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Sensation Seeking Scale

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

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Synonym

SSS-V (Form 5)

Definition

The Sensation Seeking Scale is a dispositional measure designed to assess individual differences in “the seeking of varied, novel, complex and intense sensations and experiences” (Zuckerman 1994, p. 27). After its appearance in the mid-1960s, the measure underwent considerable development, and the current iteration, Form 5 (SSS-V; Zuckerman et al. 1978), has been the standard for assessing the construct for nearly four decades.

Introduction

Research on the effects of sensory deprivation in the late 1940s revealed notable individual differences in the ability to tolerate the procedures and in the extent to which participants would seek out sources of stimulation available in the stimulus-restricted environment. A number of theorists concluded that individuals differ in their preferred levels of stimulation and arousal. The SSS was developed by Marvin Zuckerman and coworkers to predict individual differences in response to sensory deprivation. It...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Ronald E. Smith

  2. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Frank J. Schwebel

Authors
  1. Ronald E. Smith
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  2. Frank J. Schwebel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ronald E. Smith .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, USA

    Brendan Clark

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Smith, R.E., Schwebel, F.J. (2018). Sensation Seeking Scale. 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_84-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_84-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Sensation Seeking Scale
    Published:
    22 September 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_84-2

  2. Original

    Sensation Seeking Scale
    Published:
    08 July 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_84-1

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