ESSAY : List and describe three common schedules of reinforcement.

List and describe three common schedules of reinforcement. How can varying the delivery of reinforcement ensure learning a target behavior?

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Schedules of reinforcement refer to the precise rules used to reinforce or punish a behavior, especially when it comes to the learning process. The definition of the rules is dependent on the time and the number of responses required to condition an operant to either repeat or ignore a specific behavior (Cherry, 2020). The three most common schedules of reinforcement are the fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, and fixed-interval schedules. Fixed-ratio schedules are those in which an operant can learn a behavior after a set number of responses. This method produces a high and steady rate of expected responses. The second kind is the variable-ratio schedules. In this scenario, a habit or behavior is reinforced after the use of an unpredictable amount…