In daily life, learning is usually based on partial reinforcement. Most of our responses are not consistently rewarded. May be given in a number of patterns, each of which affects responding. There are specific effects and there is a general effect. Partial reinforcement effect .
Responses acquired by partial reinforcement are highly resistant to extinction.
And, partial reinforcement includes long periods of nonreward, so it will be harder to discriminate between periods of reinforcement and extinction. Schedules of reinforcement . A rule or plan for determining which responses will be reinforced. Continuous reinforcement . A schedule in which every response is followed by a reinforcer.