The effects of reinforcer magnitude in the preceding and upcoming ratios on between‐ratio pausing in multiple, mixed, and single fixed‐ratio schedules
Reinforcer size and its signaling alter post-reinforcement pausing in ways that depend on ratio size and schedule type.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Young et al. (2017) tested how the size of the last reinforcer and the next reinforcer change the pause after reinforcement.
They used pigeons pecking under fixed-ratio schedules. Sometimes the schedule signaled the next ratio size and reinforcer size, sometimes it did not.
They compared single, mixed, and multiple FR schedules to see when these variables matter.
What they found
Pauses grew shorter when a big reinforcer was coming next. Pauses grew longer when the last reinforcer had been big.
These effects only showed up in multiple and mixed schedules where birds could see the upcoming condition.
In a single FR schedule, reinforcer size had no effect on pausing.
How this fits with other research
Zimmerman (1969) first showed that bigger reinforcers shorten the pause. Young et al. (2017) extends that work by showing the pause also tracks the upcoming reinforcer size and whether the change is signaled.
Harris et al. (2012) used the same design but swapped reinforcer size for reinforcer delay. Both studies find that signaling the upcoming event controls pausing, supporting the same rule: what comes next matters as much as what just happened.
Halpern et al. (1966) showed that larger FR sizes alone lengthen pauses. Young et al. (2017) refines that rule: magnitude and signaling can speed up or slow down the pause on top of ratio size.
Why it matters
Your client’s pause after reinforcement is not just about the last treat. It is also about the size of the next treat and whether you signaled the change.
If you need faster re-engagement, signal a richer upcoming reinforcer. If you want a brief break, keep the next reinforcer small or unsignaled.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Hens responded under multiple fixed-ratio schedules with equal response requirements and either a 1-s or a 6-s reinforcer. Upcoming reinforcer size was indicated by key color. Components were presented in a quasirandom series so that all four component transitions occurred. Postreinforcement pauses were affected by the upcoming and preceding reinforcer size, with longer pauses after large reinforcers followed by small reinforcers than when followed by large ones, and longer pauses after small reinforcers that were followed by small reinforcers rather than large ones. Pauses increased with fixed-ratio size and the effects of reinforcer size were larger the larger the ratio. When reinforcer size was not signaled-mixed fixed-ratio schedules-pauses were shorter after small than after large reinforcers. Signalling the upcoming reinforcer attenuated the effect of the previous reinforcer size on pause duration when small was followed by small and when either small or large by large, but enhanced the effect when large was followed by small. There was no effect of reinforcer size on pause duration when single fixed-ratio schedules were arranged. The effects of reinforcer size on pauses depends on the size and range of the fixed ratios as well as the exact procedures used in the study.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 2017 · doi:10.1002/jeab.290