Enhancement of off-key pecking by on-key punishment.

Researchers shocked pigeons when they pecked a lit key. They watched what happened to pecks that landed just off the key.

The birds lived in a small chamber with one wall of buttons. A peck on the bright key brought a quick shock. Pecks on the dark key brought no shock and no food.

The team turned the shock on and off several times to see if off-key pecks changed with the punishment.

When the shock was on, the birds pecked the edge of the key more often. When the shock stopped, the extra edge pecks faded.

The punished key pecks stayed low the whole time. The nearby, unpunished spot got busier instead.

SIDMAELLIOTT et al. (1962) saw the same jump in unpunished treadle presses seven years earlier. Both studies show punishment can grow behaviors next door.

Corfield-Sumner et al. (1977) looks like a clash. They shocked key pecks and saw rates drop, not rise. The gap is simple: they counted the same key, we counted the space beside it.

Shearn et al. (1997) later tested people and birds on mixed schedules. They found the contrast boost fades fast and needs clear signals. Our 1969 effect may be the first, short-lived burst they talk about.

If you punish hand-biting, watch for a jump in wrist tapping. The new behavior is not reinforced; it just leaks out next to the punished spot. Track all topographies during punishment plans and be ready to reinforce a better replacement before the contrast surge locks in.