The more lottery tickets you buy, the greater your chances of winning. However, you have no way of knowing how many tickets you will have to buy before you win. It might be fewer than ten; it might be more than a million. This is an example of which type of schedule of reinforcement?

Question

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This is an example of a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement, where the reinforcement (winning the lottery) occurs on an unpredictable basis after a certain number of responses (buying lottery tickets). This is different from a fixed ratio schedule, where the reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses, or a fixed interval schedule, where reinforcement occurs after a fixed amount of time. A variable interval schedule involves reinforcement occurring on an unpredictable basis after a certain amount of time has elapsed, which does not apply in this scenario. Therefore, B is the best choice.

The More Lottery Tickets You Buy, the Greater Your Chances