Glossary
Reduce reward frequency
What does “reduce reward frequency” mean?
Reducing reward frequency means requiring progressively longer or more frequent performance of a behavior to earn a reward. This is also called thinning a reward schedule.
How reward schedule thinning works
The requirement for earning the next reward increases. A schedule can move from continuous reinforcement (rewarding every completed instance) to intermittent reinforcement (rewarding some instances). This does not by itself show that the behavior has become intrinsically motivated, automatic, or independent of all support.
Illustrative example
A practice program moves from a reward after each completed session to a reward after three completed sessions, while monitoring participation.
Taxonomy definition
The original BCT Taxonomy v1 definitions identify this as technique 14.9.