CHOICE AS TIME ALLOCATION¹

TLDR

The value of an activity is defined as the product of parameters such as reinforcement rate and amount, contingent on that activity. Pigeons’ time allocation between two sides of a chamber matched the ratio of reinforcements produced, with a consistent bias toward the right side, supporting the idea that time spent in activities reflects their relative values.

Abstract

When pigeons' standing on one or the other side of a chamber was reinforced on two concurrent variable-interval schedules, the ratio of time spent on the left to time spent on the right was directly proportional to the ratio of reinforcements produced by standing on the left to reinforcements produced by standing on the right. The constant of proportionality was less than unity for all pigeons, indicating a bias toward the right side of the chamber. The biased matching relation obtained here is comparable to the matching relation obtained with concurrent reinforcement of key pecks. The present results, together with related research, suggest that the ratio of time spent in two activities equals the ratio of the "values" of the activities. The value of an activity is the product of several parameters, such as rate and amount of reinforcement, contingent on that activity.