Variable Ratio Reinforcement and Differential Reinforcement

Abstract

Patterns of operant emission produced by intermittent reinforcement schedules have been explored extensively by numerous investigators (3). The result has been a general conclusion that variable ratio reinforcement schedules are more applicable to social behavior and, in addition, produce higher and more stable operant emissions (2). While a rationale has been provided for the applicability of variable ratio reinforcement to social behavior, it is significant that there has not been an adequate explanation for the higher efficiency of variable ratio reinforcement. Such an explanation seems imperative in view of the general acceptance of the effects of differential reinforcement which suggest that the emission of a particular operant rather than otherr which would produce the same reinforcer is some function of thai operant's ability to produce the reinforcer in a greater amount, at a higher frequency and with a higher probability.' If differential reinforcement is logically faithful to the basic assumptions underlying operant theory, it seems that conclusions drawn about the efficiency of any intermittent schedule must be altered. Illustratively, given several different operants all of which produce the same reinforcer, and all linked to different intermittent reinforcement schedules, the future occurrence of any one of the operants should be a function of whether its production of the reinforcer more closely approximates continuous reinforcement than the others. Thus, under certain conditions, e.g., when intervals between reinforcements are sufficiently attenuated, a FI schedule might be much more efficient than VR schedules, VI schedules or DRL schedules. Succinctly, regardless of the reinforcement schedule employed, that operant linked with the schedule producing the greatest amount, frequency, and probability of reinforcement should be the operant most likely to occur-the schedule linked with the operant, defined as most efficient. Commensurately, the most important variable to be considered regarding reinforcement schedules is not the generic type, but rather, the degree to which the schedule employed provides reinforcement on a continuous basis prior to the onset of satiation.