Responding for Sensory Change in a Causally Structured Environment: Effects Of Different Changes and Different Sensory Environments.

Earlier experiments have shown that responding for sensory change may be enhanced in a causally structured environment. In the present study further complexity was introduced but this did not produce increased responding. In addition, different environments and sensory changes were compared. It was found that the level of responding for an initial sensory change was determined by the stimulation level of the ongoing sensory environment rather than the type of change produced. On the other hand, the level of responding for a second, different change contingent on the first was determined by the type of change produced rather than the ongoing sensory environment. In the latter case, light changes (following initial sound changes) induced much higher levels of responding than sound changes (following initial light changes), whether increase or decrease in intensity was involved. This finding contrasted with that of an earlier experiment using a two-choice paradigm with no temporal constraints, where it was found that sensory changes producing reduced stimulation were preferred to those producing increased stimulation, regardless of modality.