Sensation Seeking Scale

The Sensation Seeking Scale was developed by Prof. Marvin Zuckerman almost forty years ago. It measures four psychological tendencies: thrill and adventure seeking; experience seeking; disinhibition; and susceptibility to boredom.

"Thrill seekers" get a kick out of activities or sports that provide unusual sensations and experiences-- even if they involve risk. Motorcycle racing or water-skiing, for example, might appeal to this category of sensation seekers... "Experience seekers" enjoy novel experiences--say, travel to exotic locations, listening to unusual or exciting music, experimenting with drugs or living a "non-conformist" lifestyle... "Disinhibitors" are constantly searching for opportunities to lose their inhibitions at "wild" parties involving heavy drinking and sexual activities with strangers... Finally, sensation seekers are very easily bored by repetitious, predictable experiences and people, or by routine work assignments.

Take the test over at the BBC to find out how much (and what kind) of a sensation seeker you are.

I scored very high as an "experience seeker." Makes sense for someone who's addicted to weird.

Who We Are
Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 15, 2008
Category: Quizzes | Psychology

Comments

"experience seeker" for me too Alex. Oddly enough, I scored higher under "disinhibitors" than I would have thought.

Posted by Madd Maxx on 12/15/08 at 09:52 AM

Yeah, I got 7 out of 10 on Experience Seeking, as well, but I found that the questions were too... bipolar. There were no middle grounds and in some of the questions, I would more honestly have answered somewhere in between.

Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 12/15/08 at 10:53 AM

Apparently, I love thrills and never get bored. Odd, considering I did the quiz at work, where it is not even 9am and I'm already bored.

Posted by BikerPuppy on 12/15/08 at 11:51 AM

Thrill and adventure seeking - you score 9 out of 10
Experience seeking - you score 10 out of 10
Disinhibition - you score 8 out of 10
Boredom susceptibility - you score 6 out of 10
I think this means i should quit my job leave my wife and go climb Mount Kill-a-man-Jar-oo

Posted by avmayes614 in the wt"F"-State on 12/15/08 at 12:11 PM

I flunked!

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 12/15/08 at 12:52 PM

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