This is a sequence of animations broken into five parts on the topic of Schedules of Reinforcement.

1. Part 1 of 5: An animation of two rats depicting the difference between continuous reinforcement and partial reinforcement. In the animation, the rats press a response bar and a reinforced with food.
2. The on-screen text says "In operant conditioning, there are two primary ways in which reinforcement can be delivered. In continuous reinforcement, shown above with the rat on the left, a specific response is reinforced each and every time that response is made. In partial reinforcement, shown above with the rat on the right, a specific response is reinforced only some of the time when that response is made."
3. Part 2 of 5: A 2 by 2 table with each quadrant containing a description of a partial reinforcement schedule. In this part, ratio schedules are described.
4. The on-screen text says "Partial reinforcement schedules can be set up as ratio schedules or interval schedules. Ratio schedules require the organism to make the designated response a certain number of times to earn each reinforcer. In a fixed-ratio (FR) schedule the reinforcer is delivered after a fixed, or constant, number of responses. For example, a rat is reinforced for every sixth lever press. In a variable-ratio (VR) schedule the reinforcer is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses that varies around a planned average. For example, a rat is reinforced for every sixth lever press on average."
5. Part 3 of 5: A 2 by 2 table with each quadrant containing a description of a partial reinforcement schedule. In this part, interval schedules schedules are described.
6. The on-screen text says "Interval schedules require a time period to pass between the presentation of reinforcers. In a fixed-interval (FI) schedule the reinforcer is delivered for the first response after a fixed time period has elapsed since the last reward. For example, a rat is reinforced for the first lever press after 3 minutes have elapsed since the last reward. In a variable-interval (VI) schedule the reinforcer is delivered for the first response after unpredictable time periods have elapsed since the last reward. For example, a rat is reinforced for the first lever press after unpredictable intervals that average 3 minutes. "
7. Part 4 of 5: An animation of a rat and an animated graph of the rat's behavior. The rat is pressing a response bar and being reinforced reinforced with food.
8. The on-screen text says "The results of operant conditioning studies are usually portrayed in graphs where the horizontal axis marks the passage of time and the vertical axis plots accumulated responses. In these graphs, shallow slopes reflect relatively slow responding, whereas steeper slopes indicate more rapid responding."
9. Part 5 of 5: This final part of the animated sequence includes a description and animated graph of each of the partial reinforcement schedules.
10. The on-screen text says "Click the buttons to see how each type of schedule produces different characteristic patterns of responding. Fixed-ratio schedules tend to produce rapid responding with brief pauses after each reinforcement. Variable-ratio schedules tend to produce rapid, steady responding with very few pauses. Fixed-interval schedules tend to produce moderate response rates with long pauses after each reinforcement and rapid responding near the end of each interval yielding a “scalloping” effect. Variable-interval schedules tend to produce moderate response rates and steady responding with few pauses."
11. End of animated sequence.