When do i give reinforcement

Continuous reinforcement

When a desired behavior is reinforced every time it happens

Ex continuous

If you’re training a dog and give it a treat every single time it sits on command

Intermittent reinforcement

practice of unpredictable reward delivery. This means that a person or animal doesn't receive a reward every time they perform a desired behavior. Instead, they receive the reward at irregular intervals

Ratio schedule

the rate at which a person or animal receives a reward for performing a desired behavior. This is typically determined by the number of times the behavior is performed

Fixed ratio

type of reward system where a person or animal receives a reward only after a specific number of behaviors

Ex fixed ratio

you're training your dog, and you want them to sit on command, you could decide that you'll give your dog a treat every fifth time they correctly sit when you tell them to

Variable ratio

a reward system in which a person/ animal receives a reward after varying numbers of behaviors, there is no set number of behaviors that guarantees a reward. Instead, the rewards are given out on a random schedule, making it difficult to predict when the next reward will come

Ex variable ratio

you want to give some candy 2 your younger siblings. You decide that you're going to give them candy only after they do a certain # of chores, but the # of chores changes each time. Sometimes it takes 5 chores, sometimes 2, and sometimes 10. This unpredictable pattern of rewards can encourage your sibling to do even more chores 2 get more candy

Interval schedule

system where a person or animal is rewarded after a specific time period has passed, rather than after a certain number of behaviors.

Fixed interval

reward system where a person or animal is rewarded only after a specific amount of time has elapsed

Ex fixed interval

you're training your dog, and you want them to stay in their crate for a while. You might decide to give them a treat every 10 minutes they stay in the crate.

Variable interval

rewards or reinforcements are given after a random amount of time has passed

Ex variable interval

imagine you’re waiting for a bus that comes at different times each hour. Sometimes you wait for 5 minutes, other times 15 minutes. You don’t know exactly when it will arrive, but you know it will come at some point

Shaping method (method of successive approximations)

rewarding small steps towards the final goal

Ex shaping method

if you want to teach a dog to roll over, you might start by rewarding it for just lying down. Once it gets that right, you’d reward it for turning its head. Gradually, you give rewards for each small step until it can roll over completely

superstitious behavior

someone believes that a certain action will lead to a reward, even if that action has nothing to do with the outcome

Ex superstitious behavior

if a player wears a specific shirt and wins a game, they might start to believe that the shirt is lucky, even though it doesn’t actually affect the game

Learned helplessness

Your actions may not make a difference so you decide to give up