The frequency of a certain behavior depends on the reinforcement or extinction of that behavior. In order to increase the frequency, you must reinforce the behavior. However, there are many varying schedules of reinforcement that will affect how a behavior occurs and the future frequency of it. A schedule of reinforcement is simply which responses will be followed with reinforcement and which will not.
There are two main schedules of reinforcement: continuous and extinction. A continuous schedule of reinforcement is when each and every instance of a certain behavior is rewarded with reinforcement; for example, when potty training, parents often reinforce each occurrence of when the child uses the toilet. The other schedule of reinforcement is extinction, or when no instance of a behavior is reinforced. These two different schedules of reinforcement contain the basic principles that other intermittent schedules of reinforcement derive from.
Intermittent schedules of reinforcement are when a behavior is reinforced, but not every time it occurs. While there are several types of intermittent schedules, the one that produces high and steady rates of responding is a variable ratio schedule. A variable ratio schedule is one in which the behavior is reinforced after a certain number of responses but the number of responses necessary to gain reinforcement can vary slightly. For example, when a therapist is working with a child, the therapist might reinforce the child after around every 10 responses. It does not have to be after exactly 10 every time and by doing so, there is no predictable pattern of reinforcement.
Schedules of reinforcement are used in different contexts and serve different purposes; for example, you would not have a variable ratio of reinforcement for potty training because the child would be reinforced after around the 10th time they use the toilet. They would not learn the new behavior! Continuous reinforcement is used to establish or strengthen behaviors while an intermittent schedule of reinforcement maintains previously learned behaviors. It is important to look at what the situation is and decide what the schedule of reinforcement should be depending on whether you are teaching a new behavior, maintaining motivation during a therapy session, or putting a behavior on extinction. Reinforcement is a crucial tool in Applied Behavior Analysis and when it used correctly on an appropriate schedule, it will increase the target behaviors while not reinforcing problem behaviors.
