On Tuesday in class we learned about sensation seekers. It was interesting to me to learn about the different aspects of this personality trait. According to the slides sensation seeking is, “a personality trait defined by the seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences.” People that have this trait are more likely to have different life experiences. The four parts of sensation seeking are, thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking, disinhibition, boredom susceptibility.
One of the questions that was brought up in class was whether males are more likely than females to be sensation seekers. Here is what I was able to find from an article.
“According to University of Delaware psychologist Marvin Zuckerman, a leading authority on "sensation-seeking behavior," women are far less likely than men to risk their necks for the heck of it. You can blame the male thirst for reckless living on chemistry, in part. A quarter-century ago, researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health found that an enzyme in the brain called monoamine oxidase, or MAO, controls thrill-seeking behavior. The less MAO in your brain, the more likely you are to crave excitement and new experiences. As it turns out, men are more likely than women to have low levels of MAO.” -http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jan/10/health/he-52490
I read last night that often times sensation seekers, or adrenaline junkies are just that - addicted to adrenaline. When someone frequently experiences high-risk adrenaline rushes, their body becomes used to that intense level of excitement and often times lesser thrills are not enough. For example, if you were to go skydiving, then the next week go to Six Flags, chances are the roller coasters would not offer the same excitement they had prior to you going skydiving. Our body builds up a tolerance to that level of adrenaline, almost as a survival instinct, and once a former adrenaline rush seems tame, we need to undergo something more intense and daring to bring back that natural high. It is this search that constantly raises the bar for sensation seekers, and where I believe a majority of them gain their addiction to excitement and danger.
ReplyDeleteI find that article to be interesting because I know plenty of girls who are willing to do everything and on the contrary plenty og guys who are scared to do a lot of things. I think this thought of sensation seeking is strictly due to the person, not e gender.
ReplyDelete