Sensation Seeking

The 40-item Sensation Seeking Scale (Zuckerman et al., 1978) includes questions focusing on thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility. Example items are: “I like to have new and exciting experiences and sensations even if they are a little frightening” and “I like doing things just for the thrill of it.” Responses are answered on a “true-false” dichotomous scale.

• Zuckerman, M., Eysenck, S., & Eysenck, H. J. (1978). Sensation seeking in England and America: Cross-cultural, age, and sex comparisons. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 139–149.

• Duell, N., Steinberg, L., Chein, J., Al-Hassan, S. M., Bacchini, D., Chang, L., Chaudhary, N., Di Giunta, L., Dodge, K. A., Fanti, K. A., Lansford, J. E., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., Uribe Tirado, L. M., & Alampay, L. P. (2016). Interaction of reward seeking and self-regulation in the prediction of risk taking: A cross-national test of the dual systems model. Developmental Psychology.

• Icenogle, G., Steinberg, L., Olino, T. M., Shulman, E. P., Chein, J., Alampay, L. P., Al-Hassan, S. M., Takash, H. M. S., Bacchini, D., Chang, L., Chaudhary, N., Di Giunta, L., Dodge, K. A., Fanti, K. A., Lansford, J. E., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., & Uribe Tirado, L. M. (2017). Puberty predicts approach but not avoidance behavior on the Iowa Gambling Task in a multinational sample. Child Development, 88, 1598-1614.
• Kapetanovic, S., Zietz, S., Lansford, J. E., Bacchini, D., Bornstein, M. H., Chang, L., Deater-Deckard, K., Di Giunta, L., Dodge, K. A., Gurdal, S., Junla, D., Oburu, P., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., Steinberg, L., Uribe Tirado, L. M., Yotanyamaneewong, S., Alampay, L. P., & Al-Hassan, S. M. (2023). Parenting, adolescent sensation seeking, and subsequent substance use: Moderation by adolescent temperament. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52, 1235–1254. 

• Steinberg, L., Icenogle, Shulman, E. P., Breiner, K., Chein, J. M., Bacchini, D., Chang, L., Chaudhary, N., Di Giunta, L., Dodge, K. A., Fanti, K. A., Lansford, J. E., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., Uribe Tirado, L. M., Alampay, L. P., Al-Hassan, S. M., & Takash, H. M. S. (2018). Around the world, adolescence is a time of heightened reward seeking and immature self-regulation. Developmental Science, 21(2).