Experimental and subject factors determining responses to sensory deprivation, social isolation, and confinement.

This study attempted to analyze different factors involved in sensory deprivation (SD) experiments: sensory restriction, social isolation, confinement, prior knowledge of SD effects, and the sex and "sensation-seeking" personality characteristics of Ss. 36 male and 36 female Ss were confined in 1 of 3 experimental conditions on 1 occasion and were tested again on another day spent outside the laboratory. Confinement without social or sensory isolation produced generalized psychological and endocrine arousal. SD produced an increase in anxiety and related increases in primary-process activity and feelings of unreality. Women showed these effects more than men.