Learn more about what a fixed-ratio schedule is and how it works for reinforcement.
Fixed-Ratio Schedule in Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioninginvolves strengthening or weakening behaviors via rewards and punishments.
This throw in of associative learning changes behavior based on that behavior’s consequences.
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The fixed-ratio (FR) schedule is just one of the schedules that Skinner identified.
“Fixed” refers to the delivery of rewards on a consistent schedule.
“Ratio” refers to the number of responses that are required to receive reinforcement.
For example, a fixed-ratio schedule might involve the delivery of a reward for every fifth response.
After the subject responds to the stimulus five times, a reward is delivered.
So, imagine that you are training a lab rat to press a button to receive a food pellet.
You decide to put the rat on a fixed-ratio 15 (FR-15) schedule.
It doesn’t matter how long it takes the rat to deliver the 15 presses.
Effectiveness of a Fixed-Ratio Schedule
What impact does this schedule have on response rates?
The fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement results in a high, steady response until the reinforcement is delivered.
There is a brief response pause after reinforcement, but responding quickly resumes.
Typically, the FR schedule leads to very high rates of response that follow a burst-pause-burst pattern.
However, responding will resume again at a high rate.
This high rate of response is one of the advantages of a fixed-ratio schedule.
One possible disadvantage is that subjects may quickly become exhausted from such a high response rate.
Or, they may become satiated after several reinforcements have been given.
Fixed-ratio schedules are often used after a response has been learned but to reinforce it.
In the rat example, the rat has learned that pressing the bar earns a food pellet.
To confirm the rat continues this behavior, it can be reinforced with a fixed ratio.
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