Behavior Bubbles

A common question I have been asked recently would be with regards to reinforcement schedules. It is important to know which schedule to use as it serves as a guide how often the learner would contact reinforcement, affecting how quickly the learner would learn the targeted skill/ behavior.

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There are 4 types of reinforcement schedules. These schedules are fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval. In this post, I will go more into details about each schedule and provide examples of each.

Fixed Ratio (FR)
A fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement means that reinforcement is only delivered after a fixed number of correct responses.

A fixed ration of 1 (i.e. FR-1) is considered a continuous schedule of reinforcement. This means that the client would contact reinforcement after every correct response. This schedule (FR-1) is what most clients new to ABA therapy, doing a difficult task, and/or beginning a new program start with before this schedule is thinned.

A fixed ratio of 3 (i.e. FR-3) would imply that the client would only contact reinforcement after every 3rd correct response. For example, stand up (instruction 1), say ‘ah’ (instruction 2), ‘copy me’-imitation (instruction 3) would result in a reinforcer being given should the client follow all instructions correctly and independently.

Fixed ratio schedules typically produce high rates of response as a quicker response would result in a quicker contact of the withheld reinforcer. However, the client tends to have a postreinforcement pause (a decrease in rate of responding after receiving reinforcement) as they know they have to get a certain number of responses before getting reinforced again.

Variable Ratio (VR)
A variable ratio schedule of reinforcement means that reinforcement is only delivered after an unpredictable number of correct responses.

A variable ratio of 3 (i.e. VR-3) would imply that the client would contact reinforcement on an average of 3 correct responses. For example, should the client contact reinforcement on the 1st response, the 4th response, the 2nd response and the 5th response. This means that the client has had a total of 12 correct responses (i.e.1+4+2+5 = 12) and has garnered reinforcement a total of 4 times (i.e. count number of italicised responses). An average of this would be 3 (i.e. 12/3 = 3), resulting in a VR-3 schedule.

Another example would be a variable ratio of 7 (i.e. VR-7). This would imply that the client would contact reinforcement on an average of 7 correct responses. For example, should the client contact reinforcement on the 9th response, the 7th response, the 5th response, 6th response and the 8th response. This means that the client has had a total of 12 correct responses (i.e.9+7+5+6+8 =35 ) and has garnered reinforcement a total of 5 times. An average of this would be 3 (i.e. 35/5 = 7), resulting in a VR-7 schedule.

Variable ratio schedules produce a quick rate of response but does not have a postreinforcement pause as the client does not know which response will result in the reinforcement.

Fixed Interval (FI)
A fixed interval schedule of reinforcement means that reinforcement is only delivered following the first correct response after a fixed amount of time has passed.

A fixed interval of 3 minutes (i.e. FI-3 mins) would imply that the client would only contact reinforcement on the first correct response after 3 minutes have passed. For example, the client would be doing tasks for 3 minutes. The client gets an instruction correct after the 3rd minute “clap”. The client receives the reinforcer and the cycle is restarted (i.e. 3 minutes).

Fixed interval schedules tend to have slow to moderate rates of response. It tends to be observed that there would be a postreinforcement pause during the earlier part of the interval (when the reinforcement cycle is restarted) and increases the closer to the end of the interval (when the correct response would result in the reinforcer).

Variable Interval (VI)
A variable interval schedule of reinforcement means that reinforcement is only delivered following the first correct response after an unpredictable amount of time has passed.

A variable interval of 3 minutes (i.e. VI-3 min) would imply that the client would contact reinforcement on the first correct response after an average of 3 minutes. For example, should the client contact reinforcement on the first correct response after the 1st minute, the 4th minute, the 2nd minute and the 5th minute. This means that the client has had a total of 12 minutes of instruction time (i.e.1+4+2+5 = 12) and has garnered reinforcement a total of 4 times (i.e. count number of italicised minutes). An average of this would be 3 (i.e. 12/3 = 3), resulting in a VI-3 min schedule.

Variable interval schedules tend to have low to moderate rates of response. The larger the interval, the lower the rate of response.

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It is important to work towards thinning the schedule of reinforcement (i.e. FR-3 to FR-5 to FR-?) and working towards natural contingencies resulting in the reinforcement (i.e. praise from parents for scoring well in an exam, high-5s and praises from your teammates when scoring a goal, getting paid your salary after working for the month, etc.) instead of contriving a reinforcer that may not be suitable for the situation (i.e. providing bubbles or edibles each time a desired behavior is observed). This is the aim of ABA providers and will come with time.

I hope that this post helped you to learn more about the types of reinforcement schedules. Should have you any questions or want to know more about other topics, please leave a comment below!