Inventory System

Schedules of Reinforcement

Continuous Reinforcement schedule – when a reinforcer is delivered every time a particular response occurs.

Partial or intermittent reinforcement schedule – reinforcement is administered only some of the time

There are four types of intermittent reinforcement

1.Fixed- Ratio (FR) schedule- This provides reinforcement following a fixed number of responses.

2.Variable Ratio (VR) Schedule- This schedule gives reinforcement only after making a certain number of responses but that number varies unpredictably.

3. Fixed interval (FI) schedule- This schedule gives reinforcement for the first response that occurs after some fixed time has passed since the last reward, regardless of how many responses have been made during the interval.

4. Variable Interval (VI) schedule- This provides reinforcement for the first response after some period of time, but the amount of time varies.

The use of negative Reinforcement

While we have focused on the effects of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement also increases the frequency of behavior but uses an aversive or unpleasant stimulus.

2 examples of negative reinforcement are:

1.In Escape Learning- an organism increases a particular behavior to end or escape from an aversive stimulus.

2.In Avoidance Learning- a warning stimulus signals an aversive stimulus and the organism learns to avoid it by emitting the appropriate response to the warning stimulus.

The use of Punishment

* means to eliminate undesirable behavior.

2 kinds of Punishment :

1.Positive

2.Negative

Social Learning

Human learning does not take place only through the principles of habituation, classical and operant conditioning. Most of us learn when we are with other people. Thus, social learning theorists highlight the fact that people can learn from the experiences of others.

Albert Bandura came up with several processes of learning as follows:

1.Vicarious Conditioning- It is a process of learning by seeing or hearing...