"poor fool," you think to yourself when your friend tells you she lost on the lottery again, "another victim of the schedule of reinforcement."

The answer is "variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement."

A variable-ratio schedule is a schedule of reinforcement in the operant conditioning process. In this a reaction is strengthened after an eccentric number of reactions. This timetable makes a consistent, high rate of reacting. Betting and lottery diversions are great cases of a reward in light of a variable ratio plan.