An Alternative Schedule of Reinforcement involves two or more concurrently active component schedules, and reinforcement is delivered when the responseA response is a single occurrence or instance of a behavi... criteria of any one of these schedules is met. The schedules operate on an either/or basis, meaning the individual can satisfy any one of the active schedules to receive reinforcement. Once reinforcement is delivered, all schedules reset, and the individual can work toward meeting the criteria of any of the component schedules again.
Example
A teacher sets up an alternative schedule for a student during classwork. The student can either:
- Complete 10 math problems (fixed ratio schedule), or
- Stay on task for 5 minutes (fixed interval schedule). Whichever criterion is met first, the student receives reinforcement (e.g., a token). After receiving the token, both schedules reset, and the student can either complete another 10 problems or stay on task for another 5 minutes to earn the next reinforcement.