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Definition
Sensation seeking is defined as “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” (Zuckerman 1979, p. 10).
Introduction
Research on sensation seeking has historically been based on the hypothesis that individuals have different optimal levels of stimulation (Zuckerman 1979). Individuals high in sensation seeking are posited to be chronically underaroused, as such they seek additional stimulation to maintain or attain optimal levels of arousal through pursuit of varied and novel sensations. Individuals high on this trait may find a wide variety of different activities to fulfill their need for excitement and novelty; therefore, this trait is related to a wide array of adaptive, neutral, and maladaptive outcomes which will be reviewed in this section.
The bulk of the research regarding this trait has used the Sensation Seeking...
References
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Maples-Keller, J.L., Berke, D.S. (2016). Sensation Seeking. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1108-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1108-1
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