The effect of the size of the test environment on behavior under two temporally defined schedules.
Smaller rooms make pigeons (and maybe kids) respond faster on time-based schedules, cutting reinforcers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
E and team tested how room size changes pigeon pecking. They used two time-based schedules: DRL 15-s and VI 60-s.
Birds worked in either a small box or a big box. The team counted pecks and reinforcers earned.
What they found
Pigeons pecked faster in the small box under both schedules. Under DRL, the fast pecks also meant fewer treats.
The birds’ timing patterns shifted: short pauses grew and long pauses shrank in the tight space.
How this fits with other research
Powell (1968) saw the same lab show that bigger ratio sizes make pigeons pause longer. Both studies tweak one physical detail and watch pauses stretch or shrink.
FARMEMOORHEARSKELLEHER et al. (1964) found that step size, not schedule value, drove VI response rate. E et al. now show chamber size can do the same, linking space to rate control.
Cohen (1975) proved ratio size itself can act like a signal; E et al. treat chamber size the same way, turning floor area into an environmental cue.
Why it matters
If you run DRL or VI sessions, check your room size. A smaller space can push clients to respond faster and lose chances for reinforcement. Try a larger area or add visual barriers to slow impulsive responses and protect earnings.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Run the next DRL session in the biggest room you have and track if responses slow and reinforcers rise.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The effect of the size of the floor area of the operant test chamber on behavior was tested using a standard-size test chamber and a test chamber with one-fourth of the floor area of the standard chamber. Two groups of pigeons were tested under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 15-sec schedule or a variable-interval 60-sec schedule. Both groups of pigeons had higher response rates while in the smaller floor area. Pigeons under the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule also showed a decrease in rate of reinforcement, an increase in ratio of responses to reinforcements, and an alteration in interresponse-time-per-opportunity distributions when tested in the reduced floor-area condition. These effects are similar to those found under physical restraint, indicating that amount of floor space available for locomotion interacts with schedule behavior and that physical restraint may be regarded as the lower limiting value of amount of floor area available for locomotion.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1975 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1975.23-271