Professor Jackson periodically gives his students pop quizzes on the reading assignments.To encourage students to complete the reading assignments,the schedule of reinforcement he should use for the pop quizzes is a ________ schedule.
A) fixed interval
B) fixed ratio
C) variable interval
D) variable ratio

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A variable ratio schedule is the most effective schedule of reinforcement for encouraging long-term behavior. This is because the reinforcement is delivered after a varying number of responses, which makes the behavior more resistant to extinction than with other schedules. In this case, if Professor Jackson uses a variable ratio schedule for pop quizzes, students will not know when to expect the quiz, and will be more likely to complete the readings in order to increase their chances of being prepared for the quiz.

Professor Jackson Periodically Gives His Students Pop Quizzes on the Reading