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 behavior of checking his electronic mail is being reinforced on
A) a variable-interval schedule.
B) a fixed-ratio schedule.
C) a fixed-interval schedule.
D) a variable-ratio schedule.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In a variable-interval schedule, the reinforcement (in this case, receiving new messages) occurs at unpredictable times, which makes the behavior (checking email) more resistant to extinction. This is consistent with Josiah's behavior of checking his email several times throughout the day, even though new messages may not arrive every time he checks. A fixed-ratio schedule would require a specific number of responses before reinforcement is given, which does not fit the pattern described for Josiah. A fixed-interval schedule would reinforce the behavior only after a certain amount of time has passed, regardless of the number of responses, which also does not fit the pattern described for Josiah. A variable-ratio schedule would reinforce the behavior after an unpredictable number of responses, which is also not consistent with Josiah's behavior of checking email a certain number of times per day.

Josiah Checks His Electronic Mail Several Times Throughout the Day