Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This episode starts off a little differently than others — with a short quiz, something called the Brief Sensation-Seeking Scale, which will tell you whether you're what psychologists call a high sensation-seeker or a low sensation-seeker. Read the following eight statements, and then pick a number from 1 to 5 that corresponds to your level of agreement, where 1 is "Not at all like me," 2 is "Not like me," 3 is "Unsure or both like and not like me," 4 is "Like me," and 5 is "Very much like me."
＜#＞I would like to explore strange places.＜#＞I would like to take off on a trip with no pre-planned routes or timetables.＜#＞I get restless when I spend too much time alone.＜#＞I prefer friends who are excitingly unpredictable.＜#＞I like wild parties.＜#＞I would love to have new and exciting experiences, even if they are illegal.＜#＞I would like to try bungee jumping.＜#＞I would like to do frightening things.
Now add up all the numbers together. If you scored between 8 and 16, you are a low sensation-seeker. If you scored between 16 and 28, you're about average for sensation-seeking. If you scored over 28, you're a high sensation-seeker.
Today on the show, I unpack what these categories of personality mean with Dr. Kenneth Carter, a clinical psychologist, a professor, and the author of Buzz!: Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers, Daredevils, and Adrenaline Junkies (amzn.to/3YiomYQ) . Ken explains how sensation-seeking exists on a spectrum between chill seekers, who like safety and calm routine, and thrill seekers, who enjoy chaos, risk, and novelty. He shares how there are actually four components to high sensation-seeking, and which two tend to get people in trouble. And we talk about whether being high or low sensation-seeking is a matter of nature or nurture, how high sensation-seekers fare in romantic relationships and what they should consider in choosing a career, and what the world's chill seekers can learn from its thrill seekers.
Resources Related to the Podcast
• 40-Question Sensation-Seeking Scale Test (bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/sensation/) Connect with Ken Carter
• Ken's website (drkencarter.com/)
• Ken on IG (instagram.com/drkencarter/?hl=en)
• Ken on X (https://x.com/drkencarter)
• Ken's faculty page (https://app.oxford.emory.edu/WebApps/Directory/index.cfm/view/28)
This episode starts off a little differently than others — with a short quiz, something called the Brief Sensation-Seeking Scale, which will tell you whether you're what psychologists call a high sensation-seeker or a low sensation-seeker. Read the following eight statements, and then pick a number from 1 to 5 that corresponds to your level of agreement, where 1 is "Not at all like me," 2 is "Not like me," 3 is "Unsure or both like and not like me," 4 is "Like me," and 5 is "Very much like me."
＜#＞I would like to explore strange places.＜#＞I would like to take off on a trip with no pre-planned routes or timetables.＜#＞I get restless when I spend too much time alone.＜#＞I prefer friends who are excitingly unpredictable.＜#＞I like wild parties.＜#＞I would love to have new and exciting experiences, even if they are illegal.＜#＞I would like to try bungee jumping.＜#＞I would like to do frightening things.
Now add up all the numbers together. If you scored between 8 and 16, you are a low sensation-seeker. If you scored between 16 and 28, you're about average for sensation-seeking. If you scored over 28, you're a high sensation-seeker.
Today on the show, I unpack what these categories of personality mean with Dr. Kenneth Carter, a clinical psychologist, a professor, and the author of Buzz!: Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers, Daredevils, and Adrenaline Junkies (amzn.to/3YiomYQ) . Ken explains how sensation-seeking exists on a spectrum between chill seekers, who like safety and calm routine, and thrill seekers, who enjoy chaos, risk, and novelty. He shares how there are actually four components to high sensation-seeking, and which two tend to get people in trouble. And we talk about whether being high or low sensation-seeking is a matter of nature or nurture, how high sensation-seekers fare in romantic relationships and what they should consider in choosing a career, and what the world's chill seekers can learn from its thrill seekers.
Resources Related to the Podcast
• 40-Question Sensation-Seeking Scale Test (bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/sensation/) Connect with Ken Carter
• Ken's website (drkencarter.com/)
• Ken on IG (instagram.com/drkencarter/?hl=en)
• Ken on X (https://x.com/drkencarter)
• Ken's faculty page (https://app.oxford.emory.edu/WebApps/Directory/index.cfm/view/28)
