JOURNAL ARTICLE

Study finds pigeons tend to respond 'at the edge of chaos'.

  • Published In: Psychology & Psychiatry Journal, 2026. P. 794 1 of 2

  • Database: Psychology Source 2 of 2

Abstract

This article focuses on a University of Iowa study examining pigeons' behavior in response to rewards, testing the Law of Effect, which states that animals tend to repeat actions that yield rewards. Researchers found that while pigeons reduced the variety of five-button pecking sequences that earned food, they never fully committed to a single sequence and continued to explore multiple options over time. This pattern, described as "responding at the edge of chaos," suggests an adaptive balance between exploiting known rewards and maintaining behavioral variability. The findings challenge a strict interpretation of the Law of Effect and raise questions about how such variability might relate to more complex behaviors in other species. [Extracted from the article]

Additional Information

  • Source:Psychology & Psychiatry Journal. 2026/04, p794
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Health and Medicine
  • Publication Date:2026
  • ISSN:1944-2718
  • Accession Number:193045992
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