Reading Guide

Directions: Read the required articles or book chapters listed below and complete the guided reading questions. Please ensure that you use complete sentences, proper punction, spelling, grammar, etc. There is no required length for answers, they can be 1-5 sentences long.

Rasmussen, E. B., Clay, C. J., Pierce, W. D., & Cheney, C. D. (2022). Behavior analysis and learning: A biobehavioral approach (7th ed.). Routledge.

• Killeen, P. R. (2023). Theory of reinforcement schedules. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 120(3), 289319.
• Sniffy the Rat Manual Chapter 12 (Schedules of Reinforcement)

Rasmussen et al Chapter 5

1. How do the authors define a schedule of reinforcement? [pg. 149]
2. What is the significance of Ferster and Skinners work on schedules of reinforcement? [pg. 149, Importance of Schedules of Reinforcement section]
3. What is a cumulative record, and what does its slope represent? [pg. 150, Cumulative Records section
4. Describe the break-and-run pattern observed on fixed-ratio schedules. [pg. 159, Fixed ratio section]
5. What is a postreinforcement pause (PRP), and what variables influence its length? [pg. 160, Fixed ratio section]
6. Compare response patterns on FR and VR schedules. Why is pausing reduced on VR schedules? [pg. 159 163; reduced pausing on pg 163]]
7. What is ratio strain, and when does it occur? [pg. 161]
8. How do fixed-interval schedules produce scalloping patterns? [pg. 164 Fixed interval section]
9. Why do variable-interval schedules often serve as baselines in research? [pg. 168]
10. How does resistance to extinction differ between CRF and intermittent schedules? [pg. 159}
11. What is behavioral momentum, and how does reinforcement rate influence it? [pg. 169 Note On: VI Schedules, Reinforcement Rate, and Behavioral Momentum section]
12. How do progressive-ratio schedules measure reinforcement efficacy? [pg. 171, Progressive Ratio Schedules section]
13. What applied implications do schedule effects have for human behavior (e.g., procrastination, contingency management)? [throughout the chapter]
14. How do transitions between schedules (e.g., CRF to FR 100) illustrate ratio strain? [pg. 174, Schedule Performance in Transitions section]
15. Why is response variability greater under intermittent schedules and extinction? [pg. 157, Response Stereotypy on CRF section]
16. What is resurgence, and how does it relate to extinction and variability? [pg. 158, Response Stereotypy on CRF section]

Killeen, 2023

1. What are the three fundamental principles of the Mathematical Principles of Reinforcement (MPR), and how do they organize behavior? [pg. 289, last paragraph; pg 290, Preview section]
2. How does MPR explain the relationship between reinforcement rate and arousal, and why is this concept central to schedule performance? [pg 291, Equation 1 and the description under Arousal
3. What is the role of the coupling coefficient in MPR, and how does it direct induced behavior toward target responses? [pg. 292295, Directions to the goal section + detailed treatment of the coupling coefficient on pg. 294295]
4. How does MPR account for pausing on ratio schedules, including the concept of proportional pausing? [pg. 298, Pausing subsection under ratio schedules]
5. In what ways does MPR explain differences in response rates between ratio and interval schedules? [pg. 297, Ratio schedules section; pg. 300, Interval schedules section]
6. How does MPR incorporate behavioral momentum and persistence under disruption into its theoretical framework? [pg. 302305, Behavioral momentum; specifically pg. 303]
7. What applied implications does MPR have for understanding reinforcement efficacy (e.g., progressive-ratio schedules, drug abuse liability)? [pg. 307 308]