The influence of different external incentive conditions on visual exploration as measured by frequency of response was tested on 18 monkeys. In Exp. I eight monkeys were tested on the 4 incentive conditions of viewing and hearing another (caged) monkey, viewing hearing a moving electric train, viewing an array of foods, and viewing an empty incentive chamber. Response frequency was highest for the monkey conditions and decreased progressively for the other conditions in the order given. In Exp. II 10 monkeys were tested on the five conditions of viewing and hearing another monkey, viewing and hearing a moving electric train, and viewing an empty incentive chamber with and without the presence of sounds from a moving electric train or from other monkeys. Visual exploratory response rate continued to increase throughout the experiment. Significant differences among conditions were obtained after the effect of days was removed. The data are interpreted in terms of a visual exploration motive whose persistence suggests that visual exploration is not conditioned upon, or derived from, any other primary drive.