Albert has a beautiful garden in his backyard and notices that hummingbirds feed on the flowers at the same time each day in order to get the most nectar.The hummingbirds are being rewarded for their feeding behavior on a ________ schedule of reinforcement.
A) fixed ratio
B) variable ratio
C) fixed interval
D) variable interval

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that the hummingbirds are feeding at the same time each day suggests that they are being reinforced on a fixed interval schedule. In this type of schedule, reinforcement is delivered after a fixed amount of time has elapsed since the last reinforcement, regardless of how much behavior has been emitted during that time. In this case, the hummingbirds receive nectar after a fixed interval of time (i.e. one day), which results in them showing up at the same time each day to engage in feeding behavior. The other types of reinforcement schedules (fixed ratio, variable ratio, and variable interval) would not explain why the hummingbirds consistently feed at the same time each day.

Albert Has a Beautiful Garden in His Backyard and Notices