Schedules of Reinforcement
A mature study by two
immature minds
timing Life’s RewaRds
Copyright © 2012 Sequels.
The 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 hangup. 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.
Classifications
Reinforcement
Intermittent
Continuous
Fixed
Variable
Fixed
Variable
Interval
Interval
Ratio
Ratio
Copyright © 2012 Sequels. .
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 Schedules
A 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.
Variable-ratio Schedule
A schedule of reinforcement that
reinforces a response after an
unpredictable number of
responses.
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,
Fixed-interval Schedule
A 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 Schedule
A schedule of reinforcement that
reinforces a response at
unpredictable time intervals.
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.
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.