ABSTRACT
The importance of state in determining unconditioned responding to stimulation is well documented for several response parameters. We know that the organism’s state at the time of stimulation influences probability of response evocation (e.g., Wolff, 1966), directionality of response (e.g., Berg, Berg, & Graham, 1971), response latency (e.g., Goff et al., 1966), response magnitude (e.g., Lenard, von Bernuth, & Prechtl, 1968), gradient of generalization of an habituated stimulus (e.g., Apelbaum et al., 1960), and probability of state change in response to stimulation (e.g., Brackbill & Fitzgerald, 1969). The importance of state for response decrement of habituation, however, is one area in which there is more controversy than empirical evidence. (“Habituation” is being used here in the restricted sense of response decrement to an arbitrarily selected, predetermined criterion.) The major question is whether habituation occurs during sleep states or whether, indeed, it occurs at all during any stable state.
