Figure 1. Alternative models conceptualizing the open-loop experiment.

A–According to the robot-hypothesis, there is an unambiguous mapping of sensory input to behavioral output. If the behavioral output is not constant in a constant environment, there are a number of possible sources of noise, which would be responsible for the varying output. B–In a competing hypothesis, non-constant output is generated intrinsically by an initiator of behavioral activity. Note that the sources of noise have been omitted in B merely because their contribution may be small, compared to that of the initiator, not because they are thought to be non-existent.