The effect of response rate on reward value in a self-control task.
Adding a simple response task during a delay can make the later reward more valuable, so use small, effort-filled activities to help clients wait.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team worked with five pigeons in a self-control game. Birds chose between a small food pellet right away or a bigger one later.
During the wait time they had to peck a key many times. The scientists raised the required pecks across rounds to see if extra work changed how long the birds would wait.
What they found
Four out of five birds waited longer for the big reward when the delay was filled with more pecks. The extra effort seemed to make the later payoff feel more valuable.
One bird did not change; results were mixed but leaned toward "effort helps patience."
How this fits with other research
García‐Leal et al. (2019) ran the same pigeons in the same task and got the same outcome — a clean direct replication.
Ainslie et al. (2003) showed that bundled food deliveries also make rats pick larger-later rewards. Both studies find that tweaking how the reward is delivered can boost self-control.
King et al. (1990) worked with humans and found the opposite: when people did not have to "consume" the points, self-control dropped. The bird studies add effort during the delay, while the human study removed effort at delivery — together they show that response topography matters in any species.
Why it matters
If you ask a learner to do a quick chore or response chain while they wait for a bigger reinforcer, you may accidentally make that reinforcer taste sweeter. Use brief, easy response requirements during delays to strengthen patience, but watch for individual differences — one pigeon did not budge, and some clients may not either.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
To understand how effort, defined by number of responses required to obtain a reward, affects reward value, five pigeons were exposed to a self-control task. They chose between two alternatives, 2 s of access to food after a delay of 10 s, and 6 s of access to food after an adjusting delay. The adjusting delay increased or decreased depending on the pigeons' choices. The delay at which the two alternatives were equally chosen defined the indifference point. To determine whether requiring responses during the delay led to more impulsive (smaller-sooner rewards) or self-controlled (larger-later rewards) choices, we varied the number of required pecks during the 10-s delay to the 2-s reinforcer, and assessed how the requirement affected the indifference points. In the High Rate Phase, they had to peck at least 10 times during the delay; in the Low Rate Phase, they could peck at most 5 times during the delay. For four pigeons the indifference point increased with the response requirement; for one pigeon it decreased. The results suggest that, in general, reward value varies inversely with effort.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 2015 · doi:10.1002/jeab.123