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5. SENSATION SEEKING AND HEALTH-PROTECTING AND REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES

SENSATION SEEKING AND HEALTH-PROTECTING AND REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES

Kornienko Dmitrii, Derish Fedor

Perm State Humanitarian Pedagogical University, Psychological Institute, Perm, Russia

Kornienko Dmitrii, e-mail: corney@yandex.ru.

Abstract

Sensation seeking (Zuckerman, 1971) can be seen as personality trait representing the psychological basis of adaptation strategies, formed in evolution. Higher sensation seeking (SS) is associated with reproductive behavior (Farthing, 2005; Cooping et al., 2013). SS correlates with status and reputation, higher SS is associated with short-term relationship (Egorova et al., 2013). The study sample was 280 students, 18-20 years of age. The following characteristics are assessed: sensation seeking (thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking, disinhibition, boredom susceptibility, intelligence seeking, novelty avoidance) psychological well-being (Ryff, 1989) and health protecting behavior (leisure time, drinking and smoking). Higher level of SS was found in the male sample. This allows us to consider SS as the trait contributing to reproductive behavior. Men with higher levels of SS tend to be more preferred partners. SS is negatively associated with a preference for sports as leisure time, regardless of gender. “Intelligence seeking”, “novelty avoidance” are positively correlated with a tendency to consume high spirits and with smoking. Psychological well-being scales traits, such as “positive relations with others” and “personal growth”, have negative correlations with the “general sensation seeking”, “experience seeking” and “thrill and adventure seeking”. These results suggest that high SS acts in the opposite manner to different adaptive strategies. High SS leads to a focus on short-term relationship and simultaneously to low health-protecting behavior. This situation can be regarded as a preference for the traditional strategy of adaptation in terms of evolutionary psychology. Low SS on the contrary would lead to a preference strategy aimed at preserving themselves and at long-term relationship. The study was supported by Program of Strategic development of Perm state humanitarian-pedagogical university, project No. 26-F.

Keywords

sensation seeking, health-protecting behavior, reproductive strategies

Цит.: Kornienko Dmitrii, Derish Fedor SENSATION SEEKING AND HEALTH-PROTECTING AND REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2014; 3/2014; с. 31-32