Reinforcement Principles and Schedules Flashcards

During extinction, which phenomenon involves a temporary increase in the frequency or intensity of the target behavior?

Answer: Extinction burst

An extinction burst is the temporary increase in behavior that often occurs when reinforcement is first withheld.

A teacher stops responding to a student's hand-raising (which was previously reinforced) until the student stops raising their hand. Later, the hand-raising reappears briefly without re-training. This is called:

Answer: Spontaneous recovery

Spontaneous recovery is the temporary reappearance of an extinguished behavior after a period of time without training.

Ratio strain is most likely to occur when:

Answer: The ratio requirement is increased too rapidly

Ratio strain results from increasing the response requirement too quickly, causing the behavior to break down or cease.

Which schedule produces a steady, consistent rate of responding with no post-reinforcement pause?

Answer: Variable ratio

Variable ratio schedules produce high, steady response rates because the next reinforcer could come after any number of responses.

To gradually transition a learner from continuous to intermittent reinforcement without losing the behavior, an RBT should:

Answer: Gradually increase the response or time requirement in small steps

Thinning reinforcement schedules gradually in small increments prevents ratio strain and maintains responding during the transition.

Which of the following is true about negative reinforcement?

Answer: It increases behavior by removing an aversive stimulus

Negative reinforcement strengthens behavior by removing, reducing, or avoiding an aversive stimulus contingent on that behavior.

An RBT notices that a client's problem behavior is maintained by escape from demands. The RBT then teaches the client to request a break instead. This uses which reinforcement-based principle?

Answer: Functional Communication Training using negative reinforcement

Functional Communication Training (FCT) replaces problem behavior with a communicative response that accesses the same reinforcer — in this case, escape (negative reinforcement).