across the four subscales: 1) thrill- and adventure-
seeking, 2) experience-seeking, 3) disinhibition, and 4)
boredom susceptibility.- Think of a person who is difficult for you to understand
or relate to. To the best of your knowledge, how is that
person’s profile of sensation-seeking traits the same and
different from your own? How might differences in sen-
sation-seeking preferences challenge professional and
personal relationships? - What is your sensation-seeking profile? Is it surprising to
you? How does it match or fail to match your job
requirements?
Chapter 2
Learning Objectives- Understand that optimal experiences differ by
individual, and that these differences can be linked to
genetic influences. - Compare the evolutionary benefits of being a low versus
a high sensation-seeker as they are represented by the
Behavioral Avoidance and Behavioral Inhibition Systems. - Interpret sensation-seeking behaviors that are found in
studies of human testosterone and MAO (monoamine
oxidase), and studies of rat stress hormones. - Revisit the four subtypes of sensation-seekers from
a biological perspective. - Consider non-biological factors that might influence
sensation-seeking, including how you might influence
gene expression through methylation.
Discussion Questions- The Goldilocks zone is a repeated concept through this
chapter. What is the “just right” formula for a sensation-
seeker, in terms of both biological and social factors? - It’s easy to see the evolutionary advantages and disadvan-
tages to sensation-seeking for humans from our distant
past. Do those advantages and disadvantages translate to
modern human challenges? - There are many psychotropic drug options that influ-
ence a person’s testosterone or MAO levels. What are
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