Frequency versus magnitude of reinforcement: New data with a different procedure.

The team worked with pigeons pecking a key for food. They asked: does it matter more how often food comes, or how big each bit is?

They used a new procedure to pull frequency and size apart. Then they watched which change moved the birds' pecking most.

Pecking shifted fast when food came more often. When the food pellet only got bigger, the birds barely budged.

Frequency won. Size hardly mattered. The old rule held even with the new setup.

Wilkie et al. (1981) and Bradshaw et al. (1978) saw the same in rats years earlier. Smaller drinks just meant you had to serve more sips to keep the work going. Todorov et al. (1984) now show the rule works in pigeons too.

Thomas (1974) looks like a clash. People did not follow the matching law that pigeons obey here. The gap is species, not science. Birds chase rates; humans chase other things.

Nevin (1967) and Davis et al. (1972) add lab proof that rate, not size, steers key pecks. The new data tighten the same thread.

For your client, schedule beats prize size. Give 30 tiny praises in ten minutes instead of three big cookies. You will see more correct responses without buying fancier treats. Check your data sheet for how often you deliver, not how much.