Schedules of Reinforcement

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PSYC 110 Section:

Reinforcement/Punishment Exercise (10 Points)

For each example below identify the type of consequence that influences each behavior. Remember, a consequence is something that may increase or decrease the likelihood of some behavior occurring.

PR (positive reinforcement) - something good is presented, which encourages the behavior in the future.
NR (negative reinforcement) - something bad is removed, which encourages the behavior in the future.
PP (positive punishment) - something bad is presented, which discourages the behavior in the future.
NP (negative punishment) - something good is removed, which discourages the behavior in the future.

	Consequence
1.		A hockey player is sent to the penalty box for high-sticking and cannot play. His high-sticking incidents decrease in the future.
2.		A mother and father give their child a credit card for receiving a 3.5 in his/her first year of college. The child’s grades remain high.
3.		You take an aspirin when you feel a headache coming on so as to get rid of the headache.
4.		A mother slaps her daughter across the mouth for swearing and the daughter stops her swearing.
5.		A dog licks at an electrical outlet and receives an electric shock. The dog stops licking things that it is not familiar with.
6.		A professor has a policy of exempting students from the final exam if they maintain perfect attendance during the quarter. His students’ attendance increases dramatically
7.		You check the coin return slot on a pay telephone and find a quarter. You find yourself checking other telephones over the next few days.
8.		Your sister takes you Nintendo without asking and you bury her favorite Barbie doll in the yard so she stops taking your Nintendo without asking.
9.		A private in the Army is promoted for assisting other soldiers, and his helping behavior increases.
10.		A student’s needs to study, but his cell phone rings several times and the librarians ask home to leave. The student turns his cell phone off in the future.

But, consequences don't always follow every occurrence of a behavior. For each example identify the schedule of reinforcement being used.

FR (fixed ratio) - consequence is delivered after a certain number of response have occurred.
VR (variable ratio) - consequence is delivered after an uncertain number of responses have occurred.
FI (fixed interval) - consequence is delivered to first response after a certain amount of time passed.

VI (variable interval) - consequence is delivered to first response after a variable amount of time passed.

	Schedule
1.		You get paid once every two weeks.
2.		It is the Stanley Cup (Hockey) finals and two teams are now in “sudden-death” (tied at the end of regulation). The first team to score a goal wins.
3.		You receive an A on a test once you have answered 20 of 25 questions correctly.
4.		Every once and a while, Dr. Burnham will wear a tie and try to act professional.
5.		To become the President of the United States, a candidate needs to receive a minimum of 270 electoral votes.
6.		A slot machine at a casino pays off after a random number of times the lever is pulled.
7.		You get a small increase in your hourly wage every 6 months.
8.		A professor receives tenure after s/he receives a 2/3 vote of approval from the tenure committee.
9.		Congressional representatives are elected every 2 years.
10.		You decide that you can watch television, only after you finish studying, whenever that is.