You are doing homework. Your mother drops in at random times and gives you a treat if she finds you have been studying. What reinforcement schedule does she have you on?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The reinforcement schedule that the mother has the child on is a variable interval schedule. This is because the reward (treat) is given at random times, but is still contingent upon the behavior of studying. A fixed schedule would be giving the treat after a specific amount of time or number of studying sessions, while a variable ratio would be giving the treat after a random number of studying sessions.

You Are Doing Homework