Schedules of Reinforcement

A mature study by two immature minds

timing Life’s RewardsThe world would be a different

place if poker players never played cards again after the first losing hand, fishermen returned to shore as soon as they missed a catch, or telemarketers never made another phone call after their first hang-up. The fact that such unreinforced behaviours continue, often with great frequency and persistence, illustrates that reinforcement need not be received continually for behaviour to be learned and maintained.

In fact, behaviour that is reinforced only occasionally can ultimately be learned better than can behaviour that is always reinforced.

Copyright © 2012 Sequels.

Copyright © 2012 Sequels. .

Class ifi cat ions

Reinforcement

Continuous Intermittent

FixedInterval

VariableInterval

FixedRatio

VariableRatio

Immediate/Delayed Reinforcement

• Immediate reinforcement is more effective than delayed reinforcement

• Ability to delay gratification predicts higher achievement

Ways of Reinforcement

Schedules of Reinforcement:

Continuous Reinforcement

Continuous reinforcement

• A schedule of reinforcement in which a reward follows every correct response

• Most useful way to establish a behavior• The behavior will extinguish quickly

once the reinforcement stops.

Think of training your dog… like this woman did.

Schedules of Reinforcement:

Partial Reinforcement

Partial Reinforcement

• A schedule of reinforcement in which a reward follows only some correct responses

• Includes the following types:–Fixed-interval and variable interval–Fixed-ratio and variable-ratio

Fixed-ratio SchedulesA schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.Examples in natural environments:

Jobs that pay based on units delivered.

Employees often find this schedule undesirable because it produces a rate of response that leaves them nervous & exhausted at the end of the day. (Selling cars)

They may feel pressured not to slow down or take rest breaks, since they feel that such will costs them money. This is an example of how a schedule can produce a high rate of response even though the response rate is aversive to the subject.

Collecting tokens.

Many games require the player to collect a fixed number of tokens to advance to the next level, obtain a new life point, or receive some other reinforcers.

A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.

Variable-ratio Schedule

Slot machines: Slot machines are programmed on VR schedule. The gambler has no way of predicting how many times he must put a coin in the slot and pull the lever to hit a payoff but the more times a coin is inserted the greater the chance of a payout. People who play slot machines are often reluctant to leave them, especially when they have had a large number of un-reinforced responses. They are concerned that someone else will win the moment they leave.

Playing golf:It only takes a few good shots to encourage the player to keep playing or play again. The player is uncertain how good each shot will be, but the more often they play, the more likely they are to get a good shot.

Door to door salesmen: It is uncertain how many houses they will have to visit to make a sale, but the more houses they try, the more likely that they will succeed.

Fixed-interval ScheduleA schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.

Getting a raise every year and not in between. A major issue with this schedule is that people tend to improve their performance right before the time period expires so as to "look good" when the review comes around.Example: A weekly paycheck is a good example of a fixed-interval schedule. The employee receives reinforcement every seven days, which may result in a higher response rate as payday approaches.Fish Feeding. You feed your fish every day at 4:00. After a few days of this, you might start noticing your fish starts swimming toward the top of his tank every day around 4:00.

Dear Mister Rogers,Please say when you are feeding your fish, because I worry about them. I can't see if you are feeding them, so please say you are feeding them out loud.

A letter from a blind child to the childrens television icon. He always said verbally explained that he was feeding the fish to comfort this one child.

Variable-interval ScheduleA schedule of reinforcement that

reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.

This may not be as true for punishment since consistency in the application is so important, but for all other types of reinforcement they tend to result in stronger responses.

If you have a boss who checks your work periodically, you understand the power of this schedule. Because you don’t know when the next ‘check-up’ might come, you have to be working hard at all times in order to be ready.

In this sense, the variable schedules are more powerful and result in more consistent behaviors.

Example: Teacher observations by administrators.