A Mixed Schedule of Reinforcement involves the presentation of two or more basic schedules of reinforcement that alternate in an unpredictable sequence, but without any clear discriminative stimuli (SDs) to signal which schedule is currently active. This means the individual does not receive explicit cues about which reinforcement schedule is in place at any given moment, making it different from multiple schedules, where each component has its own distinct SD.
Example:
In a classroom setting, a teacher uses a mixed schedule to reinforce a student’s on-task behaviorBehavior refers to any activity or action that living organ.... Sometimes, the student receives reinforcement after a fixed number of math problems (fixed ratio schedule), and other times, reinforcement is given after a variable amount of time spent on-task (variable interval schedule). However, there are no signals or cues (SDs) to indicate which schedule is in effect at any given time. The student must continue the behavior without knowing when reinforcement will occur.