Unit Six Flashcards
Schedule of reinforcement
The rule describing the delivery of reinforcement
Schedule effects
Refers to the pattern and rate of performance produced by s particular reinforcement schedule
Run rate def
The rate at which behavior occurs once it has begun
In ratio schedules reinforcement is contingent on
The number of times the behavior occurs -
Two types fixed and variable ratio
In interval schedules the reinforcement is contingent on
The behavior occurring after s given interval
Two types fixed snd variable
In a drl 10 schedule the effect of pressing s lever after 8 seconds is to
Reset the clock / delay reinforcement
In ft and vt schedules reinforcement is contingent on what
Time rather than behavior
Which is thinner out of fr3 and vr 4
Vr 4
The difference between multiple snd mixed schedules is
Multiple schedules there is a signal that the schedule has changed
Kassinove and schare study suggests near misses can serve as
Reinforcers
Could you stretch the ratio when a behavior is on an interval schedule
You could stretch the interval
State the matching law in own words
The rate of behavior matches or is proportional to the rate of reinforcement
The frustration and sequential hypothesis are both variations of what
The discrimination hypothesis
Continuous reinforcement
Especially common with
Not most common where
Simplest schedule
S behavior is reinforced everytime it occurs
The opposite is continuos extinction which is s non freinforcement
Very common and useful with shaping
Not the most common in nature
Intermittent schedule
Reinforcement occurs on some occasions but not others
Post reinforcement pauses def and occur with what
Pauses that follow reinforcement are common eith fixed ratios snd are not fatigue
The more work required the longer the pause
The size can also affect the pause
Ex fr schedule
Employees are paid on s fr schedule
Fixed ratio schedule
A behavior is reinforced only after occurring s fixed number of times
Variable ratio schedules
The number of behavior Ie lever presses varies around an average
Post reinforcement pauses in vr as compared to fr
The usually appear less often and for shorter times. Influenced by size of the average snd by the lowest ratio
Therefore produces more behavior per hour vs fr
Vr in nature ?
Common in nature. Ie a cheetah won’t capture prey every time but on an average to achieve the reward . Most predatory behavior
Vr in human life
Sales person on commission or casino gambling
Fixed interval schedule
Reinforcement is dispensed following s behavior but only after the behavior occurs after s given period of time . Ex at time zero and first instance of behavior after five second
Post reinforcement pauses with fixed interval
Occur snd produce a scalloped shape curve. It begins pressing the lever long before it pays off and increases before the end of the interval
Fixed interval in nature
Hard to come by. One example is with estrus
FI in humans
Bake bread in an oven
Ex with midterms show little inclination at the start of the year and increasing more toward midterms and then it falls off until shortly before finals
Variable interval schedules
Reinforce s behavior around an interval average
Run rates of vi vs FI and vs fr and vr
Run rates of ratios are better than intervals and the vi better than FI
Ex of vi in nature and humans
Leopards wait in the grass for varying intervals until prey comes
Human hunters wait too
Fixed duration or schedule
Reinforcement is contingent on the continuos performance of a behavior for a period of time . Ex child must play piano for thirty minutes
Variable duration
The required time varies around an average . There is no telling when the reinforcer will appear
In some cases playing the piano becomes more reinforcing
Differential reinforcement of low rate and amount of behavior
Are required to not perform the task for a duration
Can produce extremely low rates of behavior
Can result in the development of superstitious behavior where they do something for the ten second
Drh schedule
Differential reinforcement of high rate requires that a behavior be performed a minimum number of times in s given period
PRODUCE THE HIGHEST RATES OF BEHAVIOR
Two forms of schedules Noncontingent on behavior
Fixed time and variable time
Fixed time schedule
A reinforcer is delivered after a give period of time without regard for behavior . They do not need to do anything
Fixed time schedules not common where snd common where
Not common in snture snd only common in lab. Only thing is that maybe welfare checks
Variable time
Reinforcement is delivered periodically delivered at irregular intervals without regard for the organisms behavior
This can also result in superstition ex sports teams winning sometime
Stretching the ratio
Increase the ratio through shaping by demanding more each time
Stretching the ratio in nature
Get the weak antelopes and the. The harder one take more time
Humans may also see it with gambling
Ratio strain
Don’t want to stretch it too rapidly because they start to break down why they might grumble about being overworked
Three variables that affect extinction
The effort the behavior requires
Number of times the behavior was performed before
The schedule of reinforcement prior to extinction
Partial reinforcement effect
Intermittent schedules are more resistant to extinction than continuos
The thinner the reinforcement schedule before extinction the greater the number the lever presses during extinction
Discrimination hypothesis
Extinction takes longer after intermittent reinforcement because it is harder to discriminate between extinction snd intermittent schedule than with continuos reinforcement
Frustration hypothesis
Nonreinforcement is frustrating snd is aversive. Behavior on extinction creates frustration
When it’s intermittent there’s period of non reinforcement snd frustration snd then pushing the lever while frustrated is a s+ which then reinforces lever pushing and frustration causing the outburst
Sequential hypothesis
Attributes the pre or differences in the sequence of cues during training . In continuous reinforcement the s+ is only the reinforcement whereas with intermittent the serious of reinforcement snd non reinforcement is the s+
The rat continues to push the lever because Nonreinforcement pressed have worked in th past
Compare sequential and frustration
Both are built on discrimination training and active learning . Frustration is due to internal process where as sequential is due to external environment the sequence of events
Response unit hypothesis
Defined as what produces reinforcement - ex two lever pushes result in reward snd are the behavior . Behavior is defined by the number of times it must occur to produce reinforcement . When it is defined this way there are actually less is fences of behavior with intermittent
Multiple schedule
A behavior is under the influence of two or more simple schedules each associated with a particular stimulus ex one schedule when yellow on snd another when red light on
A mixed schedule
Is the same as a multiple schedule except there are no stimuli associated with the change in reinforcement contingencies
In a chain schedule
Reinforcement is delivered only on completion of the last in a series of schedules must complete the last requirement of the last schedule . There is stimuli along the way that they are closer
Cooperative schedules
Make reinforcement dependent on the behavior of two or more individuals
Issue may result in inequality of work
Concurrent schedules
Two or more schedules are available at once
Involves s choice
Matching law
Distribution of behaviors matches the availability of reinforcement in concurrent it makes sense to choose the denser one however it will occasionally press the other one to work on it
Look at how much the one could be done in s minute snd how much the other then add to make the total. Then csn use the total snd the individual numbers to calculate the percentage it would be spent on
It includes the behavior of interest the reinforcer snd other behaviors snd reinforcers
Compulsive gambling and applications
Very similar to variable ratios
It was found that near misses served as reinforcers
Experimental economics
Combo of reinforcement schedules and economics
Will work for food
But luxuries will decrease consumption if the effort increases
Malingering
The behaviors associated with pain stay longer
People may malinger if others are willing to “press the lever “ more often to make up for someone hurting
Three criticism of schedules research
Argues it is artificial
Produces trivial findings
Reveal more about rats and pigeons
Three countesrs of the criticism
Lab allows them to simplify it to discover rules
It is s function of the individuals history
Human behavior is remarkably similar to animal behavior
Good ways of testing variables on behaviors
Ex toxins sleep deprivation etc
People sometimes behave differently from animals on a given schedule this is most likely be sue
People receive instructions about what they are supposed to do
Two types of schedules
Simple and complex
Most rapid learning occurs with which schedule
Crf
