A department store decides to use "secret shoppers" at unannounced times to test for service quality among its personnel. Store personnel are rewarded for providing excellent customer service. Which reinforcement schedule has been used in this situation?
A) fixed-ratio reinforcement
B) fixed-interval reinforcement
C) variable-frequency reinforcement
D) variable-interval reinforcement

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The use of "secret shoppers" at unannounced times corresponds to a variable-interval reinforcement schedule. This means that the reinforcement (reward for excellent customer service) is given after an unpredictable amount of time has passed, which encourages consistent performance because employees do not know when the next evaluation will occur.

A Department Store Decides to Use "Secret Shoppers" at Unannounced