Reinforcer effectiveness as a function of reinforcer rate and magnitude: a comparison of concurrent performances.

Pigeons' pecks on each of two concurrently available response keys were reinforced under a variable-interval schedule that sometimes allotted food-pellet deliveries to one key and sometimes to the other. The keys differed in the number of reinforcements assigned to each and in the number of pellets delivered during each reinforcement. When the total quantity of food associated with each key during a session was constant, the proportion of responses to a key depended on the particular combinations of reinforcer rate and reinforcer magnitude scheduled on each key. A given quantity of food generated more responding on a key when it was delivered frequently in small amounts than when it was delivered infrequently in large amounts.