Asked by Amanda Caldwell on Jun 19, 2024
Verified
An executive in a computer software firm works with his office door closed. At the same time every hour he opens the door to see what his employees are doing. The employees have learned to work especially hard during the five minutes before and while the door is open. Their work pattern is typical of responses that are reinforced on a ________ schedule.
A) fixed-interval
B) fixed-ratio
C) variable-ratio
D) variable-interval
Fixed-Interval
In operant conditioning, a schedule of reinforcement where rewards are presented at fixed time intervals, as long as the appropriate response is made.
Variable-Interval
A schedule of reinforcement where rewards are given after unpredictable time intervals, in the context of behavior conditioning.
Fixed-Ratio
A schedule of reinforcement where a response is rewarded only after a specified number of responses, encouraging a high, stable rate of responding.
- Acquire knowledge of and discern between various reinforcement schedules, namely fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval.
Verified Answer
NG
Ny'Keria GibsonJun 22, 2024
Final Answer :
A
Explanation :
In a fixed-interval schedule, a reinforcement is given after a specific amount of time has passed since the last reinforcement. In this scenario, the executive opens his door at the same time every hour, which means the employees are being reinforced on a fixed-interval schedule. They work harder just before and while the door is open because they know that reinforcement (in the form of the executive's approval or attention) is imminent.
Learning Objectives
- Acquire knowledge of and discern between various reinforcement schedules, namely fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval.