Josiah checks his electronic mail several times throughout the day. Some days there is mail each time he checks; sometimes several days go by with no new messages arriving. In this example, Josiah's behaviour of checking his electronic mail is being reinforced on

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Josiah's behaviour of checking his electronic mail is being reinforced on a variable-interval schedule because he is checking his email several times throughout the day, but sometimes there is no reinforcement (i.e. new messages) and other times there is reinforcement (i.e. new messages). This is consistent with a variable-interval schedule, in which reinforcement is provided after a variable amount of time has elapsed between responses.

Josiah Checks His Electronic Mail Several Times Throughout the Day