Definition
In a second-order schedule of reinforcement, a contingency arrangement under which a series of responses under a schedule of conditioned reinforcement is treated as a unit response under a second schedule that is simultaneously in effect. For example, under a second-order fixed-ratio 10 schedule of food delivery with fixed-ratio 5 units, every fifth response produces a conditioned reinforcer (e.g., a visual stimulus), and the completion of the tenth fixed-ratio 5 units produces the conditioned reinforcer accompanied by food delivery.
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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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(2015). Second-Order Schedules. In: Stolerman, I.P., Price, L.H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36172-2_200764
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36172-2_200764
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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