APA Dictionary of Psychology

a 40-item, forced-choice questionnaire designed to quantitatively measure individual differences among late adolescents and adults in optimal levels of stimulation and arousal. Items pertain to preferences for intensities of sensation (temperatures, sounds, tastes, colors), familiarity as opposed to novelty, routine as opposed to irregularity, and security as opposed to adventure. Each item relates to one of four subfactor scales: Thrill and Adventure Seeking, representing a desire to engage in unusual or risky physical activities; Experience Seeking, representing a need for a variety of inner experiences; Disinhibition, representing impulsiveness, extraversion, and a hedonistic lifestyle; and Boredom Susceptibility, representing a dislike of repetition, predictability, and monotony. The SSS total score for all 40 items is used as an overall measure of sensation seeking, with higher totals indicating people with a strong need for stimulation who tend to seek relatively high levels of sensory input. Many variations of the SSS exist, including brief forms and forms designed for children, and the instrument also has been translated from English into several other languages. Also called Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale. [originally developed in 1964 by clinical psychologist Marvin Zuckerman and colleagues]