Good points!

On Jul 13, 2015, at 9:40 AM, Ken Steele <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi Michael:
> 
> First, notice that you have switched to a new response.  You are now posting 
> text or pictures and you hope that your posts will produce more emails or 
> likes or whatever.
> 
> The previous analysis still applies.  Assume that you post 4 pictures to 
> Instagram and you get one response.  The question is what happens when you 
> post 8 pictures in about the same amount of time.  If 8 pictures produce two 
> responses then you are talking about a VR type of schedule.  If posting 8 
> pictures and then 16 pictures still produce only one response then you are 
> dealing with a VI schedule.
> 
> One point worth mentioning is that a common reason why students have problems 
> doing such analyses is that they switch responses in the middle of an 
> analysis.  I have students do a lot of mother-daughter and father-son 
> interactions from the perspective of both actors to help them learn to resist 
> changing the response in the middle of an analysis.
> Ken
> 
> 
> On 7/13/2015 8:41 AM, Michael Britt wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>   
>> Good explanation Ken.  So checking email (or Instagram, etc.) appears to be 
>> a VI kind of thing - an uncertain amount of time passes and new email (a 
>> reinforcer) arrives.  But, just for the fun of it, let me add in a wrinkle: 
>> take Instagram: I don’t necessarily have to do anything - except for 
>> initially following people when I sign up - but if I post a picture on 
>> Instagram (or write a post on TIPS I suppose) then the chances of me getting 
>> a response are increased. So that involves a behavior (posting a text or an 
>> image).  Still VI?
>> 
>> Michael
>> 
>> Michael A. Britt, Ph.D.
>> [email protected]
>> http://www.ThePsychFiles.com
>> Twitter: @mbritt
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Jul 7, 2015, at 8:09 AM, Kenneth Steele <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> There is an easy trick to distinguish between VI and VR schedules.  First, 
>>> imagine a FR 25 schedule.  If you double your response rate then you will 
>>> double your reinforcement rate.  The same rule applies to a VR 25 schedule. 
>>>  On the other hand, imagine a FI 60 sec schedule.  What happens if you 
>>> double your response rate?  The reinforcement rate will remain about 
>>> constant because the 60-sec rule must be satisfied for either case.
>>> 
>>> The easy way to distinguish between a VI and a VR reinforcement schedule is 
>>> to imagine the effect of doubling your response rate.  If the reinforcement 
>>> rate doubles then you are dealing with a VR schedule.  If the reinforcement 
>>> rate remains about constant then you are dealing with a VI schedule.
>>> 
>>> Applying that rule to slot machines and email gives you the following.  
>>> Doubling the rate at which you enter coins into a slot machine will double 
>>> the rate at which you receive the consequence, hence a VR schedule.  
>>> Doubling the rate at which you check your email will not double the number 
>>> of emails that you receive, hence a VI schedule.
>>> 
>>> Ken
>>> 
>>> On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 6:41 PM, Beth Benoit <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> I have a video of an interview of Skinner talking about variable ratio 
>>> schedules as being well exemplified by slot machines.  Wouldn't checking 
>>> for messages be the same thing?  Sometimes you get one, sometimes you 
>>> don't.  But not getting one doesn't make you less likely to check.  And 
>>> sometimes getting one makes you more likely to check.
>>> 
>>> Beth Benoit
>>> Plymouth State University
>>> Plymouth, New Hampshire
>>> 
>>> On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 6:35 PM, Michael Britt <[email protected]> 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> Parents know how hard it can be for kids to stay away from their social 
>>> media connections - be it facebook, instagram or Snapchat.  As soon as my 
>>> 15-year old gets out of swim practice it’s the first thing he does.  After 
>>> all, there might be a message for him.  This would be variable interval 
>>> reinforcement if I’m correct - he doesn’t have to actually do anything but 
>>> a new message (reinforcer) might have arrived.
>>> 
>>> It seems pretty darn powerful, which seems weird because I’ve always 
>>> thought of variable interval reinforcers as weak.  Thoughts?
>>>    
>>> Michael

Paul Brandon
Emeritus Professor of Psychology
Minnesota State University, Mankato
[email protected]




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