Dynamics of time discrimination: II. The effects of multiple impulses.

Researchers watched pigeons on a fixed-interval schedule. Birds had to wait 30 seconds before the next grain delivery.

Before each session the birds got a short 5-second warm-up. Sometimes they got one warm-up. Sometimes they got several in a row.

The team tracked how long the birds waited before pecking again after these warm-ups.

A single 5-second warm-up made the birds wait longer at the start of the session.

Several clustered warm-ups shortened their wait times. The birds started pecking sooner and took many sessions to return to normal.

Emmelkamp et al. (1986) showed pigeons pick grain that arrives sooner. Smith (1996) adds that even brief recent history can speed up or slow down that timing.

Eisenmajer et al. (1998) found that a surprise 3-second delay hurts later responding. The new study shows that clustered short intervals do the opposite: they make the bird respond faster, not slower.

Snapper et al. (1969) taught rats to nibble while waiting. Smith (1996) shows the wait itself is fluid, shaped by the pattern of recent reinforcement.

Your client's history with reinforcement timing matters. If you just ran many short trials, expect faster, possibly premature responding on the next task. Insert a brief pause or stretch the interval before starting new teaching to let the timing reset. Track response speed across sessions; if it drifts, review what timing pattern came right before.