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Reinforcement Schedules

Reinforcement Schedules

Positive reinforcement is a powerful method for teaching new behaviors to both animals and humans. B.F. Skinner demonstrated this with his experiments using rats in a Skinner box. When a rat pressed a lever, it received a food pellet. This immediate reward encouraged the rat to repeat the behavior. This method, where a reward follows every instance of the behavior, is known as continuous reinforcement. It is highly effective for establishing new behaviors quickly.
Once a behavior is learned,...

Primary and Secondary Reinforcers

Primary and Secondary Reinforcers

In psychology, reinforcement is a key concept in behavior modification. B.F. Skinner demonstrated this with his experiments involving rats in what is known as a Skinner box. The rats learned to press a lever to receive food, a primary reinforcer that fulfilled their innate need for nourishment.
Effective reinforcers for humans vary depending on the individual and the context. Primary reinforcers, such as food, water, sleep, shelter, and pleasure, have inherent value and satisfy basic biological...

Timing and Consequences on Behavior

Timing and Consequences on Behavior

In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective.
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant factor...

Reinforcement

Reinforcement

Positive and negative reinforcement are key concepts in operant conditioning, a learning process where the consequences of a behavior affect the likelihood of that behavior being repeated.
Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, increasing the frequency of that behavior. For example:

Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning, a key concept in behavioral psychology, involves using reinforcement and punishment to alter the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. B.F. introduced this type of conditioning. Skinner focused on voluntary behaviors and the consequences that follow them, influencing whether these behaviors will be strengthened or diminished.
Reinforcement in operant conditioning can be positive or negative, both of which serve to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Positive...

Operant Conditioning Intervention

Operant Conditioning Intervention

Operant conditioning serves as a foundational principle in therapeutic interventions aimed at modifying maladaptive behaviors. Central to this approach is the notion that behaviors, both adaptive and maladaptive, are learned through reinforcement. By analyzing the environmental factors that reinforce problematic behaviors, clinicians can design interventions to weaken these reinforcements and replace maladaptive behaviors with healthier alternatives.
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...

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Related Experiment Video

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Three Laboratory Procedures for Assessing Different Manifestations of Impulsivity in Rats

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Published on: March 17, 2019

Choice between single and multiple reinforcers in concurrent-chains schedules.

James E Mazur¹

¹Psychology Department, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven 06515, USA. mazurj1@southernct.edu

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

|September 28, 2006

Summary

Pigeons showed less preference for a single reinforcer when a postreinforcer delay was added. This effect varied with the length of initial links, supporting delay-reduction theory over other choice models.

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Area of Science:

Behavioral Psychology
Animal Cognition

Background:

Concurrent-chains schedules are used to study choice behavior in animals.
Understanding factors influencing choice is crucial for behavioral economics and learning theory.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effect of postreinforcer delays on pigeons' choice behavior in concurrent-chains schedules.
To evaluate the predictive accuracy of different theoretical models (delay-reduction, contextual-choice, hyperbolic value-added) for observed choice patterns.

Main Methods:

Pigeons were trained on concurrent-chains schedules with variable-interval initial links.
Terminal links offered either a single reinforcer or multiple reinforcers, with and without postreinforcer delays.
Choice preference was measured by the proportion of responses allocated to the single-reinforcer alternative.

Main Results:

Postreinforcer delays decreased preference for the single-reinforcer option with short initial links.
The effect of postreinforcer delays diminished with longer initial links.
Preference for the single-reinforcer option often shifted below 50% as initial links lengthened when postreinforcer delays were present.

Conclusions:

The findings support delay-reduction theory in explaining concurrent-chains performance.
Standard applications of contextual-choice and hyperbolic value-added models did not fully account for the results.
Modifications to the hyperbolic value-added model, incorporating later reinforcers, could explain the observed data.