Schedules of Reinforcement

Throughout chapter 7, the different types of schedules and theories of reinforcement were discussed. When discussing the schedules of reinforcement, there are four basic intermittent schedules; fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval schedules. Each of the intermittent schedules have different factors that add to the outcomes of the schedule. For fixed ratio schedules, the key factor is there is a fixed number involved. This number is what reinforces the subject. The difference between fixed ratio and fixed interval is that in fixed ratio, each reinforcement is the same set number where fixed interval has a set number for the initial reinforcement and following it is based on the subject. Variable ratio scheduling is based on random number of response for the reinforcement. Variable interval schedule is where the reinforcement is based on the subject’s response after a random set. Each reinforcement schedule effects the timeline and how the subjects reach their reinforcement. The graph below shows how each set varies based on the type of scheduling involved.