capacity to focus their attention on a stimulus or task, and their
attention is not diminished when they are bombarded with noise or
beset by worries. High sensation-seekers can pivot rapidly and
easily between tasks, which can be difficult for the low sensation-
seeker like me.^19 This might explain why I am so distracted by my
students’ distractions. But distractions actually help some sensa-
tion-seekers perform better because the distractions prevent bore-
dom. Boredom can interfere with a high sensation-seeker’s ability
to complete work just as much as distractions can prevent a low
sensation-seeker from getting anything done.^20
Nevertheless, multitasking can be dangerous. Because of
some sensation-seekers’ high susceptibility to boredom, multitask-
ing may sound like a harmless component of sensation-seeking.
Those who multitask the most are actually the least effective at it,
while also feeling the most confident in their ability to do many
things at once.^21 These self-assured, yet ineffective, multitaskers
are also the ones who show high levels of sensation-seeking. For
example, those with the highest self-reported cell phone usage
while driving were multitasking sensation-seekers. A predilection
for distractions paired with an overestimation of one’s actual cap-
abilities can result in dangerous situations on the road.
In their study of sensation-seekers, Joonbum Lee and his
team had people tune their radios while in a driving simulator.
They discovered that the higher the level of sensation-seeking, the
more likely the participants were to tune the radio and glance away
from the road. What’s more, high sensation-seekers are more likely
to drive faster (more on that inChapter 7) and to glance away from
the road when they are driving.^22Where the Wind Takes You: How High
Sensation-Seekers Travel the World
According to a recent study, Americans spend nearly a year of their
lives day dreaming about being on vacation.^23 It’s no wonder that
travel and tourism is one of the world’s largest industries with
a 2.3 billion dollar global economic impact. If you throw in accom-
modations, transportation, entertainment, and attractions, that
number balloons to 76 trillion according to the World Travel and
Tourism Council.^24 Why do people do it? All sorts of reasons. Travel
is a common passion for many people, it helps them refresh their
minds, some travel to visit a friend or a family member, or maybe55 / The Everyday Life of a High Sensation-SeekerDownloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSF Library, on 11 Nov 2019 at 14:18:13, subject to the Cambridge