Sensation Seeking: Signs of the trait and how to deal with it

We all want to experience something and gather new impressions: this is due to the personality trait of sensation seeking. Here you can find out how it manifests itself and can sometimes be accompanied by negative consequences.

Traveling to exotic countries, dangerous hobbies or gambling – sensation seeking describes an often insatiable desire for new experiences and thrills. But the desire for further education can also be classified under sensation seeking, as can the need for variety. For example, if you want to change your job, want to remodel your home or would like a new hairstyle.

Sensation seeking, i.e. searching for new experiences and impressions, is a quality that tempts people to keep pushing their own limits and trying out new things. Sensation seeking can be harmless, but it can also be dangerous.

The Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale

Sensation seeking is a personality trait that all people have. However, for some it is more pronounced than for others. The US psychologist Marvin Zuckerman described the concept and characteristics of sensation seeking. In the 1950s he began researching human personalities. Then in the 1960s he developed the concept of the sensation seeker.

It assumes that each person has an individual level of arousal that is stimulated by stimuli. We look for such charms. For example, if you enjoy mountain biking, descending a dangerous, unfamiliar slope can be an appealing thrill. However, sensation seeking does not always have to involve dangerous activities. Sensation seeking is unique to each person.

With the Sensation Seeking Scale, Marvin Zuckerman developed a 40-question test that can be used to categorize the manifestations of sensation seeking. Maybe you recognize yourself in one of the four types:

1. Thrill and Adventure Seeking: People seek thrills by exposing themselves to new and seemingly dangerous situations. They long for a real adrenaline rush. But this group also includes people with a pronounced tendency to compete.
2. Experience Seeking: This personality trait is the most widespread, because it is about having fundamentally new experiences. These include, for example, learning languages ​​or instruments or the desire to be a lot of the world. But the urge to experiment with drugs is also part of it.
3. Disinhibition Seeking: Here people experience a kick from stimuli in disinhibited social situations, for example at parties. Celebrations are ideal for sensation seeking. After all, parties often offer an opportunity to meet new people, to be boisterous and also to consume alcohol and drugs. In contrast to experience seeking, intoxicants are only ever taken in company as a group experience.
4. Boredom Susceptibility: This form of sensation seeking applies to people who cannot deal with boredom and therefore need constant distraction and external stimuli. If these disappear, those affected suffer from an inner restlessness that bothers them.

Marvin Zuckerman’s test is still the standard in psychology. It has already been revised several times and is used by the military, for example, to find out how soldiers are coping with pressure or to evaluate their behavior. Other areas of application are advertising and marketing, where the scale helps to be able to address different target groups more precisely.

Sensation seeking is not the same as willing to take risks

However, sensation-seeking is not the same as risk-taking. This behavior is also divided into a scale. This is called DOSPERT and stands for Domain-Specific Risk-Taking. The scale is used to measure how likely it is that a person takes a risk. Risk-taking is measured in five areas: financial, health/safety, leisure, ethical and social decision-making.

However, there is a connection between sensation-seeking and risk-taking: According to a study, sensation-seeking explains risk-taking behavior in 16 percent of the participants.

Sensation Seeking: Can it be done safely and sustainably?

Sensation seeking is something we all have in common, because in one way or another everyone wants to gain new experiences and experience something. So sensation seeking isn’t inherently a bad thing. However, you should question how the search for new impressions could possibly become dangerous for you and others or at the expense of your fellow human beings, the environment and the climate.

For example, if you would like to experience a place that seems exotic to you before it may no longer be possible due to the climate crisis and its consequences, realize that such last chance tourism can be very problematic. For example, remember that traveling to distant countries gives you new impressions, but also increases your carbon footprint if you travel by plane a lot.

With these tips you can live out your sensation-seeking behavior more sustainably:

• If you’re constantly plagued by wanderlust, you don’t have to get on the next long-haul plane straight away to experience something new. There are also many exciting impressions waiting for you when traveling slowly, for example on an Interrail trip through Europe. Train travel not only saves climate-damaging CO2, you also get something from the route when traveling by train and have enough time to process your impressions. Ideally, you will also get to know interesting people. Perhaps learning a new language will also satisfy your wanderlust, or you can incorporate micro-adventures into your everyday life.
• Be aware of the risks before exposing yourself to a dangerous situation. Is it really worth it to you that you might seriously hurt yourself doing it? Try to find a less daredevil activity for an adrenaline rush. For example, start a challenging but not risky sport in which you can slowly improve your performance. You may be able to find a new hobby that can quench your thirst for new things on a regular basis.
• As flat as it sounds: You can have fun at parties or in the club without alcohol. A great evening with new acquaintances and lots of impressions can happen not only when you are in a state of intoxication. And the best thing about it: The next morning you can remember everything exactly without being tormented by an annoying hangover. Instead of drinking, try dancing more because science has shown that dancing makes you happy.
• If you like to organize parties yourself, you can make sure to celebrate sustainably by avoiding disposable tableware and making your own snacks instead of buying them wrapped in plastic.
• Perhaps your need for new experiences will also be satisfied if you are socially involved or actively support environmental protection projects. For example, you could read aloud in a retirement home or take part in garbage collection campaigns. So not only do you benefit from sensation seeking, but also others and the environment.
• Ask yourself why you are constantly looking for new stimuli and why you are immediately troubled when you are inactive – if that is the case. Mindfulness exercises can help with this. Even if our meritocracy often wants to convey this to us: You don’t have to be constantly productive or experience something. Because this urge often creates stress in your free time.

Read more on Techzle.com:

• Burnout symptoms: You should take these signs seriously
• Reduce stress: 7 tips to slow down your life
• Sustainable active holidays: 3 exciting ideas