that’s not always the best way of thinking. But [sensation-seeking
means] being able to...create that happiness for myself, or make
myself feel good through whatever. It may be a benefit, because
I see a way to enjoy my life without having to get high. And I still
find satisfaction in doing thrill-seeking things.”Behavioral Addictions
People can be addicted not just to drugs, but also to behaviors.
Researchers have found that sensation-seekers can struggle with
behaviors they do too much, creating problems with friends,
family, and work.
Gambling is one sensation-seeking behavior that can
become addictive. For most people, gambling is just a fun diversion.
They gamble responsibly, with only slightly smaller bank accounts
to show for their efforts. But there’s a difference between a retiree
at the penny slots and someone who takes big risks. People with
a gambling disorder seek intense stimulation, excitement, and
change, and they love risks.^23 Even in laboratory studies of lottery
strategies, sensation-seeking was associated with riskier gambling
practices.^24 Nadia Kuley and Durand Jacobs studied problem gam-
blers outside of treatment and found that they scored higher than
social gamblers on total sensation-seeking.^25 In fact, the higher
your scores on disinhibition and experience-seeking, the
larger percent of your income you are likely to spend on gambling.
Pathological gamblers develop a preoccupation with gam-
bling that can devastate their families’ financial wellbeing. For
these individuals, gambling becomes a behavioral addiction that
is linked with significant problems with family and work. They
grow concerned with the act of gambling to such a degree that
they put their personal relationships, occupational status, and
financial stability at risk.^26 They continue to gamble despite
increasing family and financial distress, have difficulty controlling
the urge to gamble, and are often unable to reduce the amount of
time and money they spend gambling. Eventually they don’t get the
same thrill from gambling so they have to increase their bets or the
frequency of gambling to get the same effect. They often become
irritable if they cut down, gamble to lift their mood, lie to hide how
much money they spend, and rely on others to bail them out. They
also frequently gamble with progressively larger amounts of money
in order to meet their ever-increasing need for excitement and
pleasure.149 / The Dark Side of High Sensation-SeekingDownloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSF Library, on 11 Nov 2019 at 14:20:10, subject to the Cambridge