrated becomes a S+. During extinction, the animal feels frustrated but because frustration is a discriminative stimulus it becomes self-reinforcing

Question 23

What is the sequential hypothesis?

Answer 23

The PRE is due to differences in the sequence of cues during training, nonreinforced behaviour then becomes an S+ for the behaviour

Question 24

Which hypotheses involve discrimination learning?

Answer 24

• frustration and sequential

Question 25

What hypothesis deems partial reinforcement effect an illusion?

Answer 25

Response unit hypothesis

Question 26

What are the different complex schedules?

Answer 26

• multiple schedule (schedule change has stimulus)
• mixed schedule (schedule change no stimulus)
• chain schedule (stimulus) reinforcement last
• tandem schedule (no stimulus)
• cooperative schedules
• concurrent schedules (choice)

Question 27

What predicts how an animal will behave in a concurrent schedule?

Answer 27

Matching law

Question 28

What does matching law say?

Answer 28

That given two behaviours on their own schedules, the relative frequency of each behaviour is equal to the frequency of reinforcement available

Question 29

Is matching law robust?

Answer 29

Matching law holds for a wide variety of species, behaviours, reinforcers and schedules

Question 30

What is important to reinforcing gambling?

Answer 30

Near misses

Question 31

Why are schedules important research?

Answer 31

Explain rules for describing the way the environment affects behaviour, simplify problems, good way of testing effects of variables on behaviour

Question 32

What is considered to be the sleeping giant of behavioural research?

Answer 32

Reinforcement schedules