Chapter 6 Developing Behavior Persistence Through the Use of Intermittent Reinforcement Study Questions 1 Define and give an example of intermittent reinforcement Intermittent reinforcement is an arrangement in which a behavior is reinforced only occasionally i e intermittently rather than every time it occurs Jan s problem solving behavior was not reinforced after each math problem that she solved Instead she received reinforcement after a fixed number of problem solving responses had occurred On this reinforcement schedule Jan worked at a very steady rate 2 Define and give an example of schedule of reinforcement A schedule of reinforcement is a rule specifying which occurrences of a given behavior if any will be reinforced Had Jan received reinforcement for each problem solved we would say that she was on a continuous reinforcement schedule Many behaviors in everyday life are reinforced on a continuous reinforcement schedule Each time you turn the tap your behavior is reinforced by water Each time you insert and turn the key in the front door of your home or apartment your behavior is reinforced by the door opening 3 Define and give an example of continuous reinforcement Look at the answer to 2 4 Describe four advantages of intermittent over continuous reinforcement for maintaining behavior The reinforcer remains effective longer because satiation take place more slowly Behavior that has been reinforced intermittently tends to take longer to extinguish Individuals work more consistently on certain intermittent schedules Behavior that has been reinforced intermittently is more likely to persist after being transferred to reinforcers in the natural environment 5 What is a free operant procedure Give an example A free operant procedure is one in which the individual is free to respond repeatedly in the sense that there are no constraints on successive responses For example if Jan had been given a worksheet containing 12 math problems to solve she could have worked at various rates e g 1 problem per minute 3 per minute 6 What is a discrete trials procedure Give an example In a discrete trials procedure a distinct stimulus is presented prior to an opportunity for a response to occur and be followed by reinforcement and the next response cannot occur until another stimulus is presented and so on Thus if Jan s teacher presented a math problem and waited a brief time for Jan to solve it following which the teacher presented another problem to Jan and so on this would be a discrete trials procedure 7 Explain what an FR schedule is Describe the details of two examples of FR schedules in everyday life at least one of which is not in this chapter Do your examples involve a freeoperant procedure or a discrete trials procedure In a fixed ration FR schedule a reinforcer occurs each time a fixed number of responses of a particular type are emitted 8 9 10 11 12 The reinforcement schedules for Jan were FR schedules Recall that early in her program she had to complete two math problems for each reinforcement which is abbreviated FR 2 Later she had to solve four problems for reinforcement which is abbreviated FR 4 Finally she had to make 16 correct responses abbreviate FR 16 Note that the schedule was increased in steps This example is a free operant procedure Another example of an FR schedule would be spelling a certain amount of words correctly before reinforcement is given This example is also a free operant procedure What are three characteristic effects of an FR schedule When introduced gradually FR schedules produce a high steady rate until reinforcement followed by a postreinforcement pause The length of the postreinforcement pause depends on the value of the FR the higher the value the longer the pause FR schedules also produce high resistance to extinction What is a ratio strain If Jan s responses had been put on FR 16 immediately i e without the intervening FR values her behavior might have deteriorated and appeared as though it were on extinction This deterioration of responding from increasing an FR schedule too rapidly is sometimes referred to as ratio strain Explain what a VR schedule is Describe the details of two examples of VR schedules in everyday life at least one of which is not in the text Do your examples involve a free operant procedure or a discrete trials procedure With a variable ratio VR schedule a reinforcer occurs after a certain number of a particular response and the number of responses required for each reinforcer changes unpredictably from one reinforcer to the next Suppose for example that over a period of several months a door to door salesperson averages one sale for every 10 houses called on This does not mean that the salesperson makes a sale exactly every 10th house Sometimes a sale might have been made after calling on five houses in a row Sometimes sales might occur at two houses in a row And sometimes the salesperson might call on a large number of houses before making a sale Over several months however a mean of 10 house calls is required to produce reinforcement This is a discrete trials procedure Another example of a VR schedule would be trying to sell a special product to a customer in a grocery store Not every customer is going to want to buy the product you re advertising This would also be a discrete trials procedure Describe how a VR schedule is similar procedurally to an FR schedule Describe how it is different procedurally Look at a 12 What are three characteristic effects of a VR schedule The VR schedule can be increased somewhat more abruptly than an FR schedule without producing ratio strain The values of VR that can maintain responding are somewhat higher than FR VR produces a higher resistance to extinction than FR schedules of the same value 13 Describe two examples of how FR or VR might be applied in training programs By training programs we refer to any situation in which someone deliberately uses behavior principles to increase and maintain someone else s behavior such as parents to influence a child s behavior a teacher to influence students behavior a coach to influence athletes behavior an employer to influence employees behavior etc Do your examples involve a free operant or a discrete trials procedure A parent might use an FR schedule to increase the rate at which their child completes homework assignments This would a free operant procedure A teacher might use an FR schedule to increase the rate of correctly completed math