Baum, W. M., & Rachlin, H. C. (1969).
Choice as time allocation.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,
12, 861-874.
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 as 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.