Visual and tactual variation seeking in the rat: Intermodal effects of early rearing

Conditions of variation and constancy for both tactual and visual stimulation were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial. Hooded rats were reared under these conditions from 23 to 39 days of age, following which they lived in standard laboratory cages until 49 days of age. Preference tests for variation vs. constancy in both tactual and visual preference tests were conducted at 48 and 49 days of age. Ss previously exposed to the variable stimulation conditions, either tactual and/or visual, showed equal preference for variable stimulation in both tests. This was in contrast to the controls, which preferred the less variable stimulation in both tests. The intermodal effects of the early environmental stimulation were discussed in terms of Fiske and Maddi's activation model.