1. Operant Conditioning: Schedules and Theories of Reinforcement
Chapter 7

2. Importance of Schedules of Reinforcement
Rule for the presentation of stimuli that precede operants and the consequences that follow them.
Schedules are the fundamental determinants of behavior.
Rate and temporal patterns of responding
Probability of responding.

3. Terminology
Partial reinforcement effect (greater resistance to extinction following partial reinforcement)
Discrimination hypothesis
Generalization decrement hypothesis
Contingency of reinforcement - features defined by the schedule
Steady-state performance
Strained performance

4. Schedules of Reinforcement
CRF - continuous reinforcement FR 1
Fixed Ratio- FR an FR schedule
Postreinforcement pause
run of responses
Variable Ratio – VR
Fixed Interval – an FI scallop
Long term - break and run
Humans
Variable Interval - VI

5. Reinforcement Schedules
Response based schedules
Fixed ratio FR
Variable ratio VR
Progressive ratio PR
Time Based Schedules
Fixed interval FI
Variable interval

6. Postreinforcement Pause
PRP as a function of IRI
FI - ½ interval value.
FR pause increases as FR is increased, rate of response also increases.

7. Analysis of Reinforcement Schedules
FR postreinforcement pause
Fatigue
Satiation
Remaining response

8. VR and VI response rates
VR yoked VI
Rates are higher on VR schedules even when rate of reinforcement is the same ?

9. The VR-VI difference IRT reinforcement Response-reinforcer correlation
IRTs are conditionable
Synthetic schedules
Response-reinforcer correlation

10. Other Schedules Response Rate Schedules
Differential reinforcement of low rates
IRT > t
Differential reinforcement of high rates
IRT < t
Differential reinforcement of paced responding

11. Noncontingent Schedules
Fixed time schedule
Variable time schedule
Superstitious behavior
Skinner 1948
Adjunctive behavior

12. Contingent + Noncontingent Schedules
Decrease in response rate
Long term contracts
Tenure
Noncontingent reinforcement?????

13. Schedule Combinations
Multiple Schedule
Mixed Schedule
Chained Schedule
Tandem Schedule
Concurrent Schedule

14. Factors affecting performance on a schedule
Quality of reinforcer
Rate of reinforcement
Delay of reinforcement
Amount of reinforcement
Level of motivation

15. Rate of Response on Schedules
Dynamic interactions between
Molecular aspects - moment-to-moment relationships
Molar aspects- length of session

16. What Constitutes Reinforcement?
A reinforcer is something that increases the likelihood of the preceding response.
This can be confusing because it leads to a circular explanation.
It can also be confusing because although generally a reinforcer is a pleasant event, it doesn’t have to be.
What constitutes a “pleasant event” can be hard to define or vary from person to person.

17. What Constitutes Reinforcement?
Many reinforcers satisfy biological needs, such as hunger.
Addictive behaviors don’t seem to give much pleasure to the addict (although they may be negatively reinforcing - done to avoid the unpleasant condition of not having access to the drug.)
Some reinforcers don’t satisfy any immediate need, but may represent a future opportunity to have greater access to resources (such as a good grade – you can’t eat it, but getting many of them may raise your chances of having more to eat later in your life.)

18. Theories of Reinforcement
Drive reduction theory – an event is reinforcing to the extent it is associated with a reduction in some type of physiological drive.
However, some types of reinforcers not associated with drive reduction.
Incentive motivation – reinforcement derived from some aspect of the reinforcer.

19. What Constitutes Reinforcement?
The Premack Principle
The Premack Principle states that the opportunity to engage in frequent behavior will be a reinforcer for any less-frequent behavior.
A person who prefers going to the movies to going to museums can be reinforced for extra trips to the museum with free movie passes.

20. What Constitutes Reinforcement?
The Disequilibrium Principle
The disequilibrium principle states that each person has a preferred pattern of dividing time between various activities and if the person is removed from that pattern a return to it will be reinforcing.
A person who must work overtime for the next three weekends makes an extra effort to finish up the assigned work to return to his preferred activity of playing golf.

21. Response Deprivation Hypothesis
A behavior can serve as a reinforcer when (1) access to the behavior is restricted and (2) and its frequency thereby falls below its preferred level of occurrence.

22. Behavioral Bliss Point Approach
An organism that has free access to alternative activities will distribute its behavior in such a way as to maximize overall reinforcement.
Contingencies can move us away from the bliss point.
Organism will try to accommodate by maximization of bliss point.