#reinforcement schedule

[captain-acab]

B. F. Skinner walks into a bar. The bartender says, "sorry, we don't have any drinks today." Skinner replies, "ah well, I'll try again later."

[asteroidinsurance-blog]

This is a Quiz I Turned in for a Psychology Class

Your friend has just gotten engaged and is trying to lose weight for her wedding. She has asked you to help her increase the amount of time she goes to the gym. Describe how you would increase her gym going behavior on five of the reinforcement schedules.

Continuous: Every time Sarah goes to the gym, I buy her coffee.

Fixed ratio: Every five times Sarah goes to the gym, I help her make her wedding invitations.

Variable ratio: Once in a while, after Sarah has gone to the gym, I buy her a scone and she gets to relax as I help out her fiancé with his wedding invitations. This way, I build up trust with him, and she doesn’t suspect anything until it’s too late.

Fixed duration: If she goes to the gym for thirty minutes, Sarah gets to call her fiancé. After she is done, I tell my guys to put him back in the cage and break the cell phone so his location can’t be traced. She can exercise for another thirty minutes if she would like another phone call.

Variable duration: If Sarah goes to the gym, for a length of time that varies depending on how good a lead the police have on me, she can visit her fiancé in his cage and then try to help him escape. But she’ll have to be in great shape to do it! He’s surrounded by several large guards, authorized to use whatever means necessary to stop them. June is the month for weddings, Sarah. And the month’s almost up. You’re going to look so great in that wedding dress. But you’re going to have to work for it.