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Midterm Assignment

Question number 1 : Briefly explain and differentiate the reinforcement schedules of the operant conditioning theory of learning .

Answer :

Before answer this question , we need to know what reinforcement means . Reinforcement is a term in operant conditioning and behavior analysis for a process of strengthening a directly measurable dimension of behavior , such as rate , duration , magnitude or latency as a function of the delivery of a stimulus immediately or shortly after the occurrence of the behavior . Reinforcement is only said to have occurred if the delivery of the stimulus is directly caused by the response made. Although in many cases in human behavior a reinforcing stimulus is something which is "valued" by the individual or which the individual "likes,"  this is not a requirement for reinforcing effects. Indeed, reinforcement doesn't even require an individual to consciously perceive an effect elicited by the stimulus . Furthermore, stimuli that are "rewarding" or "liked" aren't always reinforcing: if an individual eats McDonald's (response) and likes the taste (stimulus), but believes it is bad for their health, they may not eat it again and thus it was not reinforcing in that condition .

Response strength is assessed by measuring the frequency, duration, latency, accuracy, and/or persistence of the response after reinforcement stops. Early experimental behavior analysts measured the rate of responses as a primary demonstration of learning and performance in non-humans (e.g., the number of times a pigeon pecks a key in a 10-minute session).

Reinforcement schedules :

* Fixed ratio (FR) – schedules deliver reinforcement after every nth response.

* Variable ratio schedule (VR) – a reinforcement schedule in which the number of responses necessary to produce reinforcement varies from trial to trial.

* Fixed interval (FI) – reinforced after every nth amount of time.

* Variable interval (VI) – reinforced on an...