Sensation seeking is usually gauged according to the Zuckerman, Eysenck, and Eysenck (1978) Sensation Seeking Scale form V (SSS-V). (2004). Sensation seeking is a trait defined by the need for varied, novel, and complex sensations and experiences and the willingness to take physical and social risks for the sake of such experience…The high-sensation seeker is sensitive to his or her internal sensations and chooses external stimuli that maximize them. 46; Zuckerman, 1993). Washington in New Hampshire. Rainier, Washington (bottom right), and the author’s son walking in the Great Salt Lake in Utah’s desert (top right). Sensation-seeking, also called thrill-seeking or excitement-seeking, is the tendency to pursue new and different sensations, feelings, and experiences. People who are high in sensation seeking are attracted to the unknown and as a result consistently seek the new, varied, and unpredictable. His work on sensation seeking, and his relationship with Eysenck, have led Zuckerman to become one of today’s leading proponents of the biological basis of personality. Now an integral part of personality testing, including adaptations for use with children, this reissue is … The LibreTexts libraries are Powered by MindTouch® and are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. For example, individuals who are high sensation seekers are more likely to have varied sexual experiences, but they are not more likely to avoid using condoms. Disinhibition: This factor covers sensation seeking that focuses on social activities, such as parties, drinking, illegal drugs, and sex. This is particularly true for personality constructs. Since he found it difficult to find continued funding for sensory deprivation research, he began to focus on sensation seeking itself. on which you think you would score either low or high, what impression do you have of people who have an opposite score on those same scales? Aggression-hostility, however, seems to relate more to Eysenck’s factor psychoticism. Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\). Read more about High Sensation Seeking here. There was no relationship between sensation‐seeking and the trait dimension of neuroticism. Across both contexts, sensation seeking was an antecedent to vicarious-boomerang effects, which suggests that sensation seekers are likely to restore their threatened freedom through other avenues, but how remains unknown. Research on sensation seeking has historically been based on the hypothesis that individuals have different optimal levels of stimulation (Zuckerman 1979).Individuals high in sensation seeking are posited to be chronically underaroused, as such they seek additional stimulation to maintain or attain optimal levels of arousal through pursuit of varied and novel sensations. Using factor analysis, Zuckerman and his colleagues have identified four subscales within the sensation seeking trait: Thrill and Adventure Seeking: Many people enjoy engaging in risky sports and other potentially dangerous experiences that produce unique sensations related to speed or defying gravity, such as rock climbing, BASE jumping, or drag racing. Farmers, in contrast, depend on stability of the environment (rainfall, sun, and other seasonal regularities of climate). Zuckerman emphasizes that high sensation-seeking is a normal personality trait, despite its association with risky behavior. The Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale-V (SSS-V) consists of 40 forced-choice questions designed to assess individual differences in optimal level of stimulation. Plants grow slowly and require patience and tedious kinds of labor to insure their survival. It was because of these profound effects of sensory deprivation that Zuckerman began to pursue the underlying variable that leads individuals to their optimal level of arousal. For more information contact us at info@libretexts.org or check out our status page at https://status.libretexts.org. They need a strong capacity to focus attention on the prey while remaining alert to other factors like the direction of the wind and the movements of other hunters. He then suffered a period of depression, during which he discovered the work of Sigmund Freud. When he entered the University of Kentucky, he experienced the “disinhibitory joys of drinking, sex, and hitchhiking around the country” (pg. Here, the author is hanging from two ice screws about 800 or 900 feet up the alpine route Pinnacle Gulley on Mt. Zuckerman’s (1969) original theory explained sensation seeking (SS) in the context of an optimal level of reticulocortical arousal, wherein cortically underaroused high sensation seekers engaged in varied, novel, complex, and risky behavior to achieve a more optimal level of arousal. In addition, many of the subjects experienced both auditory and visual hallucinations. Log in. Indeed, the examination of optimal levels of arousal dates back to the very beginning of psychology: the experimentalist Wilhelm Wundt was studying it as early as 1893 (see Zuckerman, 1979), as were Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer in 1895 (Freud and Breuer, 1895/2004). However, risk may be ignored, tolerated, or minimized and may even be considered to add to the excitement of the activity. Hunters are positively excited by change, danger, and the variety and unpredictability of the hunt. Zuckerman’s (1969) original theory explained sensation seeking (SS) in the context of an optimal level of reticulocortical arousal, wherein cortically underaroused high sensation seekers engaged in varied, novel, complex, and risky behavior to achieve a more optimal level of arousal. The Sensation Seeking Scaleis one of the most common psychological instrument for measuring sensation seeking. In general, youth are more likely than adults to display less impulse control and more sensation-seeking behaviors. The intensive and extensive studies of Zuckerman and his coworkers over two decades have yielded a large amount of evidence in favor of his ideas and hypotheses. Thus, Zuckerman examined his data, conducted a factor analysis, and offered an alternative to the Five-Factor Model. On the psychobiology of personality: Essays in honor of Marvin Zuckerman. Thus, there remains a need for continued research into this field, particularly as it pertains to the evolutionary basis for personality factors, but Eysenck, Costa, McCrae, and Zuckerman have provided an excellent and coherent basis for further research. All people seem to seek an optimal level of stimulation and/or arousal. Sensation Seeking Theory - Free download as Powerpoint Presentation (.ppt), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or view presentation slides online. If you checked 13 or more of the items, you’re probably a sensation seeker. Legal. The concept was not new when Zuckerman began to study sensory deprivation and sensation seeking. Here we see the author in Mt. The paper allows an explicit test of a sensation-seeking perspective to help account for substance use (legal and illegal) among a sample of nearly … None of the effects of sensory deprivation seemed to correlate with any personality variables (Zuckerman et al., 1962). The SSS-V measures an individual’s optimal level of stimulation, or sensation-seeking tendencies (Zuckerman, Eysenck, & Eysenck, 1978). The psychology of sensation-seekers It also incorporates social nonconformity, particularly associated with belonging to groups on the fringes of conventional society. Originally published in 1979, this title represents a summary of 17 years of research centring around the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) and the theory from which the test was derived. Stelmack, R. M. Now an integral part of personality testing, including adaptations for use with children, this reissue is a chance to see where it all began. Finally, the relevance of a sensation-seeking approach to social learning theory is explored. It was created in 1964 by Marvin Zuckerman, at the University of Delaware. We also acknowledge previous National Science Foundation support under grant numbers 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739. This proved to be rather curious, since impulsivity was a substrate of neuroticism, whereas “excitement seeking” was a substrate of extraversion. His mother’s father had also come from Russia, and both sides of the family had a tradition of their sons becoming rabbis. The monoamine theory of sensation seeking involves three monoamin es: dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine (Zuckerman, 1995). Anxiety would lead to sensation seeking. The Sensation-Seeking Theory was one of the topics that bothered my mind from the moment it was first introduced until its discussion was closed. Likewise, Sensation seeking comes in many forms. Dopamine in the medial forebrain bundle and the nucleus. His theory, which exemplifies a complex and interdisciplinary approach to the sensation seeking ten- FIGURE 3.6. One theory that supports the relationship between sensation seeking and suicide is the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior [20, 21]. According to Zuckerman’s (1994) theory, sensation seeking is “a trait defined by the seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences and the willingness to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experience” (p. 27). According to this perspective, two requirements of performing a suicide are a suicidal desire and the capability to act. Zuckerman created the scale with the purpose of better understanding personality traits such as neuroticism, antisocial behavior, and psychopathy. And rock and ice climbers take full advantage of safety gear, they study self-rescue techniques, and they check their gear carefully before each trip. Yes, you can be an HSP and score high on sensation seeking too. Explanation of Theory: The sensation seeking theory states that individuals seek activities and experiences that will gratify their need for sensation, and maintains that there are different levels of sensation (high or low) that can be applied. 384-385; Zuckerman, 1994). The study of this trait has enjoyed a certain popular appeal, exemplified by the success of the X Games and, more recently, the popularity of televised mixed martial arts competitions. 10.7: Paul Costa and Robert McCrae and the Five-Factor Model of Personality. They may be more inclined to drive fast, but they are not less likely to use their seatbelts. New York: Cambridge University Press. The Sensation Seeking Scale is one of the most common psychological instrument for measuring sensation seeking.It was created in 1964 by Marvin Zuckerman, at the University of Delaware. At the center of this theory lies the fact that sensation seekers are more biologically and environmentally prone to engage in deviant activities and to take illicit drugs. Sensation seeking is a basic personality trait that has been defined as “the seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experience” (Zuckerman 1994, 27). Another problem that Zuckerman expressed with regard to the Five-Factor Model was his belief that words like “conscientiousness” have no meaning in species other than humans. The Sensation Seeking Scale is a dispositional measure designed to assess individual differences in “the seeking of varied, novel, complex and intense sensations and experiences” (Zuckerman 1994, p. 27).After its appearance in the mid-1960s, the measure underwent considerable development, and the current iteration, Form 5 (SSS-V; Zuckerman et al. If he limited his factor analysis to five factors, as Costa and McCrae had, impulsivity and sensation seeking always combined to form a factor that he called impulsive sensation seeking. A model for the relationships of mood, activity, social interaction, and clinical conditions to catechol… Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 42 : 572 –75. He retired in 2002, but has remained busy enjoying life, giving talks, writing, and conducting research (Zuckerman, 1983, 1991, 2006). Within the context of sunscreen, sensation seeking again predicted vicarious-boomerang effects along with boomerang effects. He first became interested in psychology when he encountered a book about graphology. 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