Key pecking as a function of response-shock and shock-shock intervals in unsignalled avoidance.

Pigeons pecked a key to avoid shocks. No lights or tones warned them.

The team changed two timings. First, how long a peck could stop the next shock. Second, how soon shocks could repeat if the bird did nothing.

Longer peck-to-shock windows slowed the birds down. Ten seconds let them peck less than five.

Changing shock-to-shock time did almost nothing. Birds kept their pace no matter how tight that window was.

Leander et al. (1972) saw rats dodge most shocks in one session under the same unsignalled rules. Same idea, new species and box.

Mulvaney et al. (1974) added that rats time their moves inside the interval. The pigeon data now show the same interval rule works across birds and responses.

Kaufman (1965) showed pigeons shift rates when shock odds change between lights. Catania et al. (1974) pin the shift on one variable: the response-shock gap.

If you run avoidance programs, set the safety window, not the shock rate. Stretching the time a response buys safety calms behavior without extra pain. Try adding two seconds to the response-shock interval next week and watch the rate drop.