Sensation Seeking Scores Research Articles

Joueurs de machines à sous dans une population française : étude de la dépression, de l’alexithymie et de la recherche de sensations

There are a multitude of factors implied in the acquisition, the development and the maintenance of gambling behavior. Among them, sensation seeking occupies an important place. Zuckerman originally suggested a relationship between sensation seeking and gambling. However, studies in this area have provided heterogeneous results. To explain these discrepancies, Zuckerman emphasized the fact that the type of gambling may be a crucial factor in the relationship with sensation seeking. Nevertheless, few studies have evaluated the link between the different types of gambling and problem behaviors. Furthermore, few studies were interested specifically on slot machines. While recent research has found high-levels of alexithymia in individuals with substance use and eating disorders only two studies have investigated the relationship between alexithymia and pathological gambling. Thus, these studies were focused on students. It is therefore important to study alexithymia in adult gamblers. Empirical data has shown that alexithymia levels may be influenced by negative mood states, especially depression. Some studies have found a positive correlation between alexithymia and depression scores, particularly in people with addictive behaviours. Nevertheless, studies found heterogeneous results. The main objective of this research was to evaluate scores on sensation seeking, alexithymia and depression (and the link between those variables) in gamblers of slot machines. Thus, slot machines gamblers were selected in the casino of Enghien-les-Bains, which is Paris nearest casino. Among them one distinguishes: regular gamblers ( n = 45) from which were extracted pathological gamblers ( n = 27), and occasional gamblers ( n = 19). The South Oaks Gambling Screen and the criteria of the DSM-IV were used to measure the intensity of gambling behavior; sensation seeking was evaluated by the Sensation Seeking Scale form V; alexithymia by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the depression by the Beck Depression Inventory. No differences appeared significant between the three groups of gamblers for the sensation seeking scores. Pathological gamblers obtained higher alexithymia scores than occasional gamblers. Nevertheless, these findings didn’t remain stable when controlling for the effect of depression. Among pathological gamblers, the BDI score is positively correlated to the ‘difficulty identifying feelings’ factor. This result is consistent with the literature, which shows that alexithymia is closely related to depression in addictive behaviors. Indeed, the ‘difficulty identifying feelings’ factor seems to be explained by depression severity. These results suggest that the emotional component of alexithymia would be thymo-dependent, whereas the cognitive component would be independent and constitute a stable clinical feature. Pathological gamblers who play slot machine are low sensation seekers who shun the more dramatic and extraverted form of sensation seeking. They play to reduce or avoid unpleasant emotional states like depression. Pathological gambling could therefore be in part a maladaptive coping strategy to deal with affective disturbances; the game may function as a self-medication to treat emotional states, which the gambler finds no other way of treating. According to previous studies, slot machine gambling is referred to as ‘escape’ gambling, where gamblers may dissociate.

Personality factors explain differences in alcoholic consumption among young adults

The study addresses a possible relationship between personality factors and alcoholic consumption in an age and ethnically homogenous non-clinical population of young adults. Contrasting group design in which the total population (n = 300; 201 women, 99 men; mean age 24.5 years, SD = 4.8) was split into three different drinking groups (low-middle-high) according to percentile scores of the population's total yearly alcoholic consumption. We assessed personality factors using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II) and the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS). Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA). Controlling for gender in multivariate ANOVAs, we found that both low and elevated scores on the schizoid and avoidant scales, elevated scores on the histrionic, the anti-social, and the anxiety and the bipolar-manic disorders scale were all linked to increased alcoholic intake. Elevated scores on the compulsive scale were linked to less drinking. The MCMI scales assessing the probability of drug and alcohol dependence and the AISS sensation-seeking scores were associated with increased drinking. These two last MCMI scales and the AISS could be used as simple screening instruments for assessment of drinking problems. The results are relevant for designing targeted prevention and early intervention programmes for reduced drinking among young adults.

Cocaine abuse versus cocaine dependence: Cocaine self-administration and pharmacodynamic response in the human laboratory

Cocaine has high abuse liability but only a subset of individuals who experiment with it develop dependence. The DSM-IV (APA. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-R. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, 2000) provides criteria for diagnosing cocaine abuse and cocaine dependence as distinct disorders- the latter characterized by additional symptoms related to loss of control over drug use. In this study, two groups of cocaine users ( n = 8/group), matched on demographic factors and length of cocaine use history and meeting criteria for either cocaine abuse (CocAb) or cocaine dependence (CocDep), were compared on (1) measures related to impulsivity and sensation seeking, (2) response to experimenter-administered cocaine (0, 12.5, 25 and 50 mg/70 kg, i.v.), and (3) cocaine self-administration using a Relapse Choice and a Progressive Ratio Procedure (0, 12.5 and 25 mg/70 kg, i.v.). Groups did not differ on impulsivity or sensation seeking scores. After experimenter-administered cocaine, the CocAb group reported feeling more suspicious and observers rated them significantly higher on unpleasant effects (e.g., irritability, difficulty concentrating). In contrast, the CocDep group reported significantly greater desire for cocaine, which was sustained over the course of the study, and gave higher street value estimates for cocaine ( p < 0.05). While cocaine self-administration was dose-related and generally comparable across the two procedures, the CocDep users chose to take significantly more cocaine than the CocAb users. These data suggest that, while regular long-term users of cocaine with cocaine abuse or dependence diagnoses cannot be distinguished by trait measures related to impulsivity, they do exhibit significant differences with regard to cocaine-directed behavior and response to cocaine administration.

Extreme College Drinking and Alcohol‐Related Injury Risk

Despite the enormous burden of alcohol-related injuries, the direct connection between college drinking and physical injury has not been well understood. The goal of this study was to assess the connection between alcohol consumption levels and college alcohol-related injury risk. A total of 12,900 college students seeking routine care in 5 college health clinics completed a general Health Screening Survey. Of these, 2,090 students exceeded at-risk alcohol use levels and participated in a face-to-face interview to determine eligibility for a brief alcohol intervention trial. The eligibility interview assessed past 28-day alcohol use and alcohol-related injuries in the past 6 months. Risk of alcohol-related injury was compared across daily drinking quantities and frequencies. Logistic regression analysis and the Bayesian Information Criterion were applied to compute the odds of alcohol-related injury based on daily drinking totals after adjusting for age, race, site, body weight, and sensation seeking. Male college students in the study were 19% more likely (95% CI: 1.12-1.26) to suffer an alcohol-related injury with each additional day of consuming 8 or more drinks. Injury risks among males increased marginally with each day of consuming 5 to 7 drinks (odds ratio = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.94-1.13). Female participants were 10% more likely (95% CI: 1.04-1.16) to suffer an alcohol-related injury with each additional day of drinking 5 or more drinks. Males (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.14-2.50) and females (OR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.27-2.57) with higher sensation-seeking scores were more likely to suffer alcohol-related injuries. College health clinics may want to focus limited alcohol injury prevention resources on students who frequently engage in extreme drinking, defined in this study as 8+M/5+F drinks per day, and score high on sensation-seeking disposition.

Subtypes of French Pathological Gamblers: Comparison of Sensation Seeking, Alexithymia and Depression Scores

Recent data suggest the importance of identifying subtypes of pathological gamblers. This research studies sensation seeking, alexithymia and depression among a general population of French gamblers who play different types of game. Those games include games available in cafés (two cafés located in Paris suburb) like lottery, scratch-cards, etc., horse betting at the racetrack (five racetracks closest to Paris), slot machines and traditional games (roulette and card games) at the casino of Enghien-les-Bains (casino nearest to Paris). Sensation seeking was measured with the SSS form V, alexithymia with the TAS-20, and depression with the BDI-13. Pathological racetrack gamblers (42 males; mean age 29.1 years), who play active games involving skills, have the highest sensation seeking scores and are the most prone to alexithymia. Pathological gamblers playing the slot machines (12 males; 15 females; mean age 35.7 years) and games available in cafés (57 males; mean age 32.6 years), thus playing passive games that involve chance only, have low sensation seeking scores. Slot machines gamblers display alexithymia and have the highest depression scores. Pathological gamblers playing traditional games (15 males; mean age 37.8 years), games that involve strategy, do not perform well on any of these scales. These findings are consistent with the idea that clinically distinct subgroups of pathological gamblers can be identified. People displaying typical features could be attracted by specific games.

Sensation seeking and danger invulnerability: Paths to college student risk-taking

This study examines the roles of sensation seeking and invulnerability as predictors of health compromising behaviors in a multiethnic sample of 1690 emerging adult college students (mean age = 19.8, range 18–25 years) from nine US colleges and universities. Participants completed the Arnett Sensation Seeking Inventory and the Adolescent Invulnerability Scale; and reported how often they had participated in a set of health compromising risk behaviors (i.e., substance use, impaired driving, and sexual behaviors) in the 30 days prior to assessment. Sensation seeking and danger invulnerability scores were moderately correlated ( r = .30). Findings from a series of multivariate Poisson regression analyses suggest that when considered simultaneously as predictors, sensation seeking appears to be a general risk factor associated with engagement in a variety of risk behaviors, whereas danger invulnerability is primarily a factor in those risk behaviors that are less common among peers (e.g., hard drug use, casual sex, and driving while intoxicated).

Neural representation of anxiety and personality during exposure to anxiety‐provoking and neutral scenes from scary movies

Some people search for intense sensations such as being scared by frightening movies while others do not. The brain mechanisms underlying such inter-individual differences are not clear. Testing theoretical models, we investigated neural correlates of anxiety and the personality trait sensation seeking in 40 subjects who watched threatening and neutral scenes from scary movies during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Threat versus neutral scenes induced increased activation in anterior cingulate cortex, insula, thalamus, and visual areas. Movie-induced anxiety correlated positively with activation in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, indicating a role for this area in the subjective experience of being scared. Sensation seeking-scores correlated positively with brain activation to threat versus neutral scenes in visual areas and in thalamus and anterior insula, i.e. regions involved in the induction and representation of arousal states. For the insula and thalamus, these outcomes were partly due to an inverse relation between sensation seeking scores and brain activation during neutral film clips. These results support models predicting cerebral hypoactivation in high sensation seekers during neutral stimulation, which may be compensated by more intense sensations such as watching scary movies.

Personality and injury risk among professional hockey players

:Background: Although much is known about risk for athletic injury, research on the roles of individual differences in personality and temperament on athletic injury has lagged. We hypothesized that professional athletes with high sensation-seeking and extraversion scores, and with low effortful control scores, would experience more injuries over the course of a season, would have more severe injuries, and would miss more total days of play.Methods: Prospective design with questionnaire report at time one and injury tracking throughout an 18-week athletic season. Setting: Professional hockey team in the United States. Participants: Eighteen professional hockey players (ages 21-33).Measurement: Players completed self-report personality (Sensation-Seeking Scale, Form V) and temperament (the Adult Temperament Questionnaire) measures. Quantity and severity of injury, as well as playing time missed, were tracked for 18 weeks.Results: On average, players experienced almost 6 injuries causing a loss of 10 playing days through the season. Those players scoring high on Boredom Susceptibility and Total Sensation-Seeking incurred more total injuries. Those scoring high on temperamental neutral perceptual sensitivity suffered more severe injuries.Conclusions: Athletes who suffered more injuries reported a preference for stimulating environments and boredom with non-stimulating environments. Injury severity was not correlated with sensation-seeking but was related to temperamental perceptual sensitivity. Implications for identification of injury-prone athletes, pre-injury training, and post-injury treatment are discussed.

Children’s risk taking in a gambling task and injury-risk situation: Evidence for domain specificity in risk decisions

This study explored whether elementary-school children show consistency in risk taking across two tasks that tap different domains, a balance beam task and an Iowa gambling task. Children 7–12 years of age completed these tasks, along with a measure of sensation seeking. Exploring relations across measures revealed independence in children’s performance on each task, suggesting domain specificity in children’s risk taking decision making. Sensation seeking scores positively correlated with physical risk taking on the beam task but did not relate to risk taking on the gambling task. The pattern of these results suggests that children’s risk taking is domain specific, with sensation seeking relating to some aspects of risk taking but not others. Implications for future research are discussed.

Incentive‐elicited striatal activation in adolescent children of alcoholics

Deficient recruitment of motivational circuitry by non-drug rewards has been postulated as a pre-morbid risk factor for substance dependence (SD). We tested whether parental alcoholism, which confers risk of SD, is correlated with altered recruitment of ventral striatum (VS) by non-drug rewards in adolescence. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, adolescent children of alcoholics (COA; age 12-16 years) with no psychiatric disorders (including substance abuse) and similarly aged children with no risk factors responded to targets to win or avoid losing $0, $0.20, $1, $5 or a variable amount (ranging from $0.20 to $5). In general, brain activation by either reward anticipation or outcome notification did not differ between COA and age/gender-matched controls. Cue-elicited reward anticipation activated portions of VS in both COA and controls. In nucleus accumbens (NAcc), signal change increased with anticipated reward magnitude (with intermediate recruitment by variable incentives) but not with loss magnitudes. Reward deliveries activated the NAcc and mesofrontal cortex in both COA and controls. Losses activated anterior insula bilaterally in both groups, with more extensive right anterior insula activation by losses in controls. NAcc signal change during anticipation of maximum rewards (relative to non-reward) correlated positively with both Brief Sensation-Seeking Scale scores and with self-reported excitement in response to maximum reward cues (relative to cues for non-reward). Among adolescents with no psychiatric disorders, incentive-elicited VS activation may relate more to individual differences in sensation-seeking personality than to presence of parental alcoholism alone. Future research could focus on adolescents with behavior disorders or additional risk factors.

Craving Among Polysubstance Using Adolescents

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of drug craving among adolescents with substance use disorders has been largely overlooked by addiction researchers. This study was designed to: (1) assess craving among adolescents with polysubstance use disorders (SUDs); and (2) examine the association between personality traits and craving among adolescents with SUDs. Craving was found to be a multidimensional phenomenon that demonstrated some degree of consistency across substances (in this case, marijuana and alcohol). Selected personality traits were associated with distinct components of craving; for example, adolescent substance users who obtained high sensation-seeking scores tended to crave the excitement associated with drug use. Adolescents who obtained high anxious-neuroticism scores tended to crave the experience of distress relief associated with drug use.

Safe as houses: Investor confidence in New Zealand*

We investigated the psychology of risk in the context of residential property investment. One hundred and thirty‐seven participants completed a questionnaire that measured their sensation‐seeking, general investment risk attitude, and attitude and confidence about investing in a term deposit, unit trust shares, a residential property syndicate and residential property. People with higher sensation seeking scores found shares and unit trusts more attractive than low sensation seekers, but all groups were most confident about investing in residential property. Overall the results indicate that New Zealanders invest overwhelmingly in real estate because they trust it more than other forms of investment.

Personality differences in monozygotic twins discordant for cannabis use

To explore the association between cannabis and personality scores when genetic background and shared environment are controlled for. The co-twin control design. This design provides a powerful method for controlling for the effects of potentially confounding familial factors that may act to predispose subjects both to cannabis use and a particular personality profile. 118 monozygotic twin pairs discordant for cannabis use. Data on personality and cannabis use were obtained through a questionnaire survey. The Dutch Sensation Seeking List was used to assess various aspects of sensation seeking. The Amsterdamse Biografische Vragenlijst assessed extraversion, neuroticism, somatic complaints and test attitude. The affected twins scored higher on all scales than their unaffected co-twins, especially on experience seeking (P = 0.004), total sensation seeking score (P = 0.004) and neuroticism (P = 0.039). Differences were also observed when items on drug use were removed from the experience seeking scale (P = 0.037) and total sensation seeking score (P = 0.009) although these differences were no longer significant after Bonferoni correction (P < 0.005). Cannabis use is associated with a higher score on personality scales. This result was obtained in a sample of monozygotic twins discordant for cannabis use. Thus, at least part of the association between cannabis use and experience seeking cannot be attributed to underlying genetic or shared environmental factors that influence both personality and cannabis use and must be explained by unique environmental influences.

Recherche de sensations dans une population française de joueurs de courses de chevaux : comparaison entre des joueurs pathologiques et réguliers

A theoretical position on the role of arousal in gambling comes in the form of Zuckerman's theory of sensation seeking. Zuckerman originally suggested a relationship between sensation seeking and gambling in which individuals entertain the risk of monetary loss for the positive reinforcement produced by states of high arousal during the periods of uncertainty, as well as the positive arousal produced by winning. However, this hypothesis has received inconsistent support. Results of the literature support the view that there is a difference between gambling form selection and use, suggesting that gambling cannot be viewed as an homogeneous activity. The aim of this study was to examine the personality trait sensation seeking in a French population of gamblers who bet on horses at the racetrack. Our results will discuss the disparities of the literature between pathological gambling and sensation seeking.Pathological gamblers who go to the racetrack are higher sensation seekers than regular gamblers. Gamblers betting on many different forms scored higher on sensation seeking.Two groups of gamblers were formed and recruited in five different hippodromes. One group of regular gamblers (n=72), from which pathological gamblers were extracted (n=42). The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) and the DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling were used to assess the intensity of the gambling behavior, and sensation seeking was measured by Zuckerman's sensation seeking scale.The results showed that pathological gamblers obtained significantly higher scores of sensation seeking than regular gamblers. These results were significant for the global score of sensation seeking as well as for the factors of disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility. No correlation was found between the sensation-seeking scale total score and the number of regular games played.The sensation-seeking personality trait permits the discrimination of pathological from regular gamblers who go to the racetrack. In the literature, data came from gamblers who practice off-course betting. Nevertheless, pathological gamblers who go to the racetrack seemed to differ from those who practice off-course betting in terms of sensation seeking. The former are high sensation seekers whereas the latter are low sensation seekers. Racetrack gamblers are likely to be more involved in staking plans than off-course gamblers. One way of conceiving the distribution of sensation seekers within gambling forms might be to combine the relationships depicted with the dichotomy made between skills and luck games, or with the serious-recreational, casino-non-casino distinctions. There is a need to identify clinically distinct subgroups of gamblers who exhibit common, cardinal symptoms but, at the same time, who differ significantly with respect to key variables that are of etiological relevance and can be used in treatment and prognosis. To establish different subtypes, it is important to take into account the venue and the type of games as well as the sensation-seeking scores and the motivation of the gambler. These subtypes of gamblers are discussed.

How reliable and valid is the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS‐4) for youth of various racial/ethnic groups?

To assess the reliability and validity of the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale BSSS-4 by race/ethnicity. Six waves of nationally representative, cross-sectional, Legacy Media Tracking Survey (LMTS) data. Analyses are based on a sample size of 24 328 individuals. Response rates for the individual survey administrations range from 60% to 30%. Data were collected by telephone, from April 2001 to January 2004. Youth, aged 12-17 years, who completed the LMTS. Sensation seeking was measured using the four-item scale, BSSS-4, published by Stephenson et al. in 2003. A series of items from the LMTS was used to measure youth intention to smoke and smoking behavior. Mean sensation seeking scores increased as the risk for established smoking increased. African American youth who are open to smoking or have experimented with cigarettes had lower mean sensation seeking scores than their white and Hispanic counterparts. Coefficient alpha and average corrected item-total correlations suggest that the BSSS-4 is a less reliable measure of sensation seeking for African American youth compared to white and Hispanic youth. The BSSS-4 is a useful tool for identifying youth at risk for smoking; however, it is less reliable and valid for African American youth compared with other youth. Future research should investigate whether other existing sensation seeking scales are equally reliable and valid across race/ethnicity, and whether an alternative scale could or should be developed that would measure sensation seeking more effectively among African American youth.

Personality Traits as Predictors of Risky Driving

ISEE-838 Objective: The purpose of the study was to evaluate, in young subjects, the relationships between risky driver behavior and personality factors. Another aim was to assess the neuroendocrine correlates of personality and behavioral factors. Materials and Methods: We recruited 68 students (32 men and 36 women), after having obtained their informed consent. The subjects completed the following self-report questionnaires: the Big five Questionnaire, designed to evaluate the “Big Five” personality traits, the Sensation Seeking Scale, and the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire that evaluates driving behavior by frequency of lapses, errors, and violations. In urine samples collected from 8 am to 11 am we measured adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin levels using a HPLC system with an ESA detector. Results: Both lapses and errors were negatively related with emotional stability. The number of violations of highway code resulted positively related with extroversion and sensation seeking scores. Negative associations of violations with conscientiousness and cooperativity were observed. Regarding the relationship between driving behavior, personality traits, and neuroendocrine parameters, positive relations between violations and dopamine levels, and between driving errors and serotonine levels were observed. The stepwise regression analyses performed using psychological and biochemical measures as predictors and behavioral measures as dependent variables showed conscientiousness and dopamine levels as the main predictors of highway code violations. Only emotional stability remained significant in the final model, including lapses as dependent variable, whereas emotional stability and serotonin levels resulted predictors of errors. Conclusions: Our results, in agreement with previous researches, give further support to the role played by personality dimensions on unsafe driving, and improve the knowledge of the different risky driving behaviors. The interesting findings concerning the neuroendocrine correlates of driving behavior contribute to a better understanding of the biological bases of risky behaviors, including unsafe driving.

Beyond a youthful behavior style – Age and sex differences in sensation seeking based on need theory

Previous studies examining sex and age-related differences in sensation seeking have mainly focused on specific patterns of behaviour that can be described as a youthful behaviour style. In contrast, the present study assessed age and sex differences in sensation seeking using the need inventory of sensation seeking (NISS). This instrument measures sensation seeking without items which are descriptive of concrete behaviours. Data were collected in Germany from 2339 subjects aged 14–79 years; constituting a representative population sample of Germany. The results indicate that sensation seeking scores decline over the course of age, even when no age-related behaviors are itemized in measuring the construct. Significant sex-related differences were also observed, although, contrary to age, they only accounted for a small part of the variance in sensation seeking.

Gender-Dependent Association of the Functional Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met Genotype with Sensation Seeking Personality Trait

The gene encoding cathechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) contains a common functional missense polymorphism (Val158Met) that regulates dopamine in an allele-dependent manner. A pivotal role of dopamine neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex has been implicated in drug-seeking behavior and related personality traits, such as sensation seeking, with some evidence for a gender-specific association. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the COMT Val158Met polymorphism modulates the personality dimension, sensation seeking, in a gender-dependent manner. Study sample included 214 male (age 38.1+/-12.6 years) and 218 female (age 36.1+/-13.6 years) healthy volunteers, who were assessed with Zuckerman's sensation-seeking scale and genotyped for the Val158Met polymorphism (dbSNP:rs4680). Univariate analysis of variance showed that the sensation seeking score was significantly affected by a COMT genotype x gender interaction (F=5.330, df=2, p=0.005). The Val158Met polymorphism was associated with the sensation seeking personality trait in women only. The highest scores in the sensation-seeking scale and in three of the four subscales were observed in female subjects with the Val/Val genotype relative to women carrying the Met allele. Our results suggest that high COMT enzyme activity associated with the Val allele predisposes to high sensation seeking scores in female subjects and add to increasing evidence for a gender specific role of COMT in normal and dysfunctional behavior.

Functioning and Acceptance of Overtaking Assistant Design Tested in Driving Simulator Experiment

This paper describes a driving simulator experiment to test the functioning and acceptance of a standardized overtaking assistant design. On a simulated two-lane road, 24 participants drove 15 min with and without a prototype overtaking assistant. The overtaking assistant calculated the available time to perform an overtaking maneuver, taking the preceding vehicle and opposing traffic into account. When it was safe to overtake, the assistant showed a green sign to participants; when it was not safe, a red sign was shown. The number of overtaking maneuvers performed in the base scenario (without assistance) did not vary significantly from that in the assistant scenario. Male participants, however, did overtake significantly more than female participants. The reported activation level of all participants had grown significantly after the run with the overtaking assistant, compared with a similar run without assistance. Participants’ ratings for the usefulness of the assistant and on how satisfying it was were both low; some participants thought the assistant was too careful (shows a red sign while it is safe to overtake), and others thought it was not careful enough (shows a green sign while it is not safe to overtake). The overtaking frequency of participants was not significantly related to sensation-seeking scores, which are highly related to risky driving. It was concluded that according to the performance of the overtaking maneuvers, it is possible to design a standardized overtaking assistant. However, it should be possible to improve the system to suit the different drivers’ perceptions better.

Sensation Seeking, Aggression, and Reckless Behavior in High School Students, College Students, and Adults

Replicating work of Arnett, males reported more frequent Reckless Behavior than females, and 27 high school and 48 college students did not differ in scores on Sensation Seeking or Aggression. As anticipated by Arnett, the 35 adults had significantly lower Sensation Seeking and Aggression scores than the two younger groups and less Reckless Behavior as well. In contrast to Arnett, Reckless Behavior did not rise for college students, and Sensation Seeking, but not Aggression, correlated with Reckless Behavior in all samples.