Television viewing and sensation seeking: uses, preferences and attitudes

Abstract

In Study I, 251 university students responded to the Television Usages and Attitude questionnaire and to Zuckerman's ( Sensation Seeking: Beyond the Optimal Level of Arousal, 1979) Sensation Seeking Scale (Form V). High sensation seekers reported that they utilized television to enhance stimulus intensity and complexity by watching television in conjunction with other activities and expressed liberal moral/political attitudes toward the medium. Low sensation seekers reported that they watched television in situations in which there were few distractions and expressed conservative moral/political attitudes toward the medium. Low sensation seeking males reported regular viewing patterns in contrast to high sensation seekers, who eschewed habitual patterns of viewing. Low sensation seeking females expressed a preference toward passively watching events on television as opposed to actively participating in the event. Program content preference was not related to sensation seeking. In Study II, 252 university students completed the Sensation Seeking Scale (Form V) and a detailed questionnaire about their daily television viewing. As in Study I, program content preference was not related to sensation seeking. However, males watched more television per week than females, with high sensation seeking males watching less television than the low and medium groups. The high and low sensation seeking females watched less television than did the medium female group. Males preferred to watch sporting events and situation comedies, with females preferring to watch soap operas.