Dennis buys a lottery ticket every Saturday,using the same set of numbers.Although he has only won $25 on one occasion,he keeps buying the tickets.In fact,he's a little afraid that if he doesn't buy a ticket,that would be the one that would win really big.The fact that Dennis seems addicted to buying lottery tickets is a common characteristic of which schedule of reinforcement?
A)fixed ratio
B)fixed interval
C)variable ratio
D)variable interval

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The behavior of buying lottery tickets is being reinforced on a variable ratio schedule, meaning that the reinforcement (winning the lottery) occurs after an unpredictable number of ticket purchases. This is the most addictive schedule of reinforcement because the person never knows when they will be rewarded, so they continue to engage in the behavior despite a low likelihood of payoff. Dennis's belief that not buying a ticket would result in missing out on a big win also indicates that he is exhibiting a form of superstitious behavior, which is common with variable ratio reinforcement schedules.

Dennis Buys a Lottery Ticket Every Saturday,using the Same Set