General Sensation Seeking Research Articles

Do people drive as they live, or are they transformed when they drive? A comparison of driving styles and living styles

The question of whether “people drive as they live” or whether “they are transformed behind the wheel” has been addressed in previous research but it mainly focused on anger and aggressive behaviors. Current research tries to go further and compares driving styles with their analogous living styles to analyze both convergence and divergence in both safe and unsafe driving styles. Then, dissociative driving style was linked with general dissociation experiences, risky driving style with general sensation seeking, angry driving style with a general anger trait, anxious driving style with an anxiety trait, distress-reduction driving style with control of aggression, and careful driving style with conscientiousness. A sample of 228 participants taken from the general population of Spanish drivers completed a set of questionnaires regarding both driving styles and living styles. The hierarchical linear regression models showed both convergence and divergence in the case of unsafe driving styles, whereas safe driving styles were not so strongly related to their respective general behaviors (especially in the case of the distress-reduction driving style). A final structural equation model (SEM) simultaneously analyzed the relationship between driving styles and living styles. Both clinical and road-safety implications of the current study are discussed, as well as its limitations.

Delineating Developmental Periods in Adulthood Suggests Age-Related Shifts in the Correlates of Alcohol Use and Problems.

Developmental context is related to the propensity to engage in alcohol use, the rate at which alcohol use changes, and the relevance of different risk factors to alcohol use disorder (AUD). Therefore, studies of change should consider developmental nuances, but change is often modeled to follow a uniform pattern, even across distinct developmental periods. This study implemented a novel analytic approach to delineate developmental periods of alcohol behavior (n=478, ages 18 to 35). This approach was further leveraged to examine age-related shifts in the association of impulsivity risk factors (lack of planning, general sensation seeking, alcohol enhancement expectancies) with alcohol behavior (alcohol quantity*frequency, heavy drinking, AUD). A sequence of exploratory and confirmatory latent growth models (LGMs) suggested modeling separate linear change factors for alcohol behavior during the primary college (ages 18 to 21) and postcollege years (21 to 35). Bivariate LGMs estimated correlations for alcohol behavior changes with lack of planning, sensation seeking, and enhancement expectancies during these periods. The rate at which heavy drinking changed during the college years was positively correlated with general sensation seeking and lack of planning during this period (rs=0.61 to 0.63). These correlations were significantly weaker during the postcollege years (rs=0.29 to 0.34). Notably, the rate of change in alcohol behavior was strongly correlated with enhancement expectancies during the college (r=0.45 to 0.70) and postcollege years (r=0.45 to 0.61). These findings highlight the importance of sensation seeking and lack of planning with regard to adult alcohol use, particularly in a college environment. There was also a strong link between the rates of change in alcohol behavior and enhancement expectancies across all waves. This study supports the utility of exploratory LGMs for delineating developmental periods of alcohol behavior, which are characterized by different processes.

High Ringxiety: Attachment Anxiety Predicts Experiences of Phantom Cell Phone Ringing.

Mobile cell phone users have reported experiencing ringing and/or vibrations associated with incoming calls and messages, only to find that no call or message had actually registered. We believe this phenomenon can be understood as a human signal detection issue, with potentially important influences from psychological attributes. We hypothesized that individuals higher in attachment anxiety would report more frequent phantom cell phone experiences, whereas individuals higher in attachment avoidance would report less frequent experiences. If these experiences are primarily psychologically related to attributes of interpersonal relationships, associations with attachment style should be stronger than for general sensation seeking. We also predicted that certain contexts would interact with attachment style to increase or decrease the likelihood of experiencing phantom cell phone calls and messages. Attachment anxiety directly predicted the frequency of phantom ringing and notification experiences, whereas attachment avoidance and sensation seeking did not directly predict frequency. Attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance interacted with contextual factors (expectations for a call or message and concerned about an issue that one may be contacted about) in the expected directions for predicting phantom cell phone experiences.

The Zuckerman–Kuhlman personality questionnaire in bipolar I and II disorders: A preliminary report

Patients with bipolar disorder have tendencies of higher impulsivity and sensation seeking, they might contribute differently to the emotional states of bipolar I (BD I) and II (BD II). We administered the Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ), the Plutchik–van Praag Depression Inventory (PVP), the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ), and the Hypomania Checklist (HCL-32) in 23 patients with BD I, 22 BD II, and 64 healthy volunteers. Both BD I and II scored higher on ZKPQ Impulsive sensation seeking (and its Impulsivity facet), Neuroticism–anxiety and Aggression–hostility, and on PVP and HCL-32 scales than controls did; BD I scored higher on MDQ and General sensation seeking facet than controls did. Compared to BD II, BD I scored higher on Impulsive sensation seeking (and General sensation seeking) and on MDQ. Moreover, General sensation seeking predicted MDQ, and Activity predicted HCL-32 in BD I. Aggression–hostility predicted HCL-32 in BD II. General sensation seeking predicted MDQ and HCL-32, and together with Neuroticism–anxiety, predicted PVP in controls. Our study suggests that Impulsive sensation seeking, and its General sensation seeking facet might help to delineate the two types of bipolar disorder.

Sensation seeking and personality dimensions

The purpose of the study was to examine the association of sensation seeking with personality traits, including broad personality traits, self-regulation, self-esteem, emotional status and some others. Participants (432 students, males, ages 16–26), were administered 15 personality questionnaires, and Russian version of Sensation Seeking Scale, which contained TAS for extreme activities, TAS for everyday activities, ES and BS. General sensation seeking and sensation seeking sub-traits were positively related to extraversion and psychoticism and negatively to neuroticism. Sensation seeking preference associated with masculinity, internal locus of control, low self-efficacy in the past (according to retrospect self-assessment) and relatively high self-efficacy in present time. Preference to high-sensation activities (TAS for extreme activities) was negatively related to anxiety and frustration and positively to self-regulation and emotional intelligence. The study was supported by RFBR (project 11-06-00271).

Hypersexuality in college students: The role of psychopathy

Psychopathy is a maladaptive personality style that is marked by hypersexual activity that may put the individual or others at risk for unintended consequences such as pregnancy, STDs, pain, and emotional distress. The current study examined associations between psychopathic personality traits and normative sexual risk taking behaviors. In a sample of undergraduate students (n=393), we examined psychopathy, with an emphasis on the two facets of Fearless-Dominance and Impulsive-Antisociality, and various aspects of hypersexuality (e.g., sexual sensation seeking, compulsivity, excitation, and disinhibition), including risky sexual behavior. Both psychopathy facets, particularly Impulsive-Antisociality, were distinctly associated with all forms of hypersexuality. An interaction effect for the two psychopathy facets was found for predicting risky sexual behavior, indicating that scoring high on both facets was a stronger predictor of hypersexuality than scoring high on either facet in isolation. The psychopathy effects were present even when controlling for general sensation seeking, impulsivity, and antisociality.

The effect of stimulus content on volunteering for sexual interest research among college students

Much of the literature on volunteer bias in sexual interest research has been limited to either identifying variables on which volunteers differ from nonvolunteers or examining how the intrusiveness of the meaurement device affects volunteer rates. The present study was designed to examine whether stimulus content would affect volunteer rates and volunteer/non‐volunteer differences in a large sample of college students (206 men and 358 women). The study also sought to determine whether such findings could also apply to research that recruits from exclusively heterosexual samples. Students completed questionnaires in small groups and were asked whether they would be willing to volunteer for studies that would involve viewing and rating five different types of sexually explicit images (nude men, nude women, heterosexual behavior, male homosexual behavior, and female homosexual behavior). Results indicate that men and women differed in the types of images that they would volunteer to view, based upon the content of the images. Furthermore, volunteers for each type of image reported significantly greater self‐monitoring as well as sexual and general sensation seeking than did nonvolunteers, while differences on other measures were less consistent. Discussion is given to specific ways in which the findings and gen‐eralizability of sexual interest study results can be affected.

Cocaine, crime, family history of deviance—are psychosocial correlates related to these phenomena in male cocaine abusers?

This paper examines relationships among deviant behaviors such as cocaine abuse, crime, and family history of deviance; demographics; and psychological characteristics such as aggression, sensation seeking, confidence to resist taking cocaine and risk taking tendency to use cocaine in different situations; psychiatric symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, obsessive‐compulsiveness, somatization, attention deficit); and social characteristics such as social adjustment. The sample consisted of men, mean age 35 years, who were veterans of the armed services. Canonical correlation analysis showed three significant canonical variates: The first indicated that verbal aggression, general sensation seeking, and a problem index for situations involving urges to use cocaine were positively related to number of times arrested and negatively related to age. The second revealed that experience seeking and problem indices for situations involving urges to use cocaine and for those involving pleasant times, were positively related to last cocaine use consumption level, total lifetime grams of cocaine used, and alcohol problems of the immediate family. The third showed that verbal aggression and a problem index for risk situations for use involving pleasant times were positively related, and experience seeking was negatively related, to number of times arrested, number of times incarcerated in the previous 30 days, age, and last cocaine use level. The implications of the associations found among these variables are discussed as they pertain to prevention, treatment, and future research.

Trait factors, state effects, and hypnotizability.

This study examined the relationship of 15 trait (e.g., absorption, ego-permissiveness) and 21 phenomenological variables (assessed by the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory) with performance on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A. Factor analyses suggested three trait factors (absorption-permissiveness, general sensation seeking, and social desirability) and five state factors (dissociated control state, positive affect, negative affect, attention to internal processes, and visual imagery). The factors correlated to hypnotizability were absorption-permissiveness, dissociated control, positive affect, and attention to internal processes. In predicting hypnotizability, the amount of variance accounted for by the trait factors was approximately 9%; an additional 22% was accounted for by state factors. The interactions did not account for any additional variance in predicting hypnotizability.

Sensation seeking, social attitudes and humor appreciation in Italy

The present study examines the role of sensation seeking, conservatism, toughmindedness, sex, and age in appreciation of humor in Italian adults. A sample of 100 females and 48 males responded to Italian adaptations of the 3 WD humor test, Form V of the sensation seeking scale, and the C-Scale. Funniness of incongruity-resolution humor correlated positively with conservatism, female sex, and age, and negatively with all components of sensation seeking. Funniness of nonsense humor correlated positively with experience seeking, general sensation seeking, and male sex and negatively with conservatism. Funniness of sexual content in humor correlated positively with male sex, disinhibition, boredom susceptibility, and toughmindedness. Aversiveness of humor yielded less significant correlations. Conservatism, sensation seeking, and age were potent predictors of structure preference. The investigation of indices of appreciation of sexual content in humor confirmed that structure and content have to be separated both theoretically and empirically in appreciation of sexual humor. Finally, the attitudes held by individuals appreciating a particular type of humor were explored. The results allow the conclusion that appreciation of humor is embedded into a similar nomological network in Italy than in other countries studied.

Optimal Stimulation Level

The effectiveness of the selection process used by organizations to recruit new sales personnel is depcndent on know- ing what qualities to look for in a recruit. One popular approach in screening sales personnel has been the use of personality tests. This article proposes, in addition, the concept of Optimal Stimulation Level as a discriminating variable in the seleclion process. Accord- ing to this view, recruits characterized as high sensation seekers are thought of as having a higher probability of success in sales perfor- mance than low sensation seekcrs. An empirical study which dealt with sales personnel from four major real estate agencies was con- ducted to ascertain correlations between levels of sensation seeking and sales performance. Evidcnce from the study confirms that OSL correlates positively with sales performance. Based on these results, the concept of Optimal Stimulation Level provides a useful discrimi- nating tool in the selection of sales personnel. Variations in the level of sensation seeking can easily be measured through a number of available standardized inventories such as the Zuckerman's General Sensation Seeking Scale (GSSS).

Self‐selection for personality variables among healthy volunteers.

1. Healthy student volunteers (n = 103) participating in ongoing clinical pharmacological research completed the Dutch Personality Inventory (DPI), the Dutch version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-DY) and the Dutch version of the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS). 2. The volunteers were more extrovert (P less than 0.001), more flexible (P less than 0.001), more tolerant or less impulsive (P less than 0.001), had more self-confidence and initiative (P less than 0.001), and were more satisfied and optimistic (P less than 0.01) when compared with the general norm. When compared with a student norm, volunteers had lower levels of state (P less than 0.001) and trait (P less than 0.05) anxiety. The general sensation seeking tendency of volunteers was higher than in the student norm group (P less than 0.001). The volunteers had a greater tendency to thrill-and-adventure-seeking (P less than 0.001) and to disinhibition (P less than 0.01). 3. Hence, volunteers were a selected sample of the total population of students. This may influence the interpretation of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters. 4. Personality screening should be added to the screening procedures for volunteers.

Platelet alpha 2-adrenergic receptor binding to 3H-yohimbine and personality variations in normals

The authors examined platelet α 2-adrenergic receptor binding to 3H-yohimbine and several personality variables in 58 adult males in a campus community. Subjects with high receptor B max levels exhibited personality traits of less social inhibition and more sensation seeking and thrill seeking behavior, were more playful and autonomous, and came from healthier, more intact families. The results also suggested that high affinity states of platelet α 2-adrenergic receptors (low K d) correlate with traits suggestive of stability, i.e., Autonomy, Dominance, Nurturance, Order, Succorance, and General Sensation Seeking Scale of Zuckerman, while low affinity states (high K d) of platelet α 2-receptors correlate with psychopathological traits of Defendence, Exhibitionism, and Paranoia.

A further psychometric investigation of the sensation seeking scale form-v and its relationship to the EPQ-R and the I.7 impulsiveness questionnaire

The present study was an investigation of the basic psychometric properties and the factor structure of the Sensation Seeking Scale (Form-V). The relationship between Zuckerman's concept of Sensation Seeking and the Eysenckian dimensions of personality was also investigated. The SSS (Form-V), the EPQ-R and the I.7 were administered to 192 S's (58 male and 134 female). Means and standard deviations were calculated for all scales and reliability was tested. Discrepancies are reported between the mean scale scores obtained in the present study and those reported by Eysenck et al. (1985a, b) and Zuckerman et al. (1978). Item factor analysis (ML) was performed on the SSS (Form-V). The results of this suggests that the factor structure of the SSS (Form-V) is similar to that reported by Zuckerman et al., for the female Ss, in the present study. For the male Ss, however, the factor structure is not in keeping with that reported by other writers. Intercorrelations were run between the sub-scales of the SSS (Form-V), the EPQ-R scales and the I.7 scales, for males and females separately. A rather curious positive correlation emerged between P and L, which is not in keeping with previous work in this area. These matrices were subsequently factor analysed. Four factors were extracted for both the male and female sub-samples and identified as P, E, N and General Sensation Seeking. The results of this analysis, taken with the results of multiple regression analysis suggests that the SSS (Form-V) does not share very much identity or relationship with the EPQ-R or the I.7.

Sensation seeking and pathological gambling.

SummaryZuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Spielberger's State‐ Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered to 51 pathological gamblers seeking treatment to investigate the hypothesis that arousal associated with gambling was related to a general sensation seeking personality trait.Pathological gamblers as compared to the general population were found to have elevated Psychoticism, Neuroticism, State and Trait anxiety scores but contrary to expectation, significantly lower Sensation Seeking scores. It was argued that pathological gamblers were not necessarily sensation seekers but that avoidance or reduction of noxious physiological states or dysphoric mood, in conjunction with a behaviour completion mechanism, was a major factor in explaining persistence in gambling.

Sensation Seeking and the Sensing-Intuition Scale of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Scores on the Sensing-Intuition scale of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator were hypothesized to be correlated with scores on two sensation-seeking scales. A random sample of 62 adult grocery shoppers was chosen. The sample was 75% female with a mean age of 39.97 years. As hypothesized, Sensing scores were negatively correlated (—.67, —.67), and Intuition scores were positively correlated (.56, .59) with the Arousal Seeking Tendency Instrument and the General Sensation Seeking Scale, respectively.

Sensation seeking, augmenting-reducing, and absolute auditory threshold: a strength-of-the-nervous-system perspective.

The following measures were obtained from 42 student volunteers: the General and the Disinhibition subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale (Form IV), the Reducer-Augmenter Scale, and the Absolute Auditory Threshold. General sensation seeking correlated significantly with the Reducer-Augmenter Scale, r(40) = .59, p less than .001, and the Absolute Auditory Threshold, r(40) = .45, p less than .005. Both results proved general across sex. These findings, that high-sensation seekers tend to be reducers and to lack sensitivity to weak stimulation, were interpreted as supporting strength-of-the-nervous-system theory more than the formulation of Zuckerman and his associates.

Sensation seeking of young children

Thirty-six boys and 33 girls, attending kindergatern, second-grade and fourth-grade, and their parents responded to a simplified version of the general Sensation Seeking Scale. Children's preferences for activities, puzzles, pictures, responses, foods, mazes and behaviors were also assessed. Results showed that the mean scores for the Sensation Seeking Scale of young children were much lower than scores of high school and college students, and significantly lower than the guesses of their parents. Sensation seeking was found to be related to preference for complex puzzles and pictures, to engagement in negative behaviors and to the children's knowledge about the environment. These findings suggest that the level of sensation seeking of children is related to their activities and preferences as well as their exposure to a variety of experiences.

Motivational determinants of illicit drug use: an assessment of underlying dimensions and their relationship to behavior.

Principal components analysis was used to delineate motivational patterns associated with illicit drug use in a population of U.S. Navy enlisted men (n = 867) undergoing drug rehabilitation. Patients indicated which of 31 reasons for drug use were associated with various drugs. Four components emerged from this analysis, labeled Insight-Seeking, Therapeutic Needs, Sentience, and Pleasure-Seeking. Higher order factor analysis revealed the presence of a general factor, labeled General Sensation-Seeking. Multiple regression procedures were used to relate the derived dimensions to actual drug use behavior. The significant relationships observed among the factor analytic patterns in predicting overall drug involvement were shown to lead to increased explanation concerning interrelationships among personality needs and social resources. The findings suggested a number of hypotheses pertaining to increased understanding of motivational patterns underlying initiation and continuation of illicit drug use.

Pain adaptation and emotional deficit.

The pain adaptation rates of high- and low-emotional deficit schizophrenics were compared. Electrical stimulation pain thresholds were calculated and retaken at four intervals after administration of shocks in a learning task. Low scorers on the General Sensation-Seeking and Thrill/Adventure Seeking scales showed significantly less pain adaptation than did their high sensation-seeking counterparts. No differences in level of adaptation appeared between high and low scorers on the Anhedonia scale or three other sensation-seeking scales. The results suggested that the neurotic emotional deficit defined by the sensation-seeking scales may be mediated by inadequate adaptation to painful stimuli.