On the First Trial, the Rat Had to Press the Bar

question 105

Multiple Choice

On the first trial, the rat had to press the bar three times to get a pellet of food. On the second trial, the rat had to press the bar seven times. Although the number of presses necessary continued to vary from trial to trial, on the average the rat was reinforced for every five bar presses. The rat is on a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

• A) fixed-interval
• B) fixed-ratio
• C) variable-ratio
• D) variable-interval

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Definitions:

Induced Consumption

Consumption that changes in response to changes in income or wealth, as opposed to autonomous consumption, which does not change when income changes.

Disposable Income

The amount of money that households have available for spending and saving after income taxes have been deducted.

Average Propensity

The average tendency of an entity (such as a household) to spend a portion of income; can pertain to consumption or saving.

Disposable Income

Disposable income is the portion of an individual's or household's earnings left over for savings and expenditures after paying off income taxes.