Preference for mixed- versus fixed-ratio schedules

Abstract

Pigeons' pecks on one key produced a stimulus correlated with a mixed-ratio schedule of food reinforcement. Pecks on a second key produced a stimulus correlated with a fixed-ratio schedule. When the arithmetic mean of the mixed ratios equaled the fixed ratio, the former stimulus maintained a higher rate of pecking. When the fixed ratio was sufficiently smaller, preference shifted to it. The pigeons' relative preference for the schedules could be described by comparing the geometric mean of the reinforcement rates in the several mixed-ratio components with the reinforcement rates in the fixed-ratio components.