(Exclusively for the 5th National Conference of the Association of Psychological Counseling, Mind India, and Gawahati)
The search for a perfect height in Sensation seeking
Dr. Athiqul H. Laskar, M.Sc. (USA), Ph.D., (USA),
Sports Psychology & Motivation Consultant,
New Jersey, U.S.A.
Introduction
The term “sensation” is used rather than “stimulation” because it shows the sensory effects of external stimulation that is most important in defining the value of primary reinforcement. A television addict might be called a stimulation seeker, but television provides little in the way of novel sensation. Sensation seeking may be described as a “trait” or a “state”. A trait can be defined as the tendency to experience the relevant state and behave in a specific manner on many occasions in many (but certainly not all) situations. The trait of sensation seeking refers to the tendency to seek and explore relatively novel and stimulating situations. The state of sensation seeking is one defined by a predominance of characteristic types of strong, positive affect feelings in novel and risky.
If we look at the past history of sensation seeking(Dr. A.H. Laskar55), we may find that the sensation seeking and the thrill of adventure has attracted many people to the sports of : mountain climbing, skydiving, extreme sports, public speaking, roller coaster riding, extreme sports, hang gliding, thrill seekers report, bridge jumping, developing skill, self efficacy, outcome efficacy, people who avoid risk, negative thoughts, antidote for negative thoughts, rope courses, Marvin Zuckerman form V of Sensation Seeking, sensory deprivation, sensation seeking scale, sss components, sss predictor of addiction, male-limited alcoholic, brain response to novelty, psychological characteristics, brain chemistry differences, and important for prevention.
The search for sensation has caused many people to launch expeditions in risk involving mountains around the world, and other form of risking involving sports often without considering their own safety. As a result, many lives have been lost in the bed of sports arenas around the world so far including the Himalayas(1 & 56). Pinpointing the motivation for sensation seeking is difficult. What sensation seekers like Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, Nail Armstrong, John Gland (Astronauts), Tenzing Norgay (Mt. Everest Climber) and others see or feel is the beauty of the sports or invention, purity of its very spirit, solitude glory or the great challenge to ones endurance and resourcefulness. However, very few persons possess the actual requisite for physiological activation or interest in undertaking the risk of these extreme risking involving sports.
The concept of Sensation Seeking(1) is to assess individual differences in optimal levels of stimulation. Since its initial development, the sensation seeking scale has undergone various changes. The most recent form has 40 forced-choice items separated into factorial derived subscales designed to measure the dimension of sensation seeking (2) as a whole as well as Thrill and Adventure Seeking, Risk, Experience Seeking, Dis-inhibition, and Boredom Susceptibility, in another word, likely to be influenced or harmed by a specific thing.
The very concept of optimal level of stimulation, excitation, or activation(3) in a person who needs experiences to maintain an optimal level of arousal is called sensation seeking. His or her optimal level of arousal is assumed to be greater than that of non-sensation seekers. When stimuli and experience become repetitive, it is assumed that the sensation seeker will become bored and non - responsive more quickly than most other individuals. He or she is presumed to be sensitive to inner sensation and non - confirming to external constraints (restriction). The sensation seeking scale was developed to asses individual differences in optimal levels of stimulation.
Sensation Seeking as a Human Trait
The first scale developed was the general sensation seeking scale by Dr. Marvin Zuckerman(4). This scale was obtained from factor analyses of a broad range of items expressing preferences for or avoidance of dangerous sports, the need for general excitement, attraction to new and unfamiliar situations, a preference for irregularity as opposed to routine, and preference for exciting, as opposed to reliable or predictable, friends. Later factor analyses in America and England using rotational methods found four factors indicating a substantial factor reliability have been found in several other countries: Sensation seekers or mountain climbers according to Fowler,(5) person interested in climbing mountain in the Himalayas and other high mountain ridges around the world involving risk and danger. However, mountain climbing or any similar sports require skill, technique, and high activation. Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) subscale consists of items expressing desires to engage in sports or activities involving some physical danger or risk, such as mountain-climbing, bridge jumping, extreme sports, skydiving, parachute jumping, scuba diving, car speeding or racing, high altitude ski racing, etc(6). Experience Seeking (ES) subscale consists of items describing the desire to seek new experiences through travel and through the mind and senses by living in a non-conforming lifestyle with unconventional friends(6). Disinhibition (Dis) (less inhibited) subscale items describe the need to disinhibit behavior in the social sphere by drinking, partying, and seeking a variety of sexual partners.(6). Boredom Susceptibility (BS) subscale items indicate an aversion for repetitive experience of any kind, routine work, or even dull or predictable people. Other items indicate a restless reaction when things are unchanging(6).
Theories of Sensation Seeking
To understand Sensation Seeking more clearly, one needs an explanation of the many of the many theoretical views of the Sensation Seeking need. Sports psychologists and authors over the years have developed many scales to measure sensation seeking.
Penny’s(7) Stimulus Variation Seeking Scale was constructed to determine the amount of exteroceptive stimulus variation seeking customarily engaged in by an individual. Fiske and Madi (unpublished); in their paper proposed that varied experience is oriented toward and sought for its own sake. Anyone can choose to vary his environment by responding and changing stimulus conditions. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that stimulus variations seeking underlie exploration, alteration, curiosity, and play.
Another concept of stimulus variation seeking is optimal level of stimulation. A number of researchers and sports psychologists have suggested that stimulus seeking activity is designed to maintain stimulation at an optimal level. Other studies have yielded wide individual differences in stimulus variation seeking and presumably individual differences in optimal levels of stimulation.
Three properties of the Stimulus Variation Seeking Scale have been reported. The first property investigated was the reliability of the scale. The second property explored was its discriminant validity, i.e., a test can be invalidated by high correlation with other test can be invalidated by high correlation with other tests that purport or suggest to measure different traits. The third property investigated was the convergent (which comes together from all directions) validity of the scale. The Stimulus Variation Seeking Scale has been found to be related to auto kinesis (indirect movement of cell) and sensation seeking.
Leuba(8) adds that the principle of optimal stimulation may have a good deal to do with the gaining of ascendancy of priority by certain responses over others. He also adds that in infancy, random movements, as in babbling or during optimal stimulation, are reinforced over movements accompanied by either too little or too much environment to bear upon tactual and other sense organs, it will be most strongly reinforced provided only exploration does not produce excessive stimulation.
Atkinson’s(9) (study states that the first problem in risk-taking behavior is to account for an individual’s selection of one path of action from a set of possible alternatives. The second problem is to account for the amplitude or vigor of the action tendency once it is initiated, and for its tendency to persist for a timed in a given direction. According to Hebb,(10) man’s motivation is a function of his exteroceptive or physiology of stimuli that are external to an organism & stimulation. Isolation produces motivational and emotional disturbance quickly.
The stimulus seeking motivation of Farley’s(11) study is one of the most consistent findings with the Sensation Seeking Scale, as well as with some of the other measures, since age seems to be negatively correlated with stimulation seeking. In other words, stimulation seeking, as measured by these tests, seems to decline with age. O’Conner’s study(12) has stated that theory of achievement motivation provides a rationale for an achievement risk preference scale, which is a paired-comparison test of the intra-individual strength of motive to achievement success relative to strength of motive to avoid failure.
The Measurement of Sensation-Seeking Tendencies
Fowler(13), compared mountaineers, and a smaller group of persons not interested in mountaineering. Those compared a group of persons from a club interested in interested in mountaineering or mountain climbing scored significantly higher on the general and Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) scales of the Sensation Seeking Scale IV form than the other student non-mountain climbers. However, his study was done on platelet non-mountain oxidize (MAO) enzyme, which is contained in the mitochondria of neurons in the brain as well as in other tissues. In the brain, MAO metabolizes the monoamine neurotransmitters.
Negative relationships have been found between MAO levels and the sensation-seeking trait in two studies conducted by Murphy, et al, (14, & 15). High sensation seekers tend to have high levels of MAO. The relationship between MAO and participation in mountain climbing is consistent with the idea that the same biological factors that play a role in the broad trait of sensation seeking may influence the attraction of some individuals to risky sports.
During 80s I have made a through research study concentrating on the measurement of Dr. Zuckerman’s Form V sensation seeking scale questionnaire instead of MAO enzyme. There has been no such investigation conducted in the past, particularly with mountain climbers and non-mountain climbers using this scale.
Other studies in this area of sensation seeking include in this area include the work of Hymbough and Garrett(16), in which skydivers were compared with an equal number of controls matched on age, sex, and socioeconomic variables. As a result, the skydivers scored higher than the control group. In a similar study, straub (17 & 18) compared groups of male Hang-Gliders and Auto Racers with a group of inter-collegiate bowlers (base ball) on the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V of Dr. Zuckerman. Three of the four subscales, TAS, ES, and BS, significantly differentiated the groups. The ES scale actually accounted for the most between group variance in a stepwise discriminant function. However, discriminant function indicated that the automobile racers were higher than the hang-gliders and both of these groups were higher than the bowlers on sensation seeking.
Finally, in another study of Treiber(19) suggested that the Sensation Seeking may be systematically related to motives and patters or continues of use of drugs that are common in-groups of alcohol and drug abusers. Tendencies towards alcohol and drug abusers’ pleasure and motives violate social norms in search of excitement, mood state changes, and physiological arousal. Treiber, also found that in alcoholic offenders, sensation seeking as a personality trait was related to heighten social deviance or diverting from accepted social standards, and an alcoholic lifestyle, as reflected by repeated violations of public drunkenness statutes.
Form V of the Sensation Seeking Scale was developed based on factor analyses of Form IV that used a large heterogeneous sample of English students of both sexes (Male & Female). Factor analyses in the English samples yielded factors highly similar to those found in the American factor analyses. Based on the cross-sex and cross-national similarities in item loading, Form V was constructed. This form contains ten items representing each of the four factors. It does not contain the general scale, but uses a total score based on the sum of four factor scores.
Farley and Cax(20) in their study suggested that there might be more than one factor of sensation seeking; factor analysis was used in an attempt to discover what other factors might be included. Dr. Marvin Zuckerman (21) reported on the dimension of sensation seeking found in samples of male and female undergraduates in the Philadelphia area, where four factors were identified, three of them showed good reliability in their loading across the sexes.
Penny(22) defined Sensation Seeking optimal stimulation which is purported to measure individual differences as they are sensation oriented. However, Blackburn (23) rejects both Sensation Seeking and Sensation Seeking Scale because they do not measure Impulsivity or a strong urge to do something risky. On the other hand, different kinds of tests have been used to measure sensation seeking. These include (i) Dr. Marvin Zuckerman’s ii) Sensation Seeking Scale, (iii) Social Desirability Scale, (iv) Sensation Variation Seeking Scale, (v) Fear of Success Scale (FOSS), and (vi) Change Seeker Index (CSI).
The Sensation Seeking Scale of Dr. Marvin Zuckerman (24) designed to quantify the construct “optimal stimulation level.” The first version of the Sensation Seeking Scale was given to 268 male and 277 female undergraduate students at Brooklyn College. On about two-thirds of the items, the proportion of the Subjects choosing one of the forced-choices fell in the 30-70 percent range. The four items with the most extreme splits (greater than 85.15 percent) were dropped from the test. The remaining 50 items were Interco-related by using tetrachloric or four way correlation. The results revealed that large factor did emerge for both males and females. Twenty-six items for the males and 30 items for the females loaded. Thirty or higher on this factor. To determine the similarity of the item factor structure across the sexes, the item-factor loading of sexes were ranked for the males and females, and the two sets of ranks were correlated by using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation. Rho was 0.91, indicating near identity between the items-factor pattern in both Sexes.
Change Seeker Index (CSI) is habitually consistent pattern of behavior that controls the amount and the kind of stimulus input a given organism receives. Stimulus input includes stimuli from both internal and external sources. Change Seeker Index (CSI) items were selected from a number of existing personalities questionnaire items that seemed to reflect change seeking. A number of other items were also devised. The preliminary questionnaire consisted of 211 items. These were administered to 3 groups, 105 college males, 137 college females, and 60 soldiers. A “phi” or a plane angle coefficient or the constant quantity placed before and multiplying the variables in an algebraic expression was computed between each item response and the upper and lower 27 percent of each distribution. The items that correlated at the .05 level in two of the three groups were retained. The 95 items that make up the present form of the CSI meet these criteria.
Fear of Success Scale (FOSS) was developed by Dr. Marvin Zuckerman and Tresemer(25) to assess individual differences in the motive to avoid success. The first part of the manual deals with the construction of a fear-of success scale; the second part deals with personality correlates of the FOSS; the third presents experimental evidence supporting the predictive validity of the FOSS. Twenty-seven items of the FOSS were written with items total correlation or having relationship with affects with one score with another for males and females. The correlation was small but consistent.
High Risk Sports Populations
Hymbaugh and Garrett(26) compared 21 skydivers with an equal number of controls matched on age, sex, socio-economic, and occupational variables. They used the earlier Form II of the Sensation Seeking Scale, which contained only the General scales. As expected, the skydivers scored significantly higher than the control group on the General Sensation Seeking Scale. The mean difference of 8 points between the groups indicated that a single item pertaining to parachuting cannot account for the difference between the groups, but the other physical risk-taking items may have accounted for a large part of the difference. Straub(27) from here put all in the back compared groups of male Hang-Gliders and Auto-Racers (AR) with a group of inter-collegiate bowlers on the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V. Three of the four subscales, TAS, ES and BS, significantly differentiated the groups. The second-ranking discriminant variables were the Experience Seeking (ES), which actually accounted for the most between group variance in a stepwise discriminant function analysis. The TAS scale was the most discriminating variable. The Disinhibition scale, which ranked third, did not play a significant role in the discriminant function analysis. The BS scale ranked fourth in discriminative power. Discriminant-function analysis indicated that the automobile racers were higher than the hang-gliders were, and both of these groups were higher than the bowlers on sensation seeking. The hang-gliders and auto racers reported receiving more injuries than the bowlers did, and the majority of subjects from both of these groups regarded their sport as a high-risk activity. None of the blowers regarded their sport as a high-risk activity. None of the bowlers regarded that sport as risky. These items were not related to Sensation Seeking Scale in Stroub’s study, although reported injuries and risk appraisals might have proved an interesting comparison.
Kusyszynm, Steinberg and Elliot(28) compared a miscellaneous experimental group of “risk-takers,” including firemen, riot-squad policemen, Race-Car drivers, parachutists, and snowmobilers, with a control group consisting of 70 civil servants and college students. The risk takers scored significantly higher on the General and TAS scales of Form IV. It is not clear whether the two groups were compared on the other subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale or how well the groups were matched. The risk group included vocational risk takers, like firemen and policemen, along with sports participants like parachutists and snow-mobilers (motor-bike). While those choosing risky occupations, such as policemen, or firemen, or military aviation personnel may score high on TAS, they typically score lower on less “socially desirable” Sensation Seeking Scales like Experience Seeking and Dishibition (DIS). The control group, including civil servants and college students, was similarly heterogeneous or diverse in its characteristics.
Becon’s(29) salvage divers were experienced divers who volunteered their services for dangerous rescue and salvage diving. To raise funds for their work, this group held Stock-Car Races (SCR), in which the divers were the drivers. The group was a high sensation-seeking group by all behavioral criteria. The scored significantly higher than a group of college students, matched for age and socioeconomic back ground on the General, TAS, Dis, and BS scales of the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V.
Connolly(30) compared skiers, including ski instructors, with non-skiers, including ski instructors, with non-skiers recruited from a health spa. Sky-divers scored higher than those in the control group on the total and TAS scales of Sensation Seeking scale Form V, and ski instructors scored higher than the other skiers on the Total, TAS, and ES scales.
Comparing 24 skiers who reported skiing injuries in the past and 20 who did not report any injuries, Connolly(31) found that skiers who had accidents were significantly higher than the others on the total, TAS and Dis Scales of the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V. These results show that Sensation Seeking may influence the degree of risk taking within a high Sensation Seeking group. This statement assumes that the skiers with accidents took risks, rather than that they were simply less competent skiers would not explain the result showing higher Sensation Seeking Scale scores for the ski instructors, who were undoubtedly more competent than most of the other skiers. More than three-fourths of those reporting accidents were males, consistent with the higher scores of male skiers on the Total and TAS, Sensation Seeking Scales (SSS) in Connolly’s study.
Fowler, Von Knorring, and Oreland(32) compared a group of persons from a club devoted to mountain climbing and a smaller group of persons interested in mountain climbing with a group of students not experienced or interested in mountain climbing. Those interested in mountain climbing scored significantly higher on the General and TAS scales of the Sensation Seeking Scale V than the other students. Blood samples were obtained from all subjects and levels of platelet (small cell) monoamine exidase (an enzyme present in most tissues which catalyses the oxidation and inactivation of monoamine neurotransmitters, in another word, allowing accumulation of serotonin and noradrenalin in the brain) (MAO) were assayed or a procedure adopted for measuring the biochemical activity of a samplewe. Those interested in mountain climbing had significantly lower MAO levels. MAO is an enzyme that is contained in the mitochondria biological structure found in most cells, in which respiration and energy production occur of neurons a specialized cell transmitting nerve impulses in the brain as well as in other tissues. In the brain, MAO serves the function of metabolizing the monoamine neurotransmitters. The highest levels of MAO are found in the limbic brain system, which have important functions in the regulation of appetite, pleasure, and the pain, sensitivity to reward and punishment, and emotional and behavioral arousal in general. The relationship between MAO and participation in mountain climbing is consistent with the idea that the same biological factors that play a role in the broad trait of Sensation Seeking may influence the attraction of some individuals to risky sports.
Lower Risk Sport Populations
McCuthcheon(33) compared a group of 62 runners participating in races with group of non-runners matched for sex and age. The male runners did not differ significantly from non-runners on any of the Sensation Seeking Scale V except for a borderline significant difference (P<, 10) on the Dis scale; the ratings of the male runners were lower than those of the non-runners on this scale. The non-runners at a borderline significant level (P<, 10) on the Total score and were also significantly lower (P<.05) on the TAS scale. There was no correlation between Sensation Seeking Scale scores and the order of finish in the races in either sex. Apparently Sensation Seeking is less relevant to this low-risk sport than it is to the high-risk sports already discussed. The finding of a tendency toward lower Sensation Seeking, particularly in the female runners, must be interpreted cautiously because the control-group scores were somewhat higher than might be expected for persons of the age. There is one type of running in which the running in which the runners were found to have relatively high Sensation Seeking Scores, that is “streaking”a mark a fad of the early 1970’s, which has not been classified as a sport. The participants were persons, largely college students, who felt impelled to run total naked across campuses or down city street. Their numbers along prevented alone prevented mass arrests for exhibition or defiance of public decency. The individual motives for streakers remain a mystery to this day; however, one topical investigator at the University of West Virginia, Bone(34), felt compelled to investigate the phenomenon. Using an unstandardized, one-item streaking rating scale ranging from “no desire to streak” to “have streaked,” he found significant correlation between streaking and all of the subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale. The highest correlation were with the General and TAS Scales, supporting the contention were with the General and TAS scales, supporting the contention of those who characterized streaking as a sport. Whatever it was, it apparently satisfied many kinds of needs related to Sensation Seeking. Certainly it provided a novel experience for most participants with only modicum of risk. There are no data on how many real athletic runners participated; but, according to Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, guess, the participation was low in this group, if for nothing else than the risk of stepping barefooted on broken glass.
Straub(35) contrasted female gymnasts and bowlers on the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V. Although gymnastics is probably a higher risk sport than bowling, no differences were found between the two groups on any of the Sensation Seeking scales.
Do physical education majors, as a broad group of persons generally interested in sports, differ from other college students? Wickoff(36) compared male and female physical education major students with college normative groups. No differences were found on any of the Sensation Seeking Scale. In another study relating Sensation Seeking to participation in sports in a different kind of non-college group, Cellini(37) gave the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V scale, along with rating scales of participation in various sports, to a group of 65 ex-convicts tested for vocational guidance following parole. The primary findings were significant correlation of the Total, TAS, and ES scales with participation in football. Other sports, such as running, tennis, bicycling, and swimming, showed little significant correlation with the Sensation Seeking Scales. Football may be one of the best sports for draining some of the aggressive Sensation Seeking needs characteristic of this population.
Sensation Seeking Impulsivity and Psychopathic Personality Scales
For inclusion in the Social Desirability Scale (SDS) of Marlowe-Crowne(38) a number of current personality inventories were consulted in order to devise items. An item had to meet the criterion of cultural approval and was required to have minimal pathological or abnormal implication if responded to in either the socially desirable or undesirable directions. A major objective in the development of the MC SDS was the elimination of pathology relevant to item content. To test this and for comparative purposes, the M-C SDS was submitted and graduate students in a psychology department, for ratings of the degree of maladjustment implied by socially undesirable responses to the items. A five point scale, ranging from extremely well adjusted(Black 39) to extremely maladjusted persons was employed for all the items in the M-C SDS. The mean score of 2.8, slightly below the mid-point of the scale, implied neither good nor poor adjustment. The mean rating SDS items was 3.9, which indicates that the judges considered socially undesirable responses on this scale to be definitely indicative of maladjustment.
A preliminary scale was then administered to 76 students in two introductory psychology courses, and an item analysis was completed. Thirty three items discriminated at the 0.05 levels or better between high and low total scores. Of the 33 items, 18 were keyed true and 15 false, making a response set interpretation of scores highly improbable.
Conclusion
In general reviewing the above literature the researcher discovered that a problem in the investigation of Sensation Seeking behavior is the risk-taking behavior. A true definition of this concept has been made by Dr. Marvin Zuckerman(40, 41, 42, 43, 44). The main purpose is to predict the responses in experimental situations of sensory deprivation of subjects. Farley and Berkowitz(45, 46) also contributed much to the understanding of stimulus seeking behavior. Various theories of Penny and Zuckerman(47, 48) also clearly indicate that Sensation Seeking is another concept of the optimal level of stimulation (OLS). Leuba(49) adds that the principal of optimal stimulation may have a good deal to do the gaining of ascendancy by certain responses over others. Atkinson(50) in his study of risk-taking behavior clearly indicates that man’s motivation is a function of his exteroceptivestimuli external to organism stimulation. Farley(51, 52, & 53) also adds that stimulation seeking is held to be physiologically based in the concept of physiological activation with high stimulation seekers being characteristically low in physiological activation.
The broad trait of Sensation Seeking is related to a participation in specific kinds of sports; namely, those that provide unusual sensations and novel experience, such as those involved with skydiving, hang-gliding, skiing, and scuba diving. Persons who are more experienced in these activities generally score higher than novices or less experienced persons. Risk may not be the primary requisite of these sports. The study of novice divers(54) showed that, given the choice of more prolonged, shallow dives, which provide more opportunity for exploration of the novel underwater world, and more risky deeper dives, the high Sensation Seekers opted for prolonged exploration at the shallower depths; however, high Sensation seeking skiers. High Sensation Seekers have a pronounced tendency to underestimate risk, relative to low Sensation Seekers. This cognitive difference between high and low Sensation Seekers may account for the participation of Sensation Seekers in sports or activities shunned by low Sensation Seekers. It should be emphasized that only low negative correlation exist between Sensation Seeking and anxiety traits, and even these correlation are limited to a specific kind of anxiety trait; Fear and Physical harm.
Bibliography
1 H.P.S. Ahluwalia’s “higher than Everest”, Vikas Publishing House, (P) Ltd, Delhi, Bombay and London, 1973, W.R. Berkowitz’s “Use of the Sensation Seeking Scale with Thai Subjects”, Psychological Reports, 1967,20, 635-641, and Dr. Marvin
Zuckerman’s “Sensation Seeking in England and America: cross-cultural, age and sex comparisons”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1978, 46,139-149)
2 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman’s “Dimensions of Sensation-Seeking”, Journey of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1971, 36, 53-60)
3 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman. “Sensation Seeking: Beyond and Optimal level of arousal”, Lawrence Erlbaum, Associates, Inc., Publishers, Hillsdale, New Jersey, 07642
4 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman. “Sensation Seeking and risk taking”, In C.E. Izard (ED), Emotions in personality and psychopathology, New York, Plenum, 1979, (b).
5 F.H. Farley, “Social Desirability and Dimensionally in the Sensation Seeking Scale,” Acta Psychological, 1967, 26, 89-96.
6 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, “Dimensions of Sensation Seeking”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1971, 36, 53-60.
7 R.K. Penney, R.C. Reinehr, “Development of a stimulus variations seeking scale for adult”, Psychological Reports, 1966, 18, 631-638.
8 C. Leuba, “Toward some integration of learning theories: The concept of optimal stimulation: Psychological Reports, 1955, 1, 27-33.
9 J.W. Atkison, “Motivational Determinants of Risk-taking Behavior”, Psychological Review, 1957, 64, 359-372.
10 D.O. Heeb, “The motivating effects of extroceptive dimension”, American Psychology, 1958, 13, 109-113.
11 F.H. Farley, “Social Desirability and Dimensionally in the Sensation Seeking Scale,” Acta Psychological, 1967, 26, 89-96
12 O’Conner, P., “An achievement Risk Preference Scale: A Preliminary Report”, American Psychologist, 1962, 17, 317, (Abstract).
13 C.J. Fowler, L. Von Knorring, and L. Oreland, “Platelet monoamine exidase activity in Sensation Seekers”, Psychiatry Research, 1980, 3, 273-279.
14 F. Johansson, L. Von Knorring, and L. Oreland, “Platelet MAO activity in patients with chronic pain syndromes”, Unpublished manuscript, 1976.
15 D.L. Murphy, R.H. Belmaker, M.S. Buchsbaum, N.F. Martin, R. Ciaranello, and R.J. Wyatt, “Biogenic amine related enzyme and personality variations in normalis”, Unpublished manuscript, 1977.
16 S.R. Heymen, and K.G.Rose, “Psychological variables affecting Scuba performance”, Unpublished manuscript, 1980.
17 W.F. Straub, “Sensation Seeking and Locus of Control of high and low risk female athletes”, Unpublished manuscript, 1982.
18 W.F., Straub, “Validation of Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale using high and low risk male athletes”, Unpublished Manuscript, 1982 (a).
19 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, “Sensation-Seeking in England and America: cross-cultural, age and sex comparisons”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1978, 46, 139-149.
20 F.H.Farley, and S.O. Cox, “Stimulus Seeking Motivation in adolescent as a function of age and sex”, Adolescence, 1971, 6, 207-218.
21 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and Duane P. Schulz, “Sensation Seeking and Volunteering for sensory deprivation and hypnosis experiments”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967, 31, 358-363.
22 R.K. Penney, R.C. Reinehr, “Development of a stimulus variations seeking scale for adult”, Psychological Reports, 1966, 18, 631-638.
23 R. Blackburn, “Emotionally, extroversion and aggression in paranoid and non-paranoid schizophrenic offenders”, British Journey of Psychiatry, 1968, 114, 130-132.
24 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and Duane P. Schulz, “Sensation Seeking and Volunteering for sensory deprivation and hypnosis experiments”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967, 31, 358-363.
25 D.Tresemer, “Fear of Success: Popular but unproven”, Psychology Today, 1974, 7, 82-85.
26 K. Hymbought, and J. Garret, “Sensation-Seeking among sky divers”, Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1974, 38, 118.
27 W.F Straub, “Validation of Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale using high and low risk male athletes”, Unpublished Manuscript, 1982 (a).
28 I. Kusyszy, P. Steinberg, and B. Elliot., “Arousal Seeking Physical risk-taking, and personality”, paper read at the 18th International Congress of Applied Psychology, Montreal, Canada, July, 1974.
29 J. Bacon., “Sensation-Seeking Levels for members of high risk organization”, Unpublished manuscript, 1974.
30 P.M. Connoly, “An exploratory study of adults engaging in the high risk sports of skiing”, Master Thesis, Rutgers University, 1981.
31 P.M. Connoly, “An exploratory study of adults engaging in the high risk sports of skiing”, Master Thesis, Rutgers University, 1981.
32 C.J. Fowler, L. Von Knorring ,and L. Oreland, “Platelet monoamine exidase activity in sensation seekers”, Psychiatry Research, 1980, 3, 273-279.
33 L.NMcCuthcheon, “Running and Sensation seeking”, North Virginia Community College Journal, fall 1980, II.
34 R.N.Bone, D.D.Montgomery, and E.S. Philip, “Relationship of Sensational-Seeking and anxiety”, Psychological Reports, 1972, 30, 874.
35 W.F.Straub, “Sensation-Seeking and Locus Control of high and low risk female athletes”, Unpublished manuscript, 1982 (b).
36 W.L. Wyckoff, “Are Physical Education majors Sensation Seekers?”, unpublished manuscript, 1982.
37 H.R. Cellini, “Personal Communication”, Study done for Safer Foundation, 1982.
38 D.P.Crowne, and D. Marlowe, “A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1960, 24, 349-354.
39 R. Blackburn, “Emotionally, extroversion and aggression in paranoid and non-paranoid schizophrenic offenders”, British Journal of Psychiatry, 1968, 114, 130-132.
40 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, “The development of an affect adjective check list for the measurement of anxiety”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1960, 24, 957-962.
41 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and R.N. Bone, “What is a Sensation Seeker? Personality trait and experience correlates of the Sensation-seeking Scale”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1972, 308-321.
42 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, “Sensation-Seeking: Beyond and optimal level of arousal”, Lawrence Erlbaum, associates, Inc., Publishers, Hillsdale, New Jersey, 07642.
43 Dr.Marvin Zuckerman, and C. Nathan, “Source of reports of visual and auditory sensations in perceptual isolation”, Psychological Bulletin, 1964, 62, 1-20 (b).
44 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and L. Wheeler, “To dispel fantasies about the fantasy-based measure of fear of success”, Psychological Bulletin, 1975, 2
45 W.R. Berkowitz, “Use of the Sensation Seeking Scale with Thai Subjects”, Psychological Reports, 1967, 20, 635-641.
46 F.H.farley, and S.V. Farley, “Extroversion on Stimulus seeking motivation”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967, 31, 215-216.
47 R.K. Penney, R.C. Reinehr, “Development of a stimulus variations seeking scale for adult”, Psychological Reports, 1966, 18, 631-638.
48 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and K. Link, “Construct Validity for the Sensation-Seeking Scale”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1968, 32, 420-426.
49 C. Leuba, “Toward some integration of learning theories: The concept of optimal stimulation: Psychological Reports, 1955, 1, 27-33.
50 J.W. Atkinson, “Motivational Determinants of Risk-taking Behavior”, Psychological Review, 1957, 64, 359-372.
51 F.H.Farley, “Social Desirability and Dimensionally in the Sensation-Seeking Scale”, Acta Psychological, 1967, 26, 89-96.
52 F.H. Farley, and S.O.Cox, “Stimulus-Seeking Motivation in adolescent as a function of age and sex”, Adolescence, 1971, 6, 207-216.
53 F.H.Farley, and S.V. Farley, “Extroversion on Stimulus-Seeking motivation”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967, 31, 215-216.
54 S.R. Heymen, and K.G. Rose, “Psychological variables affecting Scuba performance”, Unpublished manuscript, 1980.
55 Dr. Athilqul H. Laskar, M.Sc., Ph.D., “The 20th Century Phenomenon Sensation Seeking Tendency in Mountain Climbers”, ISBN 0-595-09023-0, Writer’s Club Press, San Jose, New York, Lincoln, (Nebraska), Shanghai, 2000.
56 H.Woodburn, T.H. Scot, and W.H. Bexton, “Effects of deceased variation in the sensory environment”, Canada Journal of Psychology, 1954, 8, 70-76.
Recommendation
The recommendations for any future research study with sensation seeking are:
1. an expansion of this study on a large sample is needed to generalize the findings in the sensation seeking tendency of mountain climbers and non-mountain climbers in India, especially in the North Eastern India.
2. A research study should explore the Sensation Seeking (SS) tendency in professional risk takers sports in India including a large sample size in order to determine any differences in sensation seeking tendency.
3. Further research investigation needs to be completed among professional risk takers in their day to day job of different cultures of India to determine any differences in sensation seeking tendency.
4. A broader study should compare the children of high sensation seeking parents with those of low sensation seeker parents who are involved in Assam Forest department including Kaziranga game sanctuary including other risky jobs in India to see whether there is any SS tendency difference.
5. a study should also explore for SS tendency between males in addition, females between 17 and 21 year of age of India based on India culture to see whether there are any SS tendency differences.
6 A study should explore whether there are any SS tendency differences between educated and uneducated sample youth of India
7. A study should explore whether there are any high risk takers between Indian University students and rural school students for recruitment of personnel in Indian armed forces for a more efficient army.
8. A study may also include to explore Sensation Seeking tendency among meritorious students and non-meritorious students in India universities.
9. A special study should included to explore high Sensation Seekers in coal mine workers and Police department personnel in India.
10. An exclusive study should be included to explore actual Sensation Seekers among members of Indian Olympic teams and Assam State Sports members to determine potential sports person for national team.
11. A study may include to explore possibilities among would be candidates seeking to join Indian Air Force and Indian Army.
12. An exclusive research study should also be done between Assam Refinery workers and Civil Secretariat workers in Assam.
13. A complete research investigation needs to be completed among professional risk takers among Industrial workers and administrative workers of India to determine any differences of risk taking and sensation seeking tendency.
Power Point Presentation:
Slide #1ROLLER COASTERS
• Some folks love them.
• Go on coasters in the dark.
• Loosen seatbelts.
• Travel around the country.
• Exciting and pleasurable.
• For others, it’s a near death experience.
Slide#2 SKY DIVING
• Friend wanted to do something unique for her 50th birthday.
• Her kids suggested skydiving.
• Tandem dive.
• Great experience even with a broken ankle.
Slide#3 EXTREME SPORTS
• Thrill seekers.
• Natural highs.
• Action gamblers.
• Speed freaks.
• What do they have in common?
• Rewarding pathways in the brain.
Slide# HANG GLIDING
• Sport most likely to result in death.
• Thrill seeking appears irrational.
• Take unreasonable risks.
• Trigger fight or flight response.
• Adrenalin surge.
• Stress reaction.
• Why take the risk?
Slide # THRILL SEEKERS REPORT
• Psychological high.
• Sense of mastery.
• Have developed skills.
• Know how to use gear.
• Coping skills.
• Able to handle situation
Slide # BRIDGE JUMPING
Slide # DEVELOPING SKILL
• First timers report intense fear.
• With practice, fear disappears
• Psychological high remains.
• Self-satisfaction associated with highly developed coping skill.
• Learn how to control fear
Slide # SELF EFFICACY
• Belief in your abilities.
• Mobilize your energy.
• Physical and psychological resources.
• Know the appropriate action to take.
• Emergency responders.
• Handle the fear.
Slide # OUTCOME EFFICACY
• Belief that you will experience satisfaction from reaching goal.
• Mastery in the past.
• Sense of accomplishment.
• Worth taking the risk.
• Joy of success.
Slide # PEOPLE WHO AVOID RISKS
• Not because they experience fear
• Not close enough to experience fear
• Haven’t even approached the threat.
• In reality, they won’t be able to cope with the situation
• Expectation of fear and failure.
Slide # FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
• Work of Bandura.
• Greatest source of threat is our inability to deal with nagging doubts about our performance.
• Should I take public speaking course?
• Will I freeze?
• What will people think?
• Never sign up
Slide # NEGATIVE THOUGHTS
• Negative thoughts are powerful un-motivating force.
• Negative thoughts create anxiety.
• Anxiety makes us apprehensive.
• Avoid situation.
Slide # ANTIDOTE FOR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS
• Self-efficacy best prevention against negative thoughts.
• Mastery in risky situations.
• Rope courses.
• Bob Marsh: “push the envelope of comfort.”
Slide # ROPE COURSES
• Safe way to develop mastery.
• Overcome fears.
• Develop trust in community.
• Improve self-image.
• Used extensively in drug rehab with adolescents.
• Team building for many different groups.
Slide # MARVIN ZUCKERMAN
Slide # SESORY DEPRIVATION
• Zuckerman was grad student in these studies.
• Interested in subjects who hated deprivation.
• Couldn’t tolerate low levels of stimulation.
• Wanted new experiences.
Slide # SENSATION SEEKING SCALE
• Developed new scale: SSS.
• Zuckerman on sensation seeking:
• “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 experiences.”
Slide # SSS COMPONENTS
• Thrill and adventure seeking. (action gamblers).
• Seek experiences outside the conventional lifestyle (travel, friends, and art).
• Disinheriting: release of inhibitions, escape the pressures of daily life. (escape gamblers).
• Low tolerance for boredom, repetition and sameness.
Slide # SSS PREDICTOR OF ADDICTION
• Sensation seeking as personality trait.
• Correlated with alcoholism.
• Gambling.
• Perhaps common in all addictions.
Slide # MALE-LIMITED ALCOHOLISM
• Males particularly susceptible
• Male limited.
• More severe, early onset.
• Many negative consequences.
• Trouble with law, at school, on job.
• Environment plays less of a role but can lessen the severity.
Slide # BRAIN RESPONSE TO NOVELTY
• Brain waves to novel stimuli.
• P3 waves.
• Less reaction in alcoholics.
• Need more stimulation?
Slide # PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Related to biology?
• Reward seeking.
• Impulsive.
• Easily bored.
• Risk takers
• Gregarious
• Push the limits
• Act out
Slide # BRAIN CHEMISTRY DIFFERENCES
• Naturally higher levels of some mood chemicals.
• Brain in high gear.
• In order to feel high, have to push the brain beyond normal level of activity.
• Greater sensation to get reward.
• Potential for addiction.
Slide # IMPORTANT FOR PREVENTION
• Gambling as example.
• Primary: before start gambling. Prevent early exposure.
• Secondary: intervene in early stages. Provide alternatives.
• Tertiary: treatment.
• Understand the role of sensation seeking to avoid switching addictions.
Slide # Conclusion
oOo
(Exclusively for the 5th National Conference of the Association of Psychological Counseling, Mind India, and Gawahati)
The search for a perfect height in Sensation seeking
Dr. Athiqul H. Laskar, M.Sc. (USA), Ph.D., (USA),
Sports Psychology & Motivation Consultant,
New Jersey, U.S.A.
Introduction
The term “sensation” is used rather than “stimulation” because it shows the sensory effects of external stimulation that is most important in defining the value of primary reinforcement. A television addict might be called a stimulation seeker, but television provides little in the way of novel sensation. Sensation seeking may be described as a “trait” or a “state”. A trait can be defined as the tendency to experience the relevant state and behave in a specific manner on many occasions in many (but certainly not all) situations. The trait of sensation seeking refers to the tendency to seek and explore relatively novel and stimulating situations. The state of sensation seeking is one defined by a predominance of characteristic types of strong, positive affect feelings in novel and risky.
If we look at the past history of sensation seeking(Dr. A.H. Laskar55), we may find that the sensation seeking and the thrill of adventure has attracted many people to the sports of : mountain climbing, skydiving, extreme sports, public speaking, roller coaster riding, extreme sports, hang gliding, thrill seekers report, bridge jumping, developing skill, self efficacy, outcome efficacy, people who avoid risk, negative thoughts, antidote for negative thoughts, rope courses, Marvin Zuckerman form V of Sensation Seeking, sensory deprivation, sensation seeking scale, sss components, sss predictor of addiction, male-limited alcoholic, brain response to novelty, psychological characteristics, brain chemistry differences, and important for prevention.
The search for sensation has caused many people to launch expeditions in risk involving mountains around the world, and other form of risking involving sports often without considering their own safety. As a result, many lives have been lost in the bed of sports arenas around the world so far including the Himalayas(1 & 56). Pinpointing the motivation for sensation seeking is difficult. What sensation seekers like Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, Nail Armstrong, John Gland (Astronauts), Tenzing Norgay (Mt. Everest Climber) and others see or feel is the beauty of the sports or invention, purity of its very spirit, solitude glory or the great challenge to ones endurance and resourcefulness. However, very few persons possess the actual requisite for physiological activation or interest in undertaking the risk of these extreme risking involving sports.
The concept of Sensation Seeking(1) is to assess individual differences in optimal levels of stimulation. Since its initial development, the sensation seeking scale has undergone various changes. The most recent form has 40 forced-choice items separated into factorial derived subscales designed to measure the dimension of sensation seeking (2) as a whole as well as Thrill and Adventure Seeking, Risk, Experience Seeking, Dis-inhibition, and Boredom Susceptibility, in another word, likely to be influenced or harmed by a specific thing.
The very concept of optimal level of stimulation, excitation, or activation(3) in a person who needs experiences to maintain an optimal level of arousal is called sensation seeking. His or her optimal level of arousal is assumed to be greater than that of non-sensation seekers. When stimuli and experience become repetitive, it is assumed that the sensation seeker will become bored and non - responsive more quickly than most other individuals. He or she is presumed to be sensitive to inner sensation and non - confirming to external constraints (restriction). The sensation seeking scale was developed to asses individual differences in optimal levels of stimulation.
Sensation Seeking as a Human Trait
The first scale developed was the general sensation seeking scale by Dr. Marvin Zuckerman(4). This scale was obtained from factor analyses of a broad range of items expressing preferences for or avoidance of dangerous sports, the need for general excitement, attraction to new and unfamiliar situations, a preference for irregularity as opposed to routine, and preference for exciting, as opposed to reliable or predictable, friends. Later factor analyses in America and England using rotational methods found four factors indicating a substantial factor reliability have been found in several other countries: Sensation seekers or mountain climbers according to Fowler,(5) person interested in climbing mountain in the Himalayas and other high mountain ridges around the world involving risk and danger. However, mountain climbing or any similar sports require skill, technique, and high activation. Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) subscale consists of items expressing desires to engage in sports or activities involving some physical danger or risk, such as mountain-climbing, bridge jumping, extreme sports, skydiving, parachute jumping, scuba diving, car speeding or racing, high altitude ski racing, etc(6). Experience Seeking (ES) subscale consists of items describing the desire to seek new experiences through travel and through the mind and senses by living in a non-conforming lifestyle with unconventional friends(6). Disinhibition (Dis) (less inhibited) subscale items describe the need to disinhibit behavior in the social sphere by drinking, partying, and seeking a variety of sexual partners.(6). Boredom Susceptibility (BS) subscale items indicate an aversion for repetitive experience of any kind, routine work, or even dull or predictable people. Other items indicate a restless reaction when things are unchanging(6).
Theories of Sensation Seeking
To understand Sensation Seeking more clearly, one needs an explanation of the many of the many theoretical views of the Sensation Seeking need. Sports psychologists and authors over the years have developed many scales to measure sensation seeking.
Penny’s(7) Stimulus Variation Seeking Scale was constructed to determine the amount of exteroceptive stimulus variation seeking customarily engaged in by an individual. Fiske and Madi (unpublished); in their paper proposed that varied experience is oriented toward and sought for its own sake. Anyone can choose to vary his environment by responding and changing stimulus conditions. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that stimulus variations seeking underlie exploration, alteration, curiosity, and play.
Another concept of stimulus variation seeking is optimal level of stimulation. A number of researchers and sports psychologists have suggested that stimulus seeking activity is designed to maintain stimulation at an optimal level. Other studies have yielded wide individual differences in stimulus variation seeking and presumably individual differences in optimal levels of stimulation.
Three properties of the Stimulus Variation Seeking Scale have been reported. The first property investigated was the reliability of the scale. The second property explored was its discriminant validity, i.e., a test can be invalidated by high correlation with other test can be invalidated by high correlation with other tests that purport or suggest to measure different traits. The third property investigated was the convergent (which comes together from all directions) validity of the scale. The Stimulus Variation Seeking Scale has been found to be related to auto kinesis (indirect movement of cell) and sensation seeking.
Leuba(8) adds that the principle of optimal stimulation may have a good deal to do with the gaining of ascendancy of priority by certain responses over others. He also adds that in infancy, random movements, as in babbling or during optimal stimulation, are reinforced over movements accompanied by either too little or too much environment to bear upon tactual and other sense organs, it will be most strongly reinforced provided only exploration does not produce excessive stimulation.
Atkinson’s(9) (study states that the first problem in risk-taking behavior is to account for an individual’s selection of one path of action from a set of possible alternatives. The second problem is to account for the amplitude or vigor of the action tendency once it is initiated, and for its tendency to persist for a timed in a given direction. According to Hebb,(10) man’s motivation is a function of his exteroceptive or physiology of stimuli that are external to an organism & stimulation. Isolation produces motivational and emotional disturbance quickly.
The stimulus seeking motivation of Farley’s(11) study is one of the most consistent findings with the Sensation Seeking Scale, as well as with some of the other measures, since age seems to be negatively correlated with stimulation seeking. In other words, stimulation seeking, as measured by these tests, seems to decline with age. O’Conner’s study(12) has stated that theory of achievement motivation provides a rationale for an achievement risk preference scale, which is a paired-comparison test of the intra-individual strength of motive to achievement success relative to strength of motive to avoid failure.
The Measurement of Sensation-Seeking Tendencies
Fowler(13), compared mountaineers, and a smaller group of persons not interested in mountaineering. Those compared a group of persons from a club interested in interested in mountaineering or mountain climbing scored significantly higher on the general and Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) scales of the Sensation Seeking Scale IV form than the other student non-mountain climbers. However, his study was done on platelet non-mountain oxidize (MAO) enzyme, which is contained in the mitochondria of neurons in the brain as well as in other tissues. In the brain, MAO metabolizes the monoamine neurotransmitters.
Negative relationships have been found between MAO levels and the sensation-seeking trait in two studies conducted by Murphy, et al, (14, & 15). High sensation seekers tend to have high levels of MAO. The relationship between MAO and participation in mountain climbing is consistent with the idea that the same biological factors that play a role in the broad trait of sensation seeking may influence the attraction of some individuals to risky sports.
During 80s I have made a through research study concentrating on the measurement of Dr. Zuckerman’s Form V sensation seeking scale questionnaire instead of MAO enzyme. There has been no such investigation conducted in the past, particularly with mountain climbers and non-mountain climbers using this scale.
Other studies in this area of sensation seeking include in this area include the work of Hymbough and Garrett(16), in which skydivers were compared with an equal number of controls matched on age, sex, and socioeconomic variables. As a result, the skydivers scored higher than the control group. In a similar study, straub (17 & 18) compared groups of male Hang-Gliders and Auto Racers with a group of inter-collegiate bowlers (base ball) on the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V of Dr. Zuckerman. Three of the four subscales, TAS, ES, and BS, significantly differentiated the groups. The ES scale actually accounted for the most between group variance in a stepwise discriminant function. However, discriminant function indicated that the automobile racers were higher than the hang-gliders and both of these groups were higher than the bowlers on sensation seeking.
Finally, in another study of Treiber(19) suggested that the Sensation Seeking may be systematically related to motives and patters or continues of use of drugs that are common in-groups of alcohol and drug abusers. Tendencies towards alcohol and drug abusers’ pleasure and motives violate social norms in search of excitement, mood state changes, and physiological arousal. Treiber, also found that in alcoholic offenders, sensation seeking as a personality trait was related to heighten social deviance or diverting from accepted social standards, and an alcoholic lifestyle, as reflected by repeated violations of public drunkenness statutes.
Form V of the Sensation Seeking Scale was developed based on factor analyses of Form IV that used a large heterogeneous sample of English students of both sexes (Male & Female). Factor analyses in the English samples yielded factors highly similar to those found in the American factor analyses. Based on the cross-sex and cross-national similarities in item loading, Form V was constructed. This form contains ten items representing each of the four factors. It does not contain the general scale, but uses a total score based on the sum of four factor scores.
Farley and Cax(20) in their study suggested that there might be more than one factor of sensation seeking; factor analysis was used in an attempt to discover what other factors might be included. Dr. Marvin Zuckerman (21) reported on the dimension of sensation seeking found in samples of male and female undergraduates in the Philadelphia area, where four factors were identified, three of them showed good reliability in their loading across the sexes.
Penny(22) defined Sensation Seeking optimal stimulation which is purported to measure individual differences as they are sensation oriented. However, Blackburn (23) rejects both Sensation Seeking and Sensation Seeking Scale because they do not measure Impulsivity or a strong urge to do something risky. On the other hand, different kinds of tests have been used to measure sensation seeking. These include (i) Dr. Marvin Zuckerman’s ii) Sensation Seeking Scale, (iii) Social Desirability Scale, (iv) Sensation Variation Seeking Scale, (v) Fear of Success Scale (FOSS), and (vi) Change Seeker Index (CSI).
The Sensation Seeking Scale of Dr. Marvin Zuckerman (24) designed to quantify the construct “optimal stimulation level.” The first version of the Sensation Seeking Scale was given to 268 male and 277 female undergraduate students at Brooklyn College. On about two-thirds of the items, the proportion of the Subjects choosing one of the forced-choices fell in the 30-70 percent range. The four items with the most extreme splits (greater than 85.15 percent) were dropped from the test. The remaining 50 items were Interco-related by using tetrachloric or four way correlation. The results revealed that large factor did emerge for both males and females. Twenty-six items for the males and 30 items for the females loaded. Thirty or higher on this factor. To determine the similarity of the item factor structure across the sexes, the item-factor loading of sexes were ranked for the males and females, and the two sets of ranks were correlated by using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation. Rho was 0.91, indicating near identity between the items-factor pattern in both Sexes.
Change Seeker Index (CSI) is habitually consistent pattern of behavior that controls the amount and the kind of stimulus input a given organism receives. Stimulus input includes stimuli from both internal and external sources. Change Seeker Index (CSI) items were selected from a number of existing personalities questionnaire items that seemed to reflect change seeking. A number of other items were also devised. The preliminary questionnaire consisted of 211 items. These were administered to 3 groups, 105 college males, 137 college females, and 60 soldiers. A “phi” or a plane angle coefficient or the constant quantity placed before and multiplying the variables in an algebraic expression was computed between each item response and the upper and lower 27 percent of each distribution. The items that correlated at the .05 level in two of the three groups were retained. The 95 items that make up the present form of the CSI meet these criteria.
Fear of Success Scale (FOSS) was developed by Dr. Marvin Zuckerman and Tresemer(25) to assess individual differences in the motive to avoid success. The first part of the manual deals with the construction of a fear-of success scale; the second part deals with personality correlates of the FOSS; the third presents experimental evidence supporting the predictive validity of the FOSS. Twenty-seven items of the FOSS were written with items total correlation or having relationship with affects with one score with another for males and females. The correlation was small but consistent.
High Risk Sports Populations
Hymbaugh and Garrett(26) compared 21 skydivers with an equal number of controls matched on age, sex, socio-economic, and occupational variables. They used the earlier Form II of the Sensation Seeking Scale, which contained only the General scales. As expected, the skydivers scored significantly higher than the control group on the General Sensation Seeking Scale. The mean difference of 8 points between the groups indicated that a single item pertaining to parachuting cannot account for the difference between the groups, but the other physical risk-taking items may have accounted for a large part of the difference. Straub(27) from here put all in the back compared groups of male Hang-Gliders and Auto-Racers (AR) with a group of inter-collegiate bowlers on the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V. Three of the four subscales, TAS, ES and BS, significantly differentiated the groups. The second-ranking discriminant variables were the Experience Seeking (ES), which actually accounted for the most between group variance in a stepwise discriminant function analysis. The TAS scale was the most discriminating variable. The Disinhibition scale, which ranked third, did not play a significant role in the discriminant function analysis. The BS scale ranked fourth in discriminative power. Discriminant-function analysis indicated that the automobile racers were higher than the hang-gliders were, and both of these groups were higher than the bowlers on sensation seeking. The hang-gliders and auto racers reported receiving more injuries than the bowlers did, and the majority of subjects from both of these groups regarded their sport as a high-risk activity. None of the blowers regarded their sport as a high-risk activity. None of the bowlers regarded that sport as risky. These items were not related to Sensation Seeking Scale in Stroub’s study, although reported injuries and risk appraisals might have proved an interesting comparison.
Kusyszynm, Steinberg and Elliot(28) compared a miscellaneous experimental group of “risk-takers,” including firemen, riot-squad policemen, Race-Car drivers, parachutists, and snowmobilers, with a control group consisting of 70 civil servants and college students. The risk takers scored significantly higher on the General and TAS scales of Form IV. It is not clear whether the two groups were compared on the other subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale or how well the groups were matched. The risk group included vocational risk takers, like firemen and policemen, along with sports participants like parachutists and snow-mobilers (motor-bike). While those choosing risky occupations, such as policemen, or firemen, or military aviation personnel may score high on TAS, they typically score lower on less “socially desirable” Sensation Seeking Scales like Experience Seeking and Dishibition (DIS). The control group, including civil servants and college students, was similarly heterogeneous or diverse in its characteristics.
Becon’s(29) salvage divers were experienced divers who volunteered their services for dangerous rescue and salvage diving. To raise funds for their work, this group held Stock-Car Races (SCR), in which the divers were the drivers. The group was a high sensation-seeking group by all behavioral criteria. The scored significantly higher than a group of college students, matched for age and socioeconomic back ground on the General, TAS, Dis, and BS scales of the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V.
Connolly(30) compared skiers, including ski instructors, with non-skiers, including ski instructors, with non-skiers recruited from a health spa. Sky-divers scored higher than those in the control group on the total and TAS scales of Sensation Seeking scale Form V, and ski instructors scored higher than the other skiers on the Total, TAS, and ES scales.
Comparing 24 skiers who reported skiing injuries in the past and 20 who did not report any injuries, Connolly(31) found that skiers who had accidents were significantly higher than the others on the total, TAS and Dis Scales of the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V. These results show that Sensation Seeking may influence the degree of risk taking within a high Sensation Seeking group. This statement assumes that the skiers with accidents took risks, rather than that they were simply less competent skiers would not explain the result showing higher Sensation Seeking Scale scores for the ski instructors, who were undoubtedly more competent than most of the other skiers. More than three-fourths of those reporting accidents were males, consistent with the higher scores of male skiers on the Total and TAS, Sensation Seeking Scales (SSS) in Connolly’s study.
Fowler, Von Knorring, and Oreland(32) compared a group of persons from a club devoted to mountain climbing and a smaller group of persons interested in mountain climbing with a group of students not experienced or interested in mountain climbing. Those interested in mountain climbing scored significantly higher on the General and TAS scales of the Sensation Seeking Scale V than the other students. Blood samples were obtained from all subjects and levels of platelet (small cell) monoamine exidase (an enzyme present in most tissues which catalyses the oxidation and inactivation of monoamine neurotransmitters, in another word, allowing accumulation of serotonin and noradrenalin in the brain) (MAO) were assayed or a procedure adopted for measuring the biochemical activity of a samplewe. Those interested in mountain climbing had significantly lower MAO levels. MAO is an enzyme that is contained in the mitochondria biological structure found in most cells, in which respiration and energy production occur of neurons a specialized cell transmitting nerve impulses in the brain as well as in other tissues. In the brain, MAO serves the function of metabolizing the monoamine neurotransmitters. The highest levels of MAO are found in the limbic brain system, which have important functions in the regulation of appetite, pleasure, and the pain, sensitivity to reward and punishment, and emotional and behavioral arousal in general. The relationship between MAO and participation in mountain climbing is consistent with the idea that the same biological factors that play a role in the broad trait of Sensation Seeking may influence the attraction of some individuals to risky sports.
Lower Risk Sport Populations
McCuthcheon(33) compared a group of 62 runners participating in races with group of non-runners matched for sex and age. The male runners did not differ significantly from non-runners on any of the Sensation Seeking Scale V except for a borderline significant difference (P<, 10) on the Dis scale; the ratings of the male runners were lower than those of the non-runners on this scale. The non-runners at a borderline significant level (P<, 10) on the Total score and were also significantly lower (P<.05) on the TAS scale. There was no correlation between Sensation Seeking Scale scores and the order of finish in the races in either sex. Apparently Sensation Seeking is less relevant to this low-risk sport than it is to the high-risk sports already discussed. The finding of a tendency toward lower Sensation Seeking, particularly in the female runners, must be interpreted cautiously because the control-group scores were somewhat higher than might be expected for persons of the age. There is one type of running in which the running in which the runners were found to have relatively high Sensation Seeking Scores, that is “streaking”a mark a fad of the early 1970’s, which has not been classified as a sport. The participants were persons, largely college students, who felt impelled to run total naked across campuses or down city street. Their numbers along prevented alone prevented mass arrests for exhibition or defiance of public decency. The individual motives for streakers remain a mystery to this day; however, one topical investigator at the University of West Virginia, Bone(34), felt compelled to investigate the phenomenon. Using an unstandardized, one-item streaking rating scale ranging from “no desire to streak” to “have streaked,” he found significant correlation between streaking and all of the subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale. The highest correlation were with the General and TAS Scales, supporting the contention were with the General and TAS scales, supporting the contention of those who characterized streaking as a sport. Whatever it was, it apparently satisfied many kinds of needs related to Sensation Seeking. Certainly it provided a novel experience for most participants with only modicum of risk. There are no data on how many real athletic runners participated; but, according to Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, guess, the participation was low in this group, if for nothing else than the risk of stepping barefooted on broken glass.
Straub(35) contrasted female gymnasts and bowlers on the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V. Although gymnastics is probably a higher risk sport than bowling, no differences were found between the two groups on any of the Sensation Seeking scales.
Do physical education majors, as a broad group of persons generally interested in sports, differ from other college students? Wickoff(36) compared male and female physical education major students with college normative groups. No differences were found on any of the Sensation Seeking Scale. In another study relating Sensation Seeking to participation in sports in a different kind of non-college group, Cellini(37) gave the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V scale, along with rating scales of participation in various sports, to a group of 65 ex-convicts tested for vocational guidance following parole. The primary findings were significant correlation of the Total, TAS, and ES scales with participation in football. Other sports, such as running, tennis, bicycling, and swimming, showed little significant correlation with the Sensation Seeking Scales. Football may be one of the best sports for draining some of the aggressive Sensation Seeking needs characteristic of this population.
Sensation Seeking Impulsivity and Psychopathic Personality Scales
For inclusion in the Social Desirability Scale (SDS) of Marlowe-Crowne(38) a number of current personality inventories were consulted in order to devise items. An item had to meet the criterion of cultural approval and was required to have minimal pathological or abnormal implication if responded to in either the socially desirable or undesirable directions. A major objective in the development of the MC SDS was the elimination of pathology relevant to item content. To test this and for comparative purposes, the M-C SDS was submitted and graduate students in a psychology department, for ratings of the degree of maladjustment implied by socially undesirable responses to the items. A five point scale, ranging from extremely well adjusted(Black 39) to extremely maladjusted persons was employed for all the items in the M-C SDS. The mean score of 2.8, slightly below the mid-point of the scale, implied neither good nor poor adjustment. The mean rating SDS items was 3.9, which indicates that the judges considered socially undesirable responses on this scale to be definitely indicative of maladjustment.
A preliminary scale was then administered to 76 students in two introductory psychology courses, and an item analysis was completed. Thirty three items discriminated at the 0.05 levels or better between high and low total scores. Of the 33 items, 18 were keyed true and 15 false, making a response set interpretation of scores highly improbable.
Conclusion
In general reviewing the above literature the researcher discovered that a problem in the investigation of Sensation Seeking behavior is the risk-taking behavior. A true definition of this concept has been made by Dr. Marvin Zuckerman(40, 41, 42, 43, 44). The main purpose is to predict the responses in experimental situations of sensory deprivation of subjects. Farley and Berkowitz(45, 46) also contributed much to the understanding of stimulus seeking behavior. Various theories of Penny and Zuckerman(47, 48) also clearly indicate that Sensation Seeking is another concept of the optimal level of stimulation (OLS). Leuba(49) adds that the principal of optimal stimulation may have a good deal to do the gaining of ascendancy by certain responses over others. Atkinson(50) in his study of risk-taking behavior clearly indicates that man’s motivation is a function of his exteroceptivestimuli external to organism stimulation. Farley(51, 52, & 53) also adds that stimulation seeking is held to be physiologically based in the concept of physiological activation with high stimulation seekers being characteristically low in physiological activation.
The broad trait of Sensation Seeking is related to a participation in specific kinds of sports; namely, those that provide unusual sensations and novel experience, such as those involved with skydiving, hang-gliding, skiing, and scuba diving. Persons who are more experienced in these activities generally score higher than novices or less experienced persons. Risk may not be the primary requisite of these sports. The study of novice divers(54) showed that, given the choice of more prolonged, shallow dives, which provide more opportunity for exploration of the novel underwater world, and more risky deeper dives, the high Sensation Seekers opted for prolonged exploration at the shallower depths; however, high Sensation seeking skiers. High Sensation Seekers have a pronounced tendency to underestimate risk, relative to low Sensation Seekers. This cognitive difference between high and low Sensation Seekers may account for the participation of Sensation Seekers in sports or activities shunned by low Sensation Seekers. It should be emphasized that only low negative correlation exist between Sensation Seeking and anxiety traits, and even these correlation are limited to a specific kind of anxiety trait; Fear and Physical harm.
Bibliography
1 H.P.S. Ahluwalia’s “higher than Everest”, Vikas Publishing House, (P) Ltd, Delhi, Bombay and London, 1973, W.R. Berkowitz’s “Use of the Sensation Seeking Scale with Thai Subjects”, Psychological Reports, 1967,20, 635-641, and Dr. Marvin
Zuckerman’s “Sensation Seeking in England and America: cross-cultural, age and sex comparisons”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1978, 46,139-149)
2 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman’s “Dimensions of Sensation-Seeking”, Journey of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1971, 36, 53-60)
3 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman. “Sensation Seeking: Beyond and Optimal level of arousal”, Lawrence Erlbaum, Associates, Inc., Publishers, Hillsdale, New Jersey, 07642
4 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman. “Sensation Seeking and risk taking”, In C.E. Izard (ED), Emotions in personality and psychopathology, New York, Plenum, 1979, (b).
5 F.H. Farley, “Social Desirability and Dimensionally in the Sensation Seeking Scale,” Acta Psychological, 1967, 26, 89-96.
6 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, “Dimensions of Sensation Seeking”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1971, 36, 53-60.
7 R.K. Penney, R.C. Reinehr, “Development of a stimulus variations seeking scale for adult”, Psychological Reports, 1966, 18, 631-638.
8 C. Leuba, “Toward some integration of learning theories: The concept of optimal stimulation: Psychological Reports, 1955, 1, 27-33.
9 J.W. Atkison, “Motivational Determinants of Risk-taking Behavior”, Psychological Review, 1957, 64, 359-372.
10 D.O. Heeb, “The motivating effects of extroceptive dimension”, American Psychology, 1958, 13, 109-113.
11 F.H. Farley, “Social Desirability and Dimensionally in the Sensation Seeking Scale,” Acta Psychological, 1967, 26, 89-96
12 O’Conner, P., “An achievement Risk Preference Scale: A Preliminary Report”, American Psychologist, 1962, 17, 317, (Abstract).
13 C.J. Fowler, L. Von Knorring, and L. Oreland, “Platelet monoamine exidase activity in Sensation Seekers”, Psychiatry Research, 1980, 3, 273-279.
14 F. Johansson, L. Von Knorring, and L. Oreland, “Platelet MAO activity in patients with chronic pain syndromes”, Unpublished manuscript, 1976.
15 D.L. Murphy, R.H. Belmaker, M.S. Buchsbaum, N.F. Martin, R. Ciaranello, and R.J. Wyatt, “Biogenic amine related enzyme and personality variations in normalis”, Unpublished manuscript, 1977.
16 S.R. Heymen, and K.G.Rose, “Psychological variables affecting Scuba performance”, Unpublished manuscript, 1980.
17 W.F. Straub, “Sensation Seeking and Locus of Control of high and low risk female athletes”, Unpublished manuscript, 1982.
18 W.F., Straub, “Validation of Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale using high and low risk male athletes”, Unpublished Manuscript, 1982 (a).
19 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, “Sensation-Seeking in England and America: cross-cultural, age and sex comparisons”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1978, 46, 139-149.
20 F.H.Farley, and S.O. Cox, “Stimulus Seeking Motivation in adolescent as a function of age and sex”, Adolescence, 1971, 6, 207-218.
21 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and Duane P. Schulz, “Sensation Seeking and Volunteering for sensory deprivation and hypnosis experiments”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967, 31, 358-363.
22 R.K. Penney, R.C. Reinehr, “Development of a stimulus variations seeking scale for adult”, Psychological Reports, 1966, 18, 631-638.
23 R. Blackburn, “Emotionally, extroversion and aggression in paranoid and non-paranoid schizophrenic offenders”, British Journey of Psychiatry, 1968, 114, 130-132.
24 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and Duane P. Schulz, “Sensation Seeking and Volunteering for sensory deprivation and hypnosis experiments”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967, 31, 358-363.
25 D.Tresemer, “Fear of Success: Popular but unproven”, Psychology Today, 1974, 7, 82-85.
26 K. Hymbought, and J. Garret, “Sensation-Seeking among sky divers”, Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1974, 38, 118.
27 W.F Straub, “Validation of Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale using high and low risk male athletes”, Unpublished Manuscript, 1982 (a).
28 I. Kusyszy, P. Steinberg, and B. Elliot., “Arousal Seeking Physical risk-taking, and personality”, paper read at the 18th International Congress of Applied Psychology, Montreal, Canada, July, 1974.
29 J. Bacon., “Sensation-Seeking Levels for members of high risk organization”, Unpublished manuscript, 1974.
30 P.M. Connoly, “An exploratory study of adults engaging in the high risk sports of skiing”, Master Thesis, Rutgers University, 1981.
31 P.M. Connoly, “An exploratory study of adults engaging in the high risk sports of skiing”, Master Thesis, Rutgers University, 1981.
32 C.J. Fowler, L. Von Knorring ,and L. Oreland, “Platelet monoamine exidase activity in sensation seekers”, Psychiatry Research, 1980, 3, 273-279.
33 L.NMcCuthcheon, “Running and Sensation seeking”, North Virginia Community College Journal, fall 1980, II.
34 R.N.Bone, D.D.Montgomery, and E.S. Philip, “Relationship of Sensational-Seeking and anxiety”, Psychological Reports, 1972, 30, 874.
35 W.F.Straub, “Sensation-Seeking and Locus Control of high and low risk female athletes”, Unpublished manuscript, 1982 (b).
36 W.L. Wyckoff, “Are Physical Education majors Sensation Seekers?”, unpublished manuscript, 1982.
37 H.R. Cellini, “Personal Communication”, Study done for Safer Foundation, 1982.
38 D.P.Crowne, and D. Marlowe, “A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1960, 24, 349-354.
39 R. Blackburn, “Emotionally, extroversion and aggression in paranoid and non-paranoid schizophrenic offenders”, British Journal of Psychiatry, 1968, 114, 130-132.
40 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, “The development of an affect adjective check list for the measurement of anxiety”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1960, 24, 957-962.
41 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and R.N. Bone, “What is a Sensation Seeker? Personality trait and experience correlates of the Sensation-seeking Scale”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1972, 308-321.
42 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, “Sensation-Seeking: Beyond and optimal level of arousal”, Lawrence Erlbaum, associates, Inc., Publishers, Hillsdale, New Jersey, 07642.
43 Dr.Marvin Zuckerman, and C. Nathan, “Source of reports of visual and auditory sensations in perceptual isolation”, Psychological Bulletin, 1964, 62, 1-20 (b).
44 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and L. Wheeler, “To dispel fantasies about the fantasy-based measure of fear of success”, Psychological Bulletin, 1975, 2
45 W.R. Berkowitz, “Use of the Sensation Seeking Scale with Thai Subjects”, Psychological Reports, 1967, 20, 635-641.
46 F.H.farley, and S.V. Farley, “Extroversion on Stimulus seeking motivation”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967, 31, 215-216.
47 R.K. Penney, R.C. Reinehr, “Development of a stimulus variations seeking scale for adult”, Psychological Reports, 1966, 18, 631-638.
48 Dr. Marvin Zuckerman, and K. Link, “Construct Validity for the Sensation-Seeking Scale”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1968, 32, 420-426.
49 C. Leuba, “Toward some integration of learning theories: The concept of optimal stimulation: Psychological Reports, 1955, 1, 27-33.
50 J.W. Atkinson, “Motivational Determinants of Risk-taking Behavior”, Psychological Review, 1957, 64, 359-372.
51 F.H.Farley, “Social Desirability and Dimensionally in the Sensation-Seeking Scale”, Acta Psychological, 1967, 26, 89-96.
52 F.H. Farley, and S.O.Cox, “Stimulus-Seeking Motivation in adolescent as a function of age and sex”, Adolescence, 1971, 6, 207-216.
53 F.H.Farley, and S.V. Farley, “Extroversion on Stimulus-Seeking motivation”, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967, 31, 215-216.
54 S.R. Heymen, and K.G. Rose, “Psychological variables affecting Scuba performance”, Unpublished manuscript, 1980.
55 Dr. Athilqul H. Laskar, M.Sc., Ph.D., “The 20th Century Phenomenon Sensation Seeking Tendency in Mountain Climbers”, ISBN 0-595-09023-0, Writer’s Club Press, San Jose, New York, Lincoln, (Nebraska), Shanghai, 2000.
56 H.Woodburn, T.H. Scot, and W.H. Bexton, “Effects of deceased variation in the sensory environment”, Canada Journal of Psychology, 1954, 8, 70-76.
Recommendation
The recommendations for any future research study with sensation seeking are:
1. an expansion of this study on a large sample is needed to generalize the findings in the sensation seeking tendency of mountain climbers and non-mountain climbers in India, especially in the North Eastern India.
2. A research study should explore the Sensation Seeking (SS) tendency in professional risk takers sports in India including a large sample size in order to determine any differences in sensation seeking tendency.
3. Further research investigation needs to be completed among professional risk takers in their day to day job of different cultures of India to determine any differences in sensation seeking tendency.
4. A broader study should compare the children of high sensation seeking parents with those of low sensation seeker parents who are involved in Assam Forest department including Kaziranga game sanctuary including other risky jobs in India to see whether there is any SS tendency difference.
5. a study should also explore for SS tendency between males in addition, females between 17 and 21 year of age of India based on India culture to see whether there are any SS tendency differences.
6 A study should explore whether there are any SS tendency differences between educated and uneducated sample youth of India
7. A study should explore whether there are any high risk takers between Indian University students and rural school students for recruitment of personnel in Indian armed forces for a more efficient army.
8. A study may also include to explore Sensation Seeking tendency among meritorious students and non-meritorious students in India universities.
9. A special study should included to explore high Sensation Seekers in coal mine workers and Police department personnel in India.
10. An exclusive study should be included to explore actual Sensation Seekers among members of Indian Olympic teams and Assam State Sports members to determine potential sports person for national team.
11. A study may include to explore possibilities among would be candidates seeking to join Indian Air Force and Indian Army.
12. An exclusive research study should also be done between Assam Refinery workers and Civil Secretariat workers in Assam.
13. A complete research investigation needs to be completed among professional risk takers among Industrial workers and administrative workers of India to determine any differences of risk taking and sensation seeking tendency.
Power Point Presentation:
Slide #1ROLLER COASTERS
• Some folks love them.
• Go on coasters in the dark.
• Loosen seatbelts.
• Travel around the country.
• Exciting and pleasurable.
• For others, it’s a near death experience.
Slide#2 SKY DIVING
• Friend wanted to do something unique for her 50th birthday.
• Her kids suggested skydiving.
• Tandem dive.
• Great experience even with a broken ankle.
Slide#3 EXTREME SPORTS
• Thrill seekers.
• Natural highs.
• Action gamblers.
• Speed freaks.
• What do they have in common?
• Rewarding pathways in the brain.
Slide# HANG GLIDING
• Sport most likely to result in death.
• Thrill seeking appears irrational.
• Take unreasonable risks.
• Trigger fight or flight response.
• Adrenalin surge.
• Stress reaction.
• Why take the risk?
Slide # THRILL SEEKERS REPORT
• Psychological high.
• Sense of mastery.
• Have developed skills.
• Know how to use gear.
• Coping skills.
• Able to handle situation
Slide # BRIDGE JUMPING
Slide # DEVELOPING SKILL
• First timers report intense fear.
• With practice, fear disappears
• Psychological high remains.
• Self-satisfaction associated with highly developed coping skill.
• Learn how to control fear
Slide # SELF EFFICACY
• Belief in your abilities.
• Mobilize your energy.
• Physical and psychological resources.
• Know the appropriate action to take.
• Emergency responders.
• Handle the fear.
Slide # OUTCOME EFFICACY
• Belief that you will experience satisfaction from reaching goal.
• Mastery in the past.
• Sense of accomplishment.
• Worth taking the risk.
• Joy of success.
Slide # PEOPLE WHO AVOID RISKS
• Not because they experience fear
• Not close enough to experience fear
• Haven’t even approached the threat.
• In reality, they won’t be able to cope with the situation
• Expectation of fear and failure.
Slide # FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
• Work of Bandura.
• Greatest source of threat is our inability to deal with nagging doubts about our performance.
• Should I take public speaking course?
• Will I freeze?
• What will people think?
• Never sign up
Slide # NEGATIVE THOUGHTS
• Negative thoughts are powerful un-motivating force.
• Negative thoughts create anxiety.
• Anxiety makes us apprehensive.
• Avoid situation.
Slide # ANTIDOTE FOR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS
• Self-efficacy best prevention against negative thoughts.
• Mastery in risky situations.
• Rope courses.
• Bob Marsh: “push the envelope of comfort.”
Slide # ROPE COURSES
• Safe way to develop mastery.
• Overcome fears.
• Develop trust in community.
• Improve self-image.
• Used extensively in drug rehab with adolescents.
• Team building for many different groups.
Slide # MARVIN ZUCKERMAN
Slide # SESORY DEPRIVATION
• Zuckerman was grad student in these studies.
• Interested in subjects who hated deprivation.
• Couldn’t tolerate low levels of stimulation.
• Wanted new experiences.
Slide # SENSATION SEEKING SCALE
• Developed new scale: SSS.
• Zuckerman on sensation seeking:
• “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 experiences.”
Slide # SSS COMPONENTS
• Thrill and adventure seeking. (action gamblers).
• Seek experiences outside the conventional lifestyle (travel, friends, and art).
• Disinheriting: release of inhibitions, escape the pressures of daily life. (escape gamblers).
• Low tolerance for boredom, repetition and sameness.
Slide # SSS PREDICTOR OF ADDICTION
• Sensation seeking as personality trait.
• Correlated with alcoholism.
• Gambling.
• Perhaps common in all addictions.
Slide # MALE-LIMITED ALCOHOLISM
• Males particularly susceptible
• Male limited.
• More severe, early onset.
• Many negative consequences.
• Trouble with law, at school, on job.
• Environment plays less of a role but can lessen the severity.
Slide # BRAIN RESPONSE TO NOVELTY
• Brain waves to novel stimuli.
• P3 waves.
• Less reaction in alcoholics.
• Need more stimulation?
Slide # PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Related to biology?
• Reward seeking.
• Impulsive.
• Easily bored.
• Risk takers
• Gregarious
• Push the limits
• Act out
Slide # BRAIN CHEMISTRY DIFFERENCES
• Naturally higher levels of some mood chemicals.
• Brain in high gear.
• In order to feel high, have to push the brain beyond normal level of activity.
• Greater sensation to get reward.
• Potential for addiction.
Slide # IMPORTANT FOR PREVENTION
• Gambling as example.
• Primary: before start gambling. Prevent early exposure.
• Secondary: intervene in early stages. Provide alternatives.
• Tertiary: treatment.
• Understand the role of sensation seeking to avoid switching addictions.
Slide # Conclusion
oOo
No comments:
Post a Comment