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Did you say let’s talk schedules of reinforcement??

References and Resources:

Cooper, 2nd edition Chapters 13,. glossary for definitions

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Schedules of Reinforcement
Per Cooper pg 304

A schedule of reinforcement is a rule that describes a contingency of

reinforcement, those environmental arrangements that determine conditions by
which behaviors will produces reinforcement.

● Continous reinforcement and Extinction provide the the boundaries for

all other schedules of reinforcement*

Continuous Reinforcement provides reinforcement for each occurrence of the

behavior.
Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement:
Per Cooper Pg 304

● Some, but not all instances of the behavior are reinforced.

● Only selected occurrences of behavior produce reinforcement

KEY Note:

CRF: is used to strengthen behavior, primarily during the initial stages of learning
new behaviors.

Intermittent Schedule: is used to maintain established behaviors.

Defining Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement:
● Ratio and Interval schedules are directly used for intermittent schedules of
reinforcement.
● Ratio schedules of reinforcement require a number of responses before one
response produces reinforcement
● Interval Schedules: require an elapse of “dead” time before a response
produces reinforcement(contingent on 1st correct response)
Four Basic Schedules of Reinforcement that Makeup Intermittent
schedules are:
● Fixed Ratio-requires the completion of fixed number of responses
● Fixed Interval provides reinforcement following a fixed duration AND one
correct response
● Variable Ratio- requires completion of a variable number of responses to
produce reinforcement (e.g reinforcement can come after 1 response, 20
responses, 3 responses, 13 response: add the numbers
1+20+13+3=37/4=9.25)
● Variable Interval:provides reinforcement for the first correct response
following the elapse of variable duration of time.
Fixed Ratio and Fixed Interval
● Both schedules produce a typical pattern of responding.
● Both schedules have a” post reinforcement Pause” ( post reinforcement pause
follows reinforcement, at which time the learner or individual does not respond for a
period of time.)
● The size of ratio influences the duration of post reinforcement pause, the larger the
ratio requirements produces longer pauses, smaller ratios produce short pauses.
● FI schedules typically produce a post reinforcement pause in responding during the
early part of the interval, initially it is slow but increases in accelerating rates of
response.
● Interval schedules with Limited Hold(LH) remains available for a finite period of time
following the completion of an interval(e.g. After a 5 min interval the learner has
30 seconds to emit the correct response to receive reinforcement)
3 Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement:

1. Differential Reinforcement of High rates of bx-Reinforcement of responses is higher

than a predetermined level. Use when you want to increase the rate of responding, for
behaviors that occur infrequently.(e.g. Captain America currently attends Stark Towers
Elementary 2x’s per week but if he attends 5 days a week, Captain America receives
reinforcement.
2. Differential Reinforcement of Low rates of bx-Provides reinforcement for if bx occurs
following a specific period of time during which it did not occur. IRT identifies the duration of
time between responses. By increasing IRT you are lowering the overall rate of
responding.
3. Differential Reinforcement of Diminishing rates of bx-provides reinforcement at the end
of a predetermined time interval when the number of responses is less than a criterion that
is gradually decreased across time interval based on individuals performance.
Thinning Schedules of Reinforcement
There are 2 procedures for schedule thinning.

1. Thin an existing schedule by gradually increasing the response ratio or

the duration of the time interval. (e.g CRF to a VR2)
2. The learner is provided with clear instruction to communicate the
schedule of reinforcement, facilitating a smooth transition during the
thinning process (instructions includes: rules, directions, and signs)
Progressive Schedules of Reinforcement:
● Progressive schedule of reinforcement: systematically thins each
successive reinforcement opportunity, independent of the learners behavior.
● Progressive Ratio(PR) or Progressive Interval(PI)- both change schedule
requirements using an arithmetic progression to add a constant amount to
each successive ratio or interval.
● Progressive schedules of Reinforcement-are often used for reinforcer
assessments and behavioral interventions.
Compound Schedules of Reinforcement
Per Cooper pg 316

“A compound schedule combines the elements of continuous reinforcement(CRF),

the four intermittent schedules of reinforcement (FR, VR, FI, VI), differential
reinforcement of various rates of responding (DRH,DRL, DRD), and Extinction to
form compound schedules.
Compound Schedules Can Occur :
● Successively or Simultaneously
● With or Without Discriminative Stimuli
● As a reinforcement contingency for each element independently, or a
contingency formed by the combination of all elements.
Compound Schedules:
There are 7 compound schedules of Reinforcement
1. Concurrent
2. Multiple
3. Chained
4. Alternative
5. Tandem
6. Mixed
7. Conjunctive

Clinton Married Caine At The Methodist Church.

C.M.C.A.T.M.C
Concurrent Schedule: AKA CONC
● Reinforcement occurs when:
● A) Two or more contingencies of reinforcement,
● B) Operates independently and simultaneously
● C) For two or more behaviors
● D) Discriminative Stimulus is Present
● E) Learner allocates(CHOICE MAKING) response to schedule of reinforcement
● F) Magnitude and quality of reinforcers influence how the learner allocates responses
● G) Use CONC schedules for Reinforcer Assessment or Bx Interventions

Example(You have a friend you can call or text, the friend responds more to text messages than
phone calls, the organism will allocate or CHOOSE which schedule of reinforcement)
Matching Law
● Matching law is used with Concurrent Schedule of Reinforcement
● Matching law states: given two concurrently available response alternative
(choices),individuals will distribute their behavior in the same proportion that reinforcers
are distributed among those alternatives.
Multiple Schedules of Reinforcement: AKA MULT
● SD is present (stimulus is present as long as schedule is in place)
● 2 or more basic schedules of reinforcement in an alternating usually random
sequences
● Occur successively or independently
● Patterns of responding are still the same as in a Multiple schedule of
reinforcement as in Basic schedules of reinforcement (e.g ratio schedules will
produce higher rates of responding whereas interval schedules will produce
lower rates of responding)
Example( A teacher says it’s time to work in small groups and uses a FR 5 and at
home the student has a tutor and the tutor uses a FI 15)
Chained Schedule of Reinforcement:AKA Chain
● SD is present
● 2 or more basic schedules of reinforcement
● Occur successively
● Always Occur in SPECIFIC ORDER
● Conditioned Reinforcement for responding in the first element in a chain is the presentation for the
second element.

Example: Getting Gas

Step 1 go to gas station

Step 2 purchase gas

Step 3 remove nozzle

Step 4 pump gas

Step 5 replace nozzle

Step 6 get back in car to drive

Mixed and Tandem Schedules of Reinforcement:
Mixed Schedule of Tandem Schedule of Reinforcement
Reinforcement
● Tandem schedule uses a procedure
● Similar to Multiple Schedules of identical to chained schedule
Reinforcement except NO SD is
EXCEPT TANDEM does not use
present. Meaning that the SD is
NOT correlated with independent Discriminative Stimuli.
schedules.
Example (grocery store)
● Two Basic Schedules are run
successively or in random order,
learner is not able to discriminate
which schedule is occurring
Example (think about a video game)
Alternative and Conjunctive Schedules of Reinforcement
Alternative Schedule of Reinforcement:
Alternative and Conjunctive are the
only 2 schedules that REQUIRE either a
RATIO or INTERVAL schedule.
One condition has to be met before
reinforcement is delivered.
Think either/or
Example(10 math problems-FR10 or
after 10 minutes, 1 math problem is
done-FI1.) You could be doing
nothing for 10 min, as long as you
are doing math after 10 min
C onjunctive Schedule of Reinforcement
Alternative and Conjunctive are the
only 2 schedules that REQUIRE both a
RATIO and INTERVAL schedule.
Both conditions have to be met before
contacting reinforcement
Example(Teacher assigns classwork
by saying we are going to complete
15 math problems and after 10 mins
you are reading before we go to
recess.)- you could be doing nothing
for 10 min, as long as you are
reading after 10 min.
ANY ?????’s