5.5) Scheduling Reinforcement

partial reinforcement schedule

a.k.a intermittent reinforcement schedule. The response is reinforced only part of the time.

A schedule of reinforcement

acts as a rule, stating which instances of a behavior will be reinforced. When and how a consequence is reinforced is critical to the learning process and the likelihood of increasing a response.

Fixed ratio schedules

occur when a response is reinforced only after a specific number of responses. an example would be a student is rewarded for every five books they read.

Variable ratio schedule scenario

A person buys scratch-off lottery tickets in hopes of winning millions.

fixed interval schedule scenario

A student receives a grade at the end of every semester, which counts towards credit for graduation.

variable interval schedule scenario

A teacher gives pop quizzes to ensure students are prepared for every class.

fixed ratio schedule scenario

Starbucks wants to ensure a steady flow of customers. The company decides to provide reward cards to its customers - for every five lattes purchased the customer gets one free.

variable ratio schedule

This is the schedule where a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses. an example would be rewarding students for some homework assignments, but not all.

Let's sum things up.

When choosing a schedule of reinforcement one must consider how and why the behavior is being reinforced. A continuous schedule will allow for quicker learned behavior, but it is subject to extinction as reinforcing a behavior every single time is difficult to maintain for a long period of time. Partial, or intermittent, schedules allow for more flexibility and behavior maintenance, but must be chosen carefully. Each schedule has advantages and disadvantages and it is important to continuously monitor the response rates in order to determine if the schedule is the most effective. With a continuous schedule the advantage is the behavior is learned quickly, but is difficult to maintain overtime and is extinguished quickly. With a partial schedule it's going to be more resistant to extinction, but behaviors may take time to acquire. With our fixed ratio schedule there's a high, steady response rate, but it could lead to burn out. Our variable ratio schedule could lead to an increased rate of behavior, but could also lead to detrimental behavior. Fixed interval could lead to responses gradually increasing, but since this a time-based schedule, there is a slow response immediately after the behavior or the reward has occurred. And finally, variable interval, which is very resistant to extinction, but the response rate may be slower.

The advantage in a fixed interval schedule

are the responses will increase gradually as the reinforcement time draws near.

The advantage in a fixed ratio schedule

are the results are high and steady productivity, or in other words, a high rate of response.

There are two types of reinforcement schedules

continuous and partial.

The schedule of reinforcement should be based on

desired behaviors, associations between behaviors and rewards and length of time behaviors should be maintained.

four types of partial reinforcement schedules

fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval and variable interval schedules

Reinforcement

is defined as a consequence of that follows a response that increases (or attempts to increase) the likelihood of that response occurring in the future.

The disadvantage to continuous reinforcement

is difficult to maintain over a long period of time due to the effort of having to reinforce a behavior each time it is performed. Also, this type of reinforcement is quick to be extinguished.

The advantage in a variable ratio schedule

is if done in a manner that the reinforcer is not predictable, this can lead to a maintenance or an increase of the pace of a behavior.

The advantage of a partial reinforcement schedule

is it's more resistant to extinction.

The disadvantage of a partial reinforcement schedule

is that learned behaviors take longer to be acquired.

The advantage to continuous reinforcement

is that the desired behavior is typically learned quickly.

The disadvantage in a fixed ratio schedule

is that this schedule leads to burn out and potentially lower quality work.

The disadvantage in a fixed interval schedule

is that this type of schedule can lead to slow responding immediately after the delivery of the reinforcement.

Extinction

is the gradual disappearance of an acquired response - resulting from repeated lack of reinforcement for the response. Simply put, once the reinforcement stops, the behavior will, too.

The disadvantage in a variable interval schedule

is this reinforcing schedule doesn't engage the person quickly because the reward is not imminent.

The advantage in a variable interval schedule

is this schedule is very resistant to extinction.

The disadvantage in a variable ratio schedule

is this type of schedule could lead to detrimental behavior. In the case of gambling, the person continues to try for the reward even after losing most or all of their money in hopes of winning the big one

variable interval schedule

is where a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed. Examples of this type of schedule would be a promotion or special recognition at work.

fixed interval schedule

is where the response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed. A real world example of fixed interval schedules is a paycheck.

continuous reinforcement schedule

the desired behavior is reinforced each and every time it occurs. This continuous schedule is used during the first stages of learning in order to create a strong association between the behavior and the response. Overtime, if the association is strong, the reinforcement schedule is switched to a partial reinforcement schedule.