Background Information: In Chapter 7 of our textbook, sensation seeking is discussed in detail as one of the dimensions of personality postulated to have a physiological basis. You may recall that sensation seeking is the tendency to seek out thrilling and exciting activities, take risks, and avoid boredom. As well, Hebb developed the theory of optimal level of arousal, which was used by Eysenck in his theory of extraversion. Zuckerman developed a questionnaire designed to measure the extent to which a person needs novel or exciting experiences, and enjoys the thrills and excitement associated with them. He called the questionnaire the Sensation-Seeking Scale. We are going to examine this scale for our Lab.
Also, in Chapter 2, we examined S-data(self-report), which has various pros and cons for its use in personality assessment. We will also be applying this section to this lab.
Goal: Apply critical thinking about S-data in evaluating personality within the context of the example of sensation-seeking.
Step 1: Complete Zuckerman’s Sensation-Seeking Questionnaire, which is attached to this lab. Compute your score as instructed at the bottom of the measure.
Step 2: Write a short-essay response answering the following questions (500 words).
In what way does this measure reflect Zuckerman’s sensation-seeking theory in general?
Do these items accurately capture what you understand to be “sensation seeking”? Which one(s) in particular?
Do you think your score reflects your idea of your own sensation seeking? Or, did you score low on sensation seeking but previously thought of yourself as a risk-taker? Or maybe did you score higher than you thought you would? Why might that be?
What are the advantages of using S-data to collect information about this personality correlate? What might be the disadvantages?
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|