Button-Pressing for a Time-off Reward during Sensory Deprivation: I. Relation to Activity Reward; II. Relation to Descriptions of Experience

Abstract

Ss in sensory deprivation (S-D) were given the opportunity to button-press for a promised time-off reward. In one study, 10 Ss were in S-D for two 3-hr. sessions, exactly 1 wk. apart. During one session Ss were promised a time-off reward for button-pressing and during the other session, they were given the opportunity to button-press to relieve any felt need for activity. The orders of the two sessions were counterbalanced. The button-press response totals for the two sessions indicated that the activity reward was insignificant for the button-press response while the promised time-off reward produced high rates of responding by some Ss. In a second study, 9 Ss who were promised a time-off reward for button-pressing, upon release from a 3-hr. session, used an adjective check list to describe their subjective experiences while in S-D. Based upon their button-press response totals, the 9 Ss were classified into 3 groups of 3 Ss each: Low Responders, Medium Responders, and High Responders. A comparison of the types of adjectives checked by the 3 groups indicated that there was a gross positive relationship between amount of button-pressing for a promised time-off reward and relative use of adjectives descriptive of unpleasant subjective states in describing the S-D experiences.