Why Do Pigeons Stop Talking?

In the classic work of B.F. Skinner, he trained pigeons to peck at a disc whenever they were hungry and receive a reward. The rate of response increased when the reward was given on a variable schedule of reinforcement. In all sorts of products, online and offline, you will find one or more of these three types of variable rewards. Rewards of the tribe are things that feel good, that have this element of mystery, and come from other people. Those of the hunt stem from our primal search for food and other material possessions. And finally, the last type of variable reward is called rewards of the self. This is about the search for competency, control, mastery.