Which reinforcement schedule is the most productive and the most resistant to extinction?

1. Extinction in operant conditioning sets in once reinforcement stops, and how fast it arrives depends on the schedule. 2. Under a variable-ratio schedule the learner never knows how many responses the next reward needs, so a run of unrewarded responses feels normal rather than signalling that reward has ended. 3. The chapter states that variable ratio is the most productive and the most resistant to extinction, producing high and steady responding with little or no pause. 4. Fixed interval sits at the other extreme as the least productive and the easiest to extinguish. 5. Continuous reinforcement teaches a new behaviour fastest, but it extinguishes quickly because the very first missed reward is obvious. _Source: OpenStax Psychology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Learning", §6.3 Operant Conditioning_