Continuous, fixed-ratio, and fixed-interval reinforcement in honey bees.
Honey bees follow the same FR/FI response rules as rats and pigeons, so schedule laws cross species lines.
01Research in Context
What this study did
McMillan (1973) put honey bees on three schedules: every visit paid (continuous), every 30th visit paid (FR 30), or first visit after 90 s paid (FI 90).
The bees entered a tube, poked a target, and got sucrose if the schedule rule was met.
After training, the team stopped payoffs and watched how long bees kept trying.
What they found
Bees acted like textbook pigeons: FR made them work hardest during extinction, FI kept rates low, and continuous reinforcement fell in the middle.
Longer training kept the pattern strong even at FR 30 and FI 90 s.
Schedule control showed up in insects, not just birds or rats.
How this fits with other research
Nevin (1969) first mapped the two-state FI pattern in pigeons: long pause, then sudden burst. E found the same shape in bees, so the pattern is species-wide.
Winett et al. (1972) showed that breaking an FI into short trials cleaned up pigeon data. E used free-operant FI and still got clean scallops, proving the schedule, not trial structure, drives the form.
Dykens et al. (1991) later showed FR and FI create different brain chemistry in rats. E’s behavioral match in bees hints that the neurochemical split may also stretch across species.
Why it matters
If bees can learn FR, FI, and extinction bursts, then schedule principles are more universal than we thought. When you teach a new skill, pick the schedule knowing the same rules apply whether your learner has wings, paws, or speech. Try FR to build persistence, FI to pace steady work, and plan for bigger extinction bursts after FR.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Bees learned to enter a Plexiglas tube and to suck small portions of sugar solution; every entry or every fifth entry was reinforced. During an extinction phase, the bees on the fixed-ratio schedule emitted twice as many responses as did those given continuous reinforcement. Bees on a fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement emitted lower response rates than did those given fixed-ratio reinforcement. By extending the conditioning procedure for several days, it was possible to maintain responding with fixed-ratio schedules requiring 30 responses per reinforcement and with fixed-interval values up to 90 sec. Under fixed-interval schedules, response rates did not increase toward the end of the reinforcement intervals.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1973 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1973.20-105