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Psychophysiological correlates of sensation seeking during auditory stimulation

University of British Columbia

Behavioral and physiological responses were monitored while extreme high (n=l6) and low (n=15) scorers on the Sensation Seeking Scale were presented 10 tones at 60, 80, and 100 dB. In general, no compelling behavioral or physiological differences between the groups were found. Initially, there were no differences between the groups on the behavioral variables. The low sensation seeking subjects reported lower verbal ratings of pleasure and higher verbal ratings of stress than did the high sensationsseeking subjects as a result of increased stimulation. Although these results provide support for the hypothesis that high sensation seeking individuals prefer higher levels of stimulation, the interpretation of these data is not that clear-cut since the ratings were done over the blocks. As a result it is not clear whether the subjects are rating their response to the tones, the cummulative effect of isolation, or what. Although a "biological basis" of sensation seeking has been proposed, the present empirical data do not support this notion. Of the number of physiological variables, the only significant physiological group difference to emerge was with vasomotor activity, with the low sensationsseeking subjects being generally more responsive. Although not significant, the high sensation seeking subjects did display the predicted larger skin conductance orienting response on the first presentation of the novel stimuli. The general pattern of increased skin conductance, heart rate acceleration, and vasoconstriction in response to stimulation suggests that the experimental procedure had similar effects on "both groups. Further research with vasomotor activity may clarify the physiological basis of the sensation seeking dimension; however, at this point, the "biological "basis of sensation seeking remains unclear.

Text

2010-02-26

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/21093

Psychology

University of British Columbia

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