36 volunteer Naval enlisted men underwent isolation for 48 hr. during a study of conditions of “relaxation.” Each S spent 24 hr. alone in dark quiet sensory deprivation (SD) and 24 hr. in a control condition (C) providing a virtual stimulus cafeteria. The amount of time S listened to a boring stock market report during 1 hr. each day was used as an index of stimulation-seeking need. Significantly more listening occurred while Ss were in the SD than in the C condition. Stimulation-seeking results were compared with various pre-isolation predictor tests, criterion measures during isolation and with post-isolation reports of isolation symptomatology.
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Smith et al. (1966) studied this question.
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