For what purpose is intermittent reinforcement primarily employed?

Intermittent reinforcement is primarily employed to maintain established behaviors. This type of reinforcement involves providing rewards or positive stimuli after a certain number of responses or after a certain period, rather than delivering them every time the desired behavior occurs. By doing so, behaviors that have already been learned are sustained over time, as the unpredictability of the reinforcement can keep individuals engaged and motivated to continue the behavior.

When behaviors are reinforced intermittently, they tend to become more resistant to extinction compared to behaviors reinforced continuously. This is largely because the individual may continue to perform the behavior in anticipation of receiving reinforcement, even if it is not guaranteed. Examples of intermittent reinforcement can be seen in gambling, where a player may continue to play due to the chance of winning, despite not winning every time.

In contrast, while teaching new behaviors and establishing them quickly typically benefit from continuous reinforcement—the practice of rewarding every occurrence of a desired behavior—intermittent reinforcement is focused on promoting longevity in behaviors that are already in place. It does not directly serve to extinguish unwanted behaviors; instead, other strategies like consistent punishment or reinforcement of alternative behaviors are typically more effective for that purpose.