Time allocation in human vigilance.

Three adults sat at a table with two buttons. Each button paid points on its own schedule.

The researchers changed how often each button paid off. They tracked how long each person spent pressing each button.

People spent their time exactly like pigeons do. When Button A paid twice as often as Button B, people spent twice as much time on Button A.

This shows the matching law works for humans too. Time matches the rate of reinforcement.

Macdonald et al. (1973) first showed this pattern in pigeons. The 1975 study proves humans follow the same rule.

Aragona et al. (1975) found pigeons also match on ratio schedules that year. The matching law holds across species and schedule types.

Davison et al. (1989) later showed pigeons don't simply maximize overall reward. This supports the 1975 finding that matching isn't just getting the most points possible.

Hall (2005) later found the basic matching law breaks down when earning rates differ. This 1975 study used equal earning rates, so it shows the clean matching pattern before complications arise.

When you set up choice situations for clients, expect their time to follow reinforcement rates. If you want more time on math, pay points or praise for math twice as often as other tasks. The matching law gives you a simple formula: double the reinforcement rate, double the time spent.