Preliminary evidence for the role of self-regulatory processes in sensation seeking

Sensation seeking and nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior among adolescent psychiatric patients

The Benefits and Barriers model of NSSI postulates that engagement in NSSI is positively reinforced by potent benefits, however there are a host of barriers to engagement, any one of which is salient enough to prevent engagement. It is possible that individual differences in sensation seeking, a trait that describes optimal level of positive reinforcement, may alter the balance between the benefits and barriers of engagement in NSSI. There are significant associations between engagement in NSSI and sensation seeking in college undergraduates, a population with disproportionately high rates of NSSI. However, it is unclear whether these traits play a similar role in adolescents. We expected that higher levels of sensation seeking would positively relate to any NSSI history, lifetime frequency of NSSI, and earlier age at onset of NSSI among a sample of 200 adolescents in a psychiatric hospital. Consistent with previous research, results indicated that females were more likely to engage in NSSI than males. Additionally, increased sensation seeking was associated with greater likelihood of ever engaging in NSSI and a greater number of different NSSI methods tried. Though we expected sensation seeking would be significantly related to lifetime NSSI frequency and earlier onset of NSSI, it was not. Findings suggest that individual differences may alter relations between the benefits and barriers of NSSI and that measuring sensation seeking in adolescents, especially females, and especially those experiencing psychological distress, may identify those at highest risk for engaging in NSSI and may allow for targeted intervention with these individuals.

Alexithymia and risk preferences: Predicting risk behaviour across decision domains

Risk-taking is a critical health factor as it plays a key role in several diseases and is related to a number of health risk factors. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of alexithymia in predicting risk preferences across decision domains. One hundred and thirteen participants filled out an alexithymia scale (Toronto Alexithymia Scale-TAS-20), impulsivity and venturesomeness measures (I7 scale), and-1 month later-the Cognitive Appraisal of Risky Events (CARE questionnaire). The hierarchical regression analyses showed that alexithymia positively predicted risk preferences in two domains: aggressive/illegal behaviour and irresponsible academic/work behaviour. The results also highlighted a significant association of the alexithymia facet, externally oriented thinking (EOT), with risky sexual activities. EOT also significantly predicted aggressive/illegal behaviour and irresponsible academic/work behaviour. The alexithymia facet, Difficulty Identifying Feelings, significantly predicted irresponsible academic/work behaviour. The results of the present study provide interesting insights into the connection between alexithymia and risk preferences across different decision domains. Implications for future studies and applied interventions are discussed.

Interoception, contemplative practice, and health

Interoception can be broadly defined as the sense of signals originating within the body. As such, interoception is critical for our sense of embodiment, motivation, and well-being. And yet, despite its importance, interoception remains poorly understood within modern science. This paper reviews interdisciplinary perspectives on interoception, with the goal of presenting a unified perspective from diverse fields such as neuroscience, clinical practice, and contemplative studies. It is hoped that this integrative effort will advance our understanding of how interoception determines well-being, and identify the central challenges to such understanding. To this end, we introduce an expanded taxonomy of interoceptive processes, arguing that many of these processes can be understood through an emerging predictive coding model for mind–body integration. The model, which describes the tension between expected and felt body sensation, parallels contemplative theories, and implicates interoception in a variety of affective and psychosomatic disorders. We conclude that maladaptive construal of bodily sensations may lie at the heart of many contemporary maladies, and that contemplative practices may attenuate these interpretative biases, restoring a person’s sense of presence and agency in the world.

Where's the emotion? How sport psychology can inform research on emotion in human factors

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to demonstrate how research on emotion in sport psychology might inform the field of human factors.

BACKGROUND

Human factors historically has paid little attention to the role of emotion within the research on human-system relations. The theories, methods, and practices related to research on emotion within sport psychology might be informative for human factors because fundamentally, sport psychology and human factors are applied fields concerned with enhancing performance in complex, real-world domains.

METHOD

Reviews of three areas of theory and research on emotion in sport psychology are presented, and the relevancy of each area for human factors is proposed: (a) emotional preparation and regulation for performance, (b) an emotional trait explanation for risk taking in sport, and (c) the link between emotion and motor behavior. Finally, there are suggestions for how to continue cross-talk between human factors and sport psychology about research on emotion and related topics in the future.

RESULTS

The relevance of theory and research on emotion in sport psychology for human factors is demonstrated.

CONCLUSION

The human factors field and, in particular, research on human-system relations may benefit from a consideration of theory and research on emotion in sport psychology.

APPLICATION

Theories, methods, and practices from sport psychology might be applied usefully to human factors.

Who takes risks in high-risk sports? A typological personality approach

We investigated the risk-taking behaviors of 302 men involved in high-risk sports (downhill skiing mountaineering rock climbing, paragliding, or skydiving). The sportsmen were classified using a typological approach to personality based on eight personality types, which were constructed from combinations of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness. Results showed that personality types with a configuration of low conscientiousness combined with high extraversion and/or high neuroticism (impulsive, hedonistic, insecure) were greater risk-takers. Conversely, personality types with a configuration of high conscientiousness combined with low extraversion and/or high extraversion (skeptic, brooder, entrepreneur) were lower risk-takers. Results are discussed in the context of typology and other approaches to understanding who takes risks in high-risk domains.

Alexithymia determines the anxiety experienced in skydiving

BACKGROUND

High-risk activities have typically been explored within a sensation seeking framework. They may, however, allow those with emotional difficulties to experience and regulate their emotions.

METHODS

Skydivers (n=87) completed anxiety and heart rate data four times on a single day before and after a skydive.

RESULTS

A 2 (group: alexithymic; non alexithymic) x 4 (time) ANOVA with repeated measures on the second factor revealed a significant alexithymia x time interaction, F(2.27, 192.60)=45.48, p<.001, eta(2)=.35. Anxiety fluctuated significantly more for alexithymic skydivers than it did for their non alexithymic counterparts. This interaction was not mirrored by heart rate. The relationship between alexithymia and anxiety remained significant when accounting for sensation seeking.

LIMITATIONS

The results leave open interpretations that are based on anhedonia, which was not controlled for.

CONCLUSIONS

Alexithymic individuals may find, in the high-risk domain, an environment that satisfies their emotion regulation needs.

The Cognitive Escape Scale: measuring HIV-related thought avoidance

Cognitive escape provides a model for examining the cognitive processes involved in escaping from thoughts of HIV/AIDS in a population of men who have sex with men (MSM). This investigation presents psychometric information and validation data on the Cognitive Escape Scale (CES), a measure of HIV-related cognitive avoidance. This study also examined the associations between the CES and self-report measures of theoretically related constructs, including HIV-related worry, sensation-seeking, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and risky sexual behaviors. Participants were 709 MSM (71% White, 13% Latino, 8% African-American, 6% Native American; M age = 35). The CES measured HIV-related thought avoidance. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a 3-factor structure to the CES, suggesting three strategies of cognitive escape: fatalism/short-term thinking, thought suppression/distraction, and alcohol/drug use. These factors are differentially related to several variables of interest including risky sexual behaviors. Although the CES is designed for use with both HIV negative and positive men, correlates differed between groups.

Psychological profiles and emotional regulation characteristics of women engaged in risk-taking sports

We investigated the psychological profiles and emotional regulation characteristics of women involved in risk-taking sports. The research sample (N=180) consisted of three groups of women engaged in: (1) non-risk sports (N=90); (2) risk-taking sports for leisure purposes (N=53); or (3) risk-taking sports as professionals (N=37). Each participant completed five questionnaires, the Sensation Seeking Scale, the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Risk & Excitement Inventory, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The results revealed significant differences between the groups' profiles. Of particular interest are the differences that exist between the profiles of Group 2 (escape profile, masculine gender identity, and high scores on sensation seeking, impulsivity, alexithymia) and Group 3 (compensation profile, androgynous gender identity, average score on sensation seeking, and low scores on impulsivity, alexithymia). We propose that the professional woman might be considered a model for preventing destructive risk-taking behaviors.