Differences in risk experience between sensation avoiders and sensation seekers

The prime purpose of our study was to find out whether the need for stimulation has a systematic influence on perceived risk. While driving on a motorway, 21 male sensation avoiders and 21 male sensation seekers had to follow another car, once at a free following distance chosen by the subject himself and once at a prescribed following distance of 15 m. While following the other car, three measures of target risk were taken, namely the time-headway as a behavioural measure, verbal risk ratings as a cognitive measures and the heart rate variability as a physiological measure of mental effort. The results indicate that sensation avoiders preferred a longer following distance than sensation seekers, while no differences were observed with respect to the verbal risk ratings and heart rate variability. Prescribed following resulted in a shorter time-headway which was reflected in an increase in experienced risk at both the cognitive and physiological levels, these effects being largest for the sensation avoiders. Relating our results to the general concept of sensation seeking we conclude that differences in sensation seeking are primarily related to differences in overt behaviour. At the cognitive and physiological level, sensation seekers and sensation avoiders are comparable to each other. In order to achieve their preferred cognitive and physiological level of perceived risk, sensation seekers, as compared to sensation avoiders, take more risks at the behavioural level.