Brief-stimulus presentations on multiform tandem schedules.

Sturmey (1994) ran three small experiments with pigeons. The birds pecked a key on tandem schedules that mixed VR and VI parts.

A quick flash of light followed the first component. No extra food came with the flash. The team asked: can this brief cue alone shape different response speeds?

The flash worked. Response rates lined up with the schedule that had just ended. VR-like parts produced fast, steady pecks. VI-like parts produced slower, steadier pecks.

The cue did this without ever being paired with extra grain. Schedule history alone controlled the pace.

Périkel et al. (1974) saw mixed effects when brief stimuli were not paired with food. Their birds sometimes sped up and sometimes slowed. Sturmey (1994) shows the same tool can give clear, reliable control when you arrange tandem VR-VI contrasts.

GOLLUMIGLER (1964) first proved that simply adding a stimulus can change pausing and rate inside chained versus tandem schedules. Sturmey (1994) moves that idea forward: even a single, unpaired flash is enough to stamp schedule-typical patterns onto behavior.

Guest et al. (2013) later used brief unsignaled delays instead of flashes. Delays pushed rates up in VI parts but not VR parts. Together the papers tell us brief events matter, but the form of the event—flash versus delay—decides which schedule feels the effect.

You can shape response fluency without extra reinforcers. Insert a brief visual or auditory cue right after the first step of a tandem task. If you want quick, energetic work, keep VR-like ratios early. If you want steady, sustained work, lean toward VI-like stretches. The cue alone will help the learner feel the difference and adjust pace, saving you from piling on more tokens or praise.