PSYCH 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Reinforcement, Reward System
Document Summary
Partial/intermittent reinforcement: occasional reinforcement of a response. Fixed ratio: reward for a behavior after x responses. Produces high rates of responding, but quick extinction when the reinforcement is removed. E. g. after rats do 5 pushes on a lever, then they will get a reinforcement (food) rats saw a pattern in which they would push the lever x number of times and get their food But after that, they would do nothing (fiddle with their food, scratch themselves, etc. ) Variable ratio: reward for a behavior after a variable and unpredictable number of responses. Gambling is a great example of this reward system. It is very hard to distinguish after the connection is made. E. g. in this case, rats became frantic as they kept on pushing on the lever many many times without rest . In humans, we see this same behavior in gambling in las.
