Figure 4.7 | Cumulative Records for Fixed-Ratio and Variable-Ratio Schedules of Partial Reinforcement | Both ratio schedules lead to high rates of responding as indicated by the steep slopes of the two cumulative records. Each tick mark indicates when a reinforcer was delivered. As you can see, the tick marks appear regularly in the record for the fixed-ratio schedule, but irregularly in the record for the variable-ratio schedule. A fixed-ratio schedule leads to short pauses after reinforcement, but these pauses don’t occur as often for a variable-ratio schedule.