Almost everyone seems to know a thrill seeker and speaks of him or
her with admiration, if not with near disbelief.
Did you see that guy on YouTube on top of the skyscraper?
Or the guys who raced up an abandoned building to parachute down?
Or the 80 year old woman who walked a rope along a gorge?
Or the retired circus performers in a tent behind the mall?
High sensation seekers are known for some thrilling hobbies and habits.
Last week we discussed some of the different motivations
behind those activities.
We discussed the idea of crux.
Some sensation seekers put themselves into highly chaotic and
intense experiences because it forces them to find their way out of them.
They find the challenge and
the resolution of the challenge to be an amazing experience.
To some extent, we all push ourselves.
What's the point of doing a crossword puzzle if you know you can do it?
If you lift weights, why only lift the weights you know you can lift easily?
Well, some high sensation seekers put themselves into puzzling situations where
their physical or emotional abilities can help them overcome challenges.
That's the idea of crux.
We also discussed how sensation seeking is associated with emotional regulation.
Emotional regulation is your ability to exert control over your feelings.
Some sensation seekers use their hobbies to practice control over their emotions.
And then they transfer this ability to control their emotions back
to their everyday lives.
We also discussed how sensation seekers seek sensations in both travel and food.
In terms of travel,
some high sensation seekers use travel to expose themselves to different cultures.
They prefer to be on the ground and to experience it as a local.
And don't forget food.
We looked at two motivations that high sensation seekers have around food.
Some high sensation seekers see food as a way to travel and
to experience the culture of others.
But some high sensation seekers are drawn to unusual foods simply for
the experience.
People who score high on experience seeking are drawn to unusual foods
because they want to have the experience of trying something new.
They're less prone to be disgusted,
as I'm sure you remember from our Jelly Bean challenge.
So that's a peek into some of the habits and hobbies of high sensation seekers.
If you're wondering how this personality trait affects
the relationships of high sensation seekers well,
we'll discuss that in our next lesson. >> The preceding
program is copyrighted by Emory University