Question

When Caleb was on the FI4-minute schedule, he would receive access to a favorite toy delivered by a behavior technician or a parent after 4 minutes. The team moved him to a variable interval schedule of reinforcement of 4 minutes. What variable interval schedule reflects VI4-minutes across 5 data recording opportunities?

a. VI4 (Variable Interval 4).
b. VI8 (Variable Interval 8).
c. VI12 (Variable Interval 12).
d. VI16 (Variable Interval 16).

Answer 1

The variable interval schedule that reflects VI4-minutes across 5 data recording opportunities is VI12 (Variable Interval 12).

Step-by-step explanation:

The variable interval schedule that reflects VI4-minutes across 5 data recording opportunities is c. VI12 (Variable Interval 12).

In a variable interval reinforcement schedule, the person or animal receives reinforcement based on varying amounts of time, which are unpredictable. The reinforcement is delivered after a variable and unpredictable period of time has passed since the last reinforcement. Since the team moved Caleb to a variable interval schedule of 4 minutes, the reinforcement will be delivered after varying intervals of time ranging between 4 minutes.

In this case, VI12 (Variable Interval 12) reflects a variable interval schedule where the reinforcement is delivered after an average interval of 12 minutes. This schedule aligns with the VI4 (Variable Interval 4) schedule provided in the question, as the intervals are variable but still within the same range.