American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Practice Exam

Providing intermittent positive reinforcement effectively strengthens the desired behavior by making it more resilient to extinction. In operant conditioning, reinforcing a behavior only some of the time—rather than every time—creates a situation in which the individual continues to perform the behavior despite not receiving reinforcement on every occasion. This unpredictability enhances the likelihood that the behavior will persist even in the absence of immediate rewards.

Intermittent reinforcement schedules, such as variable ratio or variable interval schedules, are particularly powerful because they create a sense of uncertainty and excitement about when the reinforcement might occur, leading to greater engagement in the behavior. This is why behaviors learned under conditions of intermittent reinforcement are often more robust and endure longer than those reinforced consistently.

In contrast, behaviors reinforced continuously may extinguish more quickly once the reinforcement ceases, as the individual can easily discern the absence of immediate reward. This highlights the effectiveness of intermittent reinforcement not only in maintaining behavior but also in preventing extinction.