second-order schedule

a schedule of reinforcement in which the units counted are not single responses but completions of a particular reinforcement schedule (the unit schedule). For example, in a second-order fixed-ratio 5 of fixed-interval 30-second schedule [FR 5 (FI 30 seconds)], reinforcement is delivered only after five successive FI 30-second schedules have been completed. Often, a brief stimulus of some sort is presented on completion of each unit schedule.

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Psychology term of the day

January 13th 2025

genetic psychology

the study of the development of mental functions in children and their transformation across the lifespan. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term was preferred over the synonymous developmental psychology.