Guy L. Rowland

Sensation seeking and the tendency to view the world as threatening

Two experiments are reported in which negative correlations were found between sensation seeking (SS) and the tendency to view the world as threatening and the tendency to expect negative outcomes resulting from interactions with the world. Experiment 1 found a negative correlation between SS and a scale designed to measure how negatively people perceive the outcomes of their interactions with the environment (a measure we have labeled negative self-esteem). Negative correlations were also obtained between sensation seeking (particularly the Thrill and Adventure Seeking and the Experience Seeking subscales) and several measures of anxiety. The relationship between SS and the various measures of anxiety were somewhat different for males and females. Females showed a generally stronger relationship between SS and anxiety than males. Experiment 2 found negative correlations between SS and the perception of the amount of risk associated with various activities, the perception of the amount of danger associated with various activities, and the amount of fear elicited by various activities/situations. These results provide support for the idea that high sensation seekers perceive the world as less threatening and less likely to lead to negative outcomes than do low sensation seekers.

Sensation-seeking and selection of entertainment

Abstract The relationship between entertainment activity preference and sensation-seeking was investigated by survey and actual movie selection and viewing. Cardiac rate and rate change was monitored during movie selection and viewing. High sensation-seeking (HSS) females reported preferences for activities centered about alcohol, sexually-explicit materials and ‘rock’ music. HSS males reported preferences for sexually-explicit materials and news/documentary reports. Low sensation-seeking (LSS) males and females reported preferences for the musical stage, theatrical drama and comedy, and romantic/dramatic novels. HSS males and HSS females allotted high proportions of viewing time to an ‘action’ movie, and changed channels more frequently than LSS. The indices of cardiac response utilized in this study were unrelated to movie viewing activities, a result which does not support the ‘optimal level of arousal’ view of sensation-seeking proposed by Zuckerman (1979).

The four dimensions of sensation seeking: a confirmatory factor analysis

Abstract The factor structure of the Sensation Seeking Scale, Form V was obtained for a large Canadian sample consisting of 299 males and 439 females. Constrained maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that both male and female factors correspond to the four-dimensional model of sensation seeking postulated by Zuckerman (1979). These findings are in close agreement with previous reports of the factor structure and psychometric indices obtained with other cultural and national groups. However, the four factors accounted for only 21% of the variation for males and 20% for females. This finding is consistent with the modest KR-20 values obtained for the test subscales. Items displaying undesirable psychometric characteristics common to the present study and the extant literature are identified.

Television viewing and sensation seeking: uses, preferences and attitudes

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

A psychometric evaluation of the exercise salience scale

Abstract The psychometric properties of the Exercise Salience Scale (ESS), an instrument designed to assess exercise dependence, were investigated by administering the scale to 74 university undergraduate students who also rated themselves as to exercise dependence. Indicative of the scales construct validity, a high correlation between self-ratings and ESS scores was observed. Factoranalysis produced a 2 factor solution, instead of a 6 factor solution corresponding to the 6 a priori defined attributes of exercise dependence. The 2 factors were labeled “Response Omission Anxiety” and “Response Persistense”. These 2 factors are consistent with a free-operant avoidance model of exercise dependence.

Sensation seeking and participation in aerobic exercise classes

Abstract The structured and formal nature of aerobic exercise classes was predicted to be more attractive to low than to high sensation seekers. This relationship was investigated by administering Zuckermans (1979) Sensation-Seeking Scale, Form V and a questionnaire which probed various aspects of aerobic exercise participation (e.g. patterns of attendance, motivations for starting and continuing, and social aspects of the activity) to 177 females who were currently enrolled in aerobic exercise classes. Aerobic exercise participants were found to score lower on sensation seeking than did the individuals of comparable age groups of Australians or Canadian students.

Personality, Personal Epistemology, and Moral Judgment:

The relations among personality traits, moral judgment, and personal epistemology were investigated. The relationship between personality and moral judgments is empirically unclear, which may reflect that personal epistemology mediates the relationships between personality and moral reasoning. In the present study 41 men and 57 women, ranging in age from 18 to 46 yr. responded to Zuckermans Sensation Seeking Scale, Form V, a measure of moral reasoning or Rests Defining Issues Test, and a measure of persona] epistemology by Unger, Draper, and Pendergrass, the Attitudes About Reality scale. The pattern of inter-correlation among measures differed for men and women. For women an epistemology based on assumptions of logical positivism was negatively correlated with sensation seeking. For men an epistemology based on assumptions of logical positivism was negatively correlated with principled moral reasoning. Implications of these results are discussed.

Sensation seeking: preoccupation with diet and exercise regimens

Abstract The present study examined the hypothesis that sensation seeking correlates with (a) preoccupations about body weight and (b) the regimentation of exercise programs and diet. A sample of 55 female aerobic exercise class participants were given the Aerobic Exercise Questionnaire II, and scales for Sensation Seeking, Obsessive Compulsive Behavior and Restrained Eating. Two Aerobic Exercise Questionnaire II subscales (Preoccupation With Weight and Regimentation of Exercise) were defined by factor analysis. The results indicated that sensation seeking and obsessive compulsive scale scores were negatively correlated. Anomalous sensation seeking scale scores obtained for those individuals who scored above the mean on both of the Aerobic Exercise Questionnaire II subscales suggested socially desirable responding.

Social norms for the desirability of sensation seeking

Abstract The level of sensation seeking most socially desirable was determined by informing undergraduate students that they were to respond to Zuckermans (1979) Sensation Seeking Scale (Form V) twice, once under the usual instructions and once under instructions to create the best possible image for someone they found attractive. Scores under the best image instructions (M = 23.85, SD = 6.52) were higher than scores under the usual instructions (M = 18.00, SD = 5.40). The scores produced under the best image instructions were independent of scores produced under the usual instructions. These data are interpreted as evidence of norms for the social desirability of sensation seeking. Scores from present study were compared to baseline data for this population. Under the usual instructions, males scored lower than baseline, a difference not observed for females. Under the best image instructions, females scored higher than baseline, a difference not observed for males. This evidence regarding the susceptibility of the scale scores to instructional manipulations was discussed.

Visual Memory: Accuracy of Decisions of Familiar-Novel for Tachistoscopically Presented Stimuli:

Accurate familiar-novel decisions about complex visual stimuli are possible with 20-msec. presentations and are asymptotic by 500 msec. Decisions of novelty are more accurate than decisions of familiarity at all durations of exposure. Lower over-all accuracies for familiar decisions resulted from the high rates of error for certain familiar stimuli.