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On the first trial, the rat had to press the bar three times to get a pellet of food. On the second trial, seven bar presses were needed. Although it continued to vary from trial to trial, on the average the rat was reinforced for every five bar presses. The rat is on a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

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lyndalau86

Answer:

Variable Ratio  Schedule

Explanation:

First, there are two different types of reinforcement:

  • Positive
  • Negative

The positive reinforcement applies a stimulus to increase the frequency of the desirable variable.

The negative reinforcement removes a stimulus to increase the frequency of the desirable variable.

However, the positive reinforcement divides itself in different types:

  • Continuous
  • Partial

A continuous reinforcement schedule gives us a reinforcement every time we engaged in the desired conduct.

On the other side, the partial reinforcement schedule  also divides itself in

  • Ratio
  • Interval

And these divide themselves in fixed or variable.

  • The fixed ratio schedule gives a reinforcement after a fixed number of desired responses.
  • The variable ratio schedule gives a reinforcement after a changing number of desired responses.

  • The fixed interval schedule gives a reinforcement after a constant amount of time.
  • The variable interval schedule gives a reinforcement after a variable amount of time.

In the example, the rats get a pellet of food, so we're talking about a reinforcement. They don't get a reward EVERY TIME they press the bar so we are not talking about a continuous reinforcement but a partial reinforcement. Since the rats press the bar and get a reward after certain NUMBER of times, we're talking about a ratio schedule. Finally, the number of times they need to press the bar to get a reward VARIES from trial to trial so this is a Variable Ratio Schedule.