A schedule of reinforcement is a rule that describes how often the occurrence a behavior will receive a reinforcement. On the two ends of the spectrum of schedules of reinforcement there is continuous reinforcement (CRF) and extinction (EXT). Show
Continuous reinforcement provides a reinforcement each and every time a behavior is emitted. If every time you hear the doorbell ring and there is someone on the other side of the door with a package for you, that would continuous reinforcement. With extinction, a previously reinforced behavior is no longer reinforced at all. All reinforcement is withdrawn with a schedule of extinction. An example of this is if every time you go to the grocery store with your child, when they ask for a treat, you give it to them. One day, you decide to put this behavior into extinction and try to reduce the “asking for candy” behavior by not giving it to them any more. You are now putting the behavior into extinction, which can have the affect of temporarily increasing aggressive behaviors as a side effect. Intermittent schedules of reinforcement (INT) are when some, but not all, instances of a behavior are reinforced. An intermittent schedule of reinforcement can be described as either being a ratio or interval schedule. Ratio schedules are when a certain number of responses are emitted before reinforcement. An interval schedule is when a response is reinforced after a certain amount of time since the last reinforcement. The interval or ratio schedule can be either fixed or variable. A fixed schedule is when the number of responses or the amount of time remains constant. A variable schedule is when the number or time between reinforcements changes according to an average. Post-reinforcement pauses are associated with fixed schedules of reinforcement. While both fixed ratio and fixed interval show a post-reinforcement pause, the fixed ratio has a high steady rate. This type of schedule shows a scalloped effect when graphed. This is due to the fact that immediately after the reinforcement is delivered there is a decrease in responding, and before the next scheduled opportunity there is an increase in responding behavior. Post-reinforcement pauses and scalloped graphed effects are not present with variable schedules and conjunctive schedules of reinforcement. Compound schedule of reinforcementConcurrent schedule (conc)
Multiple schedule (mult):
Chained schedule (chain): Presents the schedules in a specific order and may use the same or different behaviors for all elements in the chain. Mixed schedule (mix)
Tandem schedule (tand) Alternative schedule (alt) Conjunctive schedule (conj) Progressive Schedule: Systematically thin each following reinforcement opportunity regardless of the learners behavior.
Schedules of ReinforcementBy Annabelle G.Y. Lim , published July 02, 2020 Key Takeaways: Reinforcement Schedules
The book described that organisms could be reinforced on different schedules and that different schedules resulted in varied behavioral outcomes. Ferster and Skinner’s work established that how and when behaviors were reinforced carried significant effects on the strength and consistency of those behaviors. Introduction
The type of reinforcement schedule used significantly impacts the response rate and resistance to extinction of the behavior. Research into schedules of reinforcement has yielded important implications for the field of behavioral science, including choice behavior, behavioral pharmacology and behavioral economics. Continuous Reinforcement
Due to the behavior reinforced every time, the association is easy to make and learning occurs quickly. However, this also means that extinction occurs quickly after reinforcement is no longer provided. For ExampleWe can better understand the concept of continuous reinforcement by using candy machines as an example. Candy machines are examples of continuous reinforcement because every time we put money in (behavior), we receive candy in return (positive reinforcement). However, if a candy machine were to fail to provide candy twice in a row, we would likely stop trying to put money in (Myers, 2011). We have come to expect our behavior to be reinforced every time it is performed and quickly grow discouraged if it is not. Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement SchedulesUnlike continuous schedules, partial schedules only reinforce the desired behavior occasionally rather than all the time. This leads to slower learning since it is initially more difficult to make the association between behavior and reinforcement. However, partial schedules also produce behavior that is more resistant to extinction. Organisms are tempted to persist in their behavior in hopes that they will eventually be rewarded. For instance, slot machines at casinos operate on partial schedules. They provide money (positive reinforcement) after an unpredictable number of plays (behavior). Hence, slot players are likely to continuously play slots in the hopes that they will gain money the next round (Myers, 2011).
Fixed Schedule In a fixed schedule the number of responses or amount of time between reinforcements is set and unchanging. The schedule is predictable. Variable Schedule In a variable schedule the number of responses or amount of time between reinforcements change randomly. The schedule is unpredictable. Ratio Schedule In a ratio schedule reinforcement occurs after a certain number of responses have been emitted. Interval Schedule Interval schedules involve reinforcing a behavior after a period of time has passed.
Fixed Interval ScheduleFixed Interval Schedule
Such a schedule results in a tendency for organisms to increase the frequency of responses closer to the anticipated time of reinforcement. However, immediately after being reinforced, the frequency of responses decreases. The fluctuation in response rates means that a fixed-interval schedule will produce a scalloped pattern (refer to figure below) rather than steady rates of responding. For ExampleAn example of a fixed-interval schedule would be a teacher giving students a weekly quiz every Monday. Over the weekend, there is suddenly a flurry of studying for the quiz. On Monday, the students take the quiz and are reinforced for studying (positive reinforcement: receive a good grade; negative reinforcement: do not fail the quiz). For the next few days, they are likely to relax after finishing the stressful experience until the next quiz date draws too near for them to ignore. Variable Interval ScheduleVariable Interval Schedule
This schedule produces a low, steady responding rate since organisms are unaware of the next time they will receive reinforcers. For ExampleA pigeon in Skinner’s box has to peck a bar in order to receive a food pellet. It is given a food pellet after varying time intervals ranging from 2-5 minutes. It is given a pellet after 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 2 minutes, etc. It will respond steadily since it does not know when its behavior will be reinforced. Fixed Ratio ScheduleFixed Ratio Schedule
This kind of schedule results in high, steady rates of responding. Organisms are persistent in responding because of the hope that the next response might be one needed to receive reinforcement. This schedule is utilized in lottery games. For ExampleAn example of a fixed-ratio schedule would be a dressmaker ibeing paid $500 after every 10 dresses that they make. After sending off a shipment of 10 dresses, they are reinforced with $500. They are likely to take a short break immediately after this reinforcement before they begin producing dresses again. Variable Ratio ScheduleVariable Ratio Schedule
This kind of schedule results in high, steady rates of responding. Organisms are persistent in responding because of the hope that the next response might be one needed to receive reinforcement. This schedule is utilized in lottery games. For ExampleAn example of a fixed-ratio schedule would be a child being given a candy for every 3-10 pages of a book they read. For example, they are given a candy after reading 5 pages, then 3 pages, then 7 pages, then 8 pages, etc. The unpredictable reinforcement motivates them to keep reading, even if they are not immediately reinforced after reading one page. Response Rates of Different Reinforcement SchedulesResponse Rates of Different Reinforcement SchedulesRatio schedules – those linked to number of responses – produce higher response rates compared to interval schedules. As well, variable schedules produce more consistent behavior than fixed schedules; unpredictability of reinforcement results in more consistent responses than predictable reinforcement (Myers, 2011). Extinction of Responses Reinforced at Different SchedulesExtinction of Responses Reinforced at Different SchedulesResistance to extinction refers to how long a behavior continues to be displayed even after it is no longer being reinforced. A response high in resistance to extinction will take a longer time to become completely extinct. Different schedules of reinforcement produce different levels of resistance to extinction. In general, schedules that reinforce unpredictably are more resistant to extinction. Therefore, the variable-ratio schedule is more resistant to extinction than the fixed-ratio schedule. The variable-interval schedule is more resistant to extinction than the fixed-interval schedule as long as the average intervals are similar. In the fixed-ratio schedule, resistance to extinction increases as the ratio increases. In the fixed-interval schedule, resistance to extinction increases as the interval lengthens in time. Out of the four types of partial reinforcement schedules, the variable-ratio is the schedule most resistant to extinction. This can help to explain addiction to gambling. Even as gamblers may not receive reinforcers after a high number of responses, they remain hopeful that they will be reinforced soon. Implications for Behavioral PsychologyIn his article “Schedules of Reinforcement at 50: A Retroactive Appreciation,” Morgan (2010) describes the ways in which schedules of reinforcement are being used to research important areas of behavioral science. Choice BehaviorChoice Behaviorbehaviorists have long been interested in how organisms make choices about behavior – how they choose between alternatives and reinforcers. They have been able to study behavioral choice through the use of concurrent schedules. Through operating two separate schedules of reinforcement (often both variable-interval schedules) simultaneously, researchers are able to study how organisms allocate their behavior to the different options. An important discovery has been the matching law, which states that an organism’s response rates to a certain schedule will closely follow the ratio that reinforcement has been obtained. For instance, say that Joe’s father gave Joe money almost every time Joe asked for it but Joe’s mother almost never gave Joe money when he asked for it. Since Joe’s response of asking for money is reinforced more often when he asks his father, he is more likely to ask his father rather than his mother for money. Research has found that individuals will try to choose behavior that will provide them with the largest reward. There are also further factors that impact an organism’s behavioral choice: rate of reinforcement, quality of reinforcement, delay to reinforcement and response effort. The blog Babble behavior summarizes the findings well: “Everyone prefers higher amounts, quality, and rates of reward. They prefer rewards that come sooner and requires less overall effort to receive.” Behavioral PharmacologyBehavioral PharmacologySchedules of reinforcement are used to evaluate preference and abuse potential for drugs. One method used in behavioral pharmacological research to do so is through a progressive ratio schedule. In a progressive ratio schedule, the response requirement is continuously heightened each time after reinforcement is attained. In the case of pharmacology, participants must demonstrate an increasing number of responses in order to attain an injection of a drug (reinforcement). Under a progressive ratio schedule, a single injection may require up to thousands of responses. Participants are measured for the point where responding eventually stops, which is referred to as the “break point.” Gathering data about the break points of drugs allows for a categorization mirroring the abuse potential of different drugs. Using the progressive ratio schedule to evaluate drug preference and/or choice is now commonplace in behavioral pharmacology. Behavioral EconomicsBehavioral EconomicsOperant experiments offer an ideal way to study microeconomic behavior; participants can be viewed as consumers and reinforcers as commodities. Through experimenting with different schedules of reinforcement, researchers can alter the availability or price of a commodity and track how response allocation changes as a result. For example, changing the ratio schedule (increasing or decreasing the number of responses needed to receive the reinforcer) is a way to study elasticity. Another example of the role reinforcement schedules play is in studying substitutability by making different commodities available at the same price (same schedule of reinforcement). By using the operant laboratory to study behavior, researchers have the benefit of being able to manipulate independent variables and measure the depending variables. Mini QuizBelow are examples of schedules of reinforcement at work in the real world. Read the examples and then determine which kind of reinforcement schedule is being used. About the AuthorAnnabelle Lim is a second-year student majoring in psychology and minoring in educational studies at Harvard College. She is interested in the intersections between psychology and education, as well as psychology and the law. How to reference this article:How to reference this article:Lim, A (2020, July 02). Schedules of reinforcement. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/schedules-of-reinforcement.html APA Style ReferencesFerster, C. B., & Skinner, B. F. (1957). Schedules of reinforcement. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Morgan, D. L. (2010). Schedules of Reinforcement at 50: A Retrospective Appreciation. The Psychological Record; Heidelberg, 60(1), 151–172. Myers, David G. (2011). Psychology (10th ed.). Worth Publishers. What Influences My Behavior? The Matching Law Explanation That Will Change How You Understand Your Actions. (2017, August 27). Behaviour Babble. https://www.behaviourbabble.com/what-influences-my-behavior/ How to reference this article:How to reference this article:Lim, A (2020, July 02). Schedules of reinforcement. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/schedules-of-reinforcement.html Home | About Us | Privacy Policy | Advertise | Contact Us Simply Psychology's content is for informational and educational purposes only. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. © Simply Scholar Ltd - All rights reserved Which basic schedule of reinforcement produces a pause and run pattern of responding?Fixed-Ratio Schedules
This schedule produces a high, steady rate of responding with only a brief pause after the delivery of the reinforcer. An example of a fixed-ratio schedule would be delivering a food pellet to a rat after it presses a bar five times.
What is a break and run pattern of responding?A "break-run" response pattern on a cumulative record is one where there is a pause after reinforcement and then an abrupt shift to a high, steady rate of response.
What are the 4 schedules of reinforcement?There are four types of intermittent schedules that you can use in order to maintain the behavior; 1) fixed ratio, 2) fixed interval, 3) variable ratio, and 4) variable interval.
Which schedule of reinforcement produces a scalloped pattern of responding?An FI schedule of reinforcement results in high amounts of responding near the end of the interval, but a much slower rate of responding immediately after the delivery of the reinforcer. This post reinforcement pause and then subsequent acceleration in responding results in a scalloped pattern of responding.
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