lecture 10 - developing behavioural persistence with schedules of reinforcement

what is intermittent reinforcement?

arrangement in which behaviour is positively reinforced intermittently rather than every time it occurs

what is response rate?

refers to number of instances of behaviour that occur in given period of time

what is schedule of reinforcement?

rule specifying which occurrences of given behaviour, if any, will be reinforced

what is continuous reinforcement?

each instance of particular response is reinforced

what is acquisition phase?

while behaviour is being conditioned or learned

what is maintenance phase?

when behviour has become well learned

what are 4 advantages of intermittent schedules of reinforcement?

1. reinforcer remains effective longer because satiationo takes place more slowly

2. behaviour that has been reinforced intermittently tends to take longer to extinguish

3. individuals work more consistently on certain intermittent schedules

4. behaviour that has been reinforced intermittently is more likely to persist after being transferred to reinforcers in natural environment

what is fixed-ratio schedule?

reinforcer occurs each time fixed number of responses of particular type are emitted

what is ratio strain?

deterioration of responding from increasing an FR schedule too rapidly

what is free-operant procedure?

one in which individual is “free” to respond at various rates in sense that there are no constraints on successive responses

what is discrete-trials procedure?

individual is “not free” to response at whatever rate he/she chooses because environmental places limits on availability of response opportunities

what does fixed-ratio schedule produce (2 points) ?

1. high steady rate until reinforcement occurs

2. produce high resistance to extinction

what is variable-ratio schedule?

reinforcer occurs after certain number of particular response and number of responses required for each reinforcer changes unpredictably from 1 reinforcer to next

what does variable-ratio schedule produce (2 points)?

1. high steady rate of responding

2. no or minimal postreinforcement pause

what are 3 differences between variable ratio and fixed ratio

1. VR schedule can be increased somewhat more abruptly than FR schedule without producing ratio strain

2. values of VR that can maintain responding are somewhat higher than FR

3. VR produces higher resistance to extinction than FR schedules of same value

when are ratio schedules used?

when one wants to generate high rate of responsindg and can monitor each response

what is progressive ratio schedule?

like FR schedule, but ratio requirement increases by specified amount after each reinforcement

what is application of PR?

to determine how potent, powerful, or effective particular reinforcer is for particular individual

what is fixed-interval schedule?

reinforcer is presented following first instance of specific response after fixed period of time

what is variable-interval schedule?

reinforcer is presented following first instance of specific response after interval of time, and length of interval changes unpredictably from 1 reinforcer to the next

what are 3 reasons that interval schedules are not often used in behaviour mod programs?

1. FI produces long postreinforcement pauses

2. altho VI does not produce long postreinforcement pauses, it does generate lower reponse rates than ratio schedules

3. simple interval schedules require continuous monitoring of behaviour after end of each interval until response occurs

what is limited hold?

deadline for meeting response requirement of schedule of reinforcement

what is fixed-duration schedule?

reinforcer is presented only if behavious occurs continuously for fixed period of time

what is variable-duration schedule?

reinforcer is presented only if behaviour occurs continuously for fixed period of time and interval of time from reinforcer to reinforcer changes unpredictably

what is concurrent schedules of reinforcement?

when each of 2 or more behaviours is reinforced on different schedules at same time, schedules of reinforcement that are in effect