To add another layer of complexity, what happens when someone's email program queries the server at a set rate(i.e. every 5 minutes or every 15 minutes, and so forth depending on the setting)?
Carol > On Jul 14, 2015, at 10:51 AM, Michael Ofsowitz <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > The "IF" suggests variable reinforcement rather than fixed or continuous; the > unpredictability of a rewarding consequence is what makes the schedule > variable. > > The "HOW MANY... I MIGHT" refers to the magnitude of the reinforcer. A larger > reinforcer is generally more effective than a smaller reinforcer. (A beggar > asking for spare cash might get a quarter, might get $20.) > > Notice what Ken asked: Does the frequency of your behavior change the > likelihood of getting a reward? If so, then it is a ratio (of actions to > reward); if not, it is an interval (of time passing before an action can > elicit a reward). > > Can you (or an observer) predict how many times you have to commit the > behavior before you get a reward? If so, it is fixed or continuous, and if > not it is variable. > > So, checking one's device for a message: everyone has been calling this VI, > assuming that the rate of checking one's phone cannot change the presence or > absence of a message. That is true. But as Claudia said, the real world is > complex: for most teens and 20-somethings, it may be continuous > reinforcement: the many possible feeds (text, FB, Instawhatever), the > stimulus of the phone vibrating, make it likely that a person gets a reward > (a new message) every time the phone is checked. (The thread began wondering > why one's son would check the phone so soon after getting out of a swimming > pool. For this kid I would suspect the past history of intervals between > messages is much shorter than the time spent in the pool; also, the magnitude > is rather high for many of these kids: social > inclusion/acceptance/validation, risk of rejection for not replying, etc. > If those conditions are true, there's good reason to predict the behavior > following an hour in the pool.) > > Think about an old-fashioned land-line: is answering the phone continuously > reinforced or VI? I'd say S^D is the ringing and answering is the R that is > rewarded with a voice on the other end (ignore robo calls and caller-ID for > this example). The S^D is not the phone on the wall (and I don't randomly > pick up the receiver to see if there's someone on the other end). To set up a > true VI with the smart phone, one would have to turn off all the signalling > (rings, vibrations) from the phone. > > Now, posting to Instagram, I imagine is rewarded by some returned "like" > symbol or a written response: you are more likely to have something liked if > you post more often (unless it's one of those forums where everything is > liked by someone), so this is VR. (Ignore the behavior of checking the phone > for replies.) But what R is being rewarded? The act of posting? (You'll do it > more often.) The aiming of your camera? (You'll take more popular pictures.) > The generalized exposing your private experiences to the public? (You'll > become a social media extrovert and smartphone addict like the rest of them.) > > --> Mike O. > Monroe Community College > >> On 7/14/15 1:00 AM, Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) digest >> wrote: >> So because I don’t know IF or HOW MANY responses I MIGHT get from any >> particular instagram post, I’m on a VI schedule - correct? >> >> >> Michael >> >> Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. >> [email protected] >> http://www.ThePsychFiles.com >> Twitter: @mbritt > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=177920.a45340211ac7929163a0216244443341&n=T&l=tips&o=45924 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-45924-177920.a45340211ac7929163a0216244443...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=45929 or send a blank email to leave-45929-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
