How do we maintain skills when applying reinforcement?

Maintaining skills when applying reinforcement is effectively achieved by gradually thinning the schedule of reinforcement. This approach helps to teach individuals to perform the skill independently and with less frequent reinforcement while still recognizing the importance of rewards for their behaviors. By gradually reducing the frequency, individuals learn to maintain the behavior over time, which fosters generalization and resilience in their skill application.

Thinning the schedule allows the individual to experience reinforcement intermittently, which can increase their motivation and lead to more robust long-term retention of the learned skills. This method also helps to prevent reliance on constant reinforcement, encouraging a sustainable behavior change where the individual can continue to exhibit the skill without needing frequent prompts or rewards.

In contrast, providing consistent reinforcement can lead to a dependency on the reward, making it challenging for the individual to maintain the skill when reinforcement is not provided. Increasing the amount of reinforcement may lead to shouting or over-reliance on rewards rather than fostering intrinsic motivation to engage in the desired behavior. Completely removing all forms of reinforcement would likely lead to the skill deteriorating, as there would be no incentive for the individual to continue practicing or applying the learned skills.