Question

what three systems appear to be related to sensation seeking

Answer 1

The concept of sensation seeking was first developed by Marvin Zuckerman. It refers to the personality trait of seeking novel and exciting stimulating experiences and activities.

Marvin stated that sensation seeking is related to:

a) Biological system - it has been found that people who are high on sensation seeking actually have a low level nervous system activation, hence they seek this stimulation and activation from the external environment. Also, the reverse is true. Also high levels of certain neurotransmitters like dopamine, etc are related to high sensation seeking which in turn is genetically influenced.  

b) Evolution- This trait has always been evolutionarily adaptive as people have have always benefited from certain risky behaviors like hunting, exploring etc which used to increase survival and reproductive success.

c) Gender and age - Men tend to be higher in sensation seeking than the women because of higher testosterone levels, as depicted by Marvin's research. Also, this trait peaks during late adolescence and then gradually declines with age.