Personality and Individual Differences 35 (2003) 18091819

www.elsevier.com/locate/paid

Sensation seeking and risk taking in mortality salience

Tova Rosenbloom*
Department of Criminology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel

Received 11 March 2002; received in revised form 24 December 2002; accepted 30 December 2002

Abstract
This study aimed to examine responses of sensation seekers concerning their tendency to take risks in
driving in mortality salience. Ss completed the Zuckermans Sensation Seeking scale (SSS). Two weeks
later Ss were divided into two groups; the experimental group, which was exposed to a terrifying video lm
dealing with consequences of risky driving and a control group with a nature video lm. After watching the
lms, each participant was asked to complete a risk-taking inventory (RT), which referred to the extent of
risk s/he would take while driving. High sensation seekers reported more risk taking in driving than sensa-
tion avoiders. Furthermore, a signicant interaction was found between Mortality Salience and Sensation
Seeking regarding risky driving, especially speeding. The implications of these ndings on the well-estab-
lished educational approaches based on terror are presented in the discussion.
# 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Sensation seeking; Risk taking; Mortality salience; Driving

1. Introduction

The human encounter with death has been considered as a source of terror, fear and anxiety for
most people (Florian & Mikulincer, 1997). Early studies examined whether fear of death is a
pathological or normal human emotion. Because emotional reactions to death are manifested in a
variety of ways, the conceptualization of these reactions were quite contradictory (Kastenbaum &
Aisenberg, 1972). Later, a multidimensional model of fear of personal death was proposed and
referred to intrapersonal, interpersonal and transpersonal consequences (Florian & Snowden, 1989).
While these studies have not examined how fear of personal death may inuence human cog-
nitions and behaviors, Terror Management Theory (TMT), in parallel, proposed a theoretical
framework for studying the eect of the salience of ones own mortality on human cognition and
behavior (Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszcynnski, 1991). According to this theory, cultural belief
systems evolved to protect individuals from the terror associated with the juxtaposition of

* Tel.: +972-3-5741011; fax: +972-3-5741959.

E-mail address: rosenbt1@mail.biu.ac.il (T. Rosenbloom).

0191-8869/03/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00031-X
1810 T. Rosenbloom / Personality and Individual Dierences 35 (2003) 18091819

awareness of inevitable mortality with an instinct for self-preservation. This theory suggests that
the human abilities of causal analysis, future anticipation and self-reection lead to the awareness
of ones own vulnerability and ultimate mortality, which may be manifested by anxiety and ter-
ror. People take cognitive and behavioral steps to symbolically defend themselves against the
paralyzing terror aroused by the awareness of their own mortality. These steps involve two kinds
of mechanisms: The rst kind of mechanisms are cognitive and behavioral eorts aimed at vali-
dating word views shared by other people in ones culture. These steps assist in giving meaning to
the world they live in, and thereby to gain a sense of value along with symbolical immortality.
The second kinds of mechanism are cognitive and behavioral steps aimed at increasing the sense
of self esteem by living up to those standards of value expected by culture (Taubman Ben-Ari,
Florian, & Mikulincer, 2000).
More specically, the combination of an instinctive drive for self-preservation with awareness
of the inevitability of death creates the potential for paralyzing terror. This potential for terror is
managed by a cultural anxiety buer, consisting of the cultural worldview and self esteem. People
with a high sense of self-esteem or a strong conviction on cultural world views would exhibit
relatively low levels of anxiety related feelings and cognitions.
Terror management theory does not provide an explanation to the human phenomenon of risk
taking. As mentioned before, people are motivated by instincts for self-preservation and yet get
involved in actions that endanger their lives, not necessarily inevitably. Taubman Ben Ari, Flor-
ian, and Mikulincer (1999) considered reckless driving as a reection of the action of the terror
management mechanism. Based on the TMT premises that people deny their fear of death and
raise their self esteem as a way of coping with it, they assumed that mortality salience may
increase the subjective utility value of the potential gains over the potential losses involved in
reckless driving. They found that people that perceive driving as relevant to their self-esteem reac-
ted with more reckless driving to a mortality salience condition than to a control condition. People
who did not perceive driving as relevant to their self-esteem did not react to mortality salience.
One of the personality traits highly correlated with risk taking behavior is sensation seeking
(Jonah, 1997). The term Sensation Seeking (SS) refers to individual dierences in optimal levels of
arousal and stimulation, manifested as a character dimension (Zuckerman, 1994) and regulated
by neuroregulators like the catecholamines, dopamine and norepinephrine (Zuckerman, 1999).
While the drive theory (Freud, 1917/1952) postulates that pleasure is a consequence of drive
reduction, the optimal level theory argues that drive increase can facilitate pleasure as well. High
sensation seekers need more stimulation to maintain an optimal level of arousal, while low sen-
sation seekers manage themselves better in relatively less stimulating settings.
The general trait of sensation seeking is composed of four components: (1) Thrill and Adventure
Seeking (TAS)attraction to thrill and dread; (2) Experience Seeking (ES)aspiration to
undergo variety of novel and unconventional experiences; (3) Disinhibition (Dis)loss of self
control; (4) Boredom Susceptibility (BS)intolerance toward monotonous, repetitious or pre-
dictable people and events.
Sensation seekers dier from sensation avoiders in genetic and biological characteristics but
also in their habits, preferences, and emotional and cognitive style as well. They are involved in
activities like dangerous kinds of sport (Freixanet, 1991; Jack & Ronan, 1998; Shoham, Rose, &
Kahle, 1998; Zuckerman, 1983), varied sexual initiations (Daitzman & Zuckerman, 1980; Gan-
stead & Simpson, 1990; Zuckerman, Eysenck, & Eysenck, 1978), and risky driving. High sensation
 T. Rosenbloom / Personality and Individual Dierences 35 (2003) 18091819 1811

seeking road users are more daring and commit more violations than lowers (Furnham & Saipe,
1993; Jonah, 1997; Wilson & Jonah, 1988).
Perceptual and cognitive dierences between high and low sensation seekers have been widely
investigated (Antrop, Roeyers, Van-Oost, & Buysee, 2000; Rawlings, Twomey, Burns, & Morris,
1998: Shaw & Brown, 1990; Shaw & Giambra, 1993; Zimbardo, Keough, & Boyd, 1997).
Zuckerman (1994, pp. 2325) predicted stronger attention mechanisms in high than in low
sensation seekers. The former are better in focused (selective) and divided attention and poorer in
sustained attention. Ball and Zuckerman (1992) showed that high sensation seekers performed
better than lowers in a primary attention task. Furthermore, Martin (1985) found superior per-
formance ability among high sensation seekers on the Embedded Figures Test (eld dependence/
independence), which he interprets as a reection of a superior focus of attention.
Shaw and Giambra (1993) found that high sensation seekers were able to maintain normal
performance levels in a primary task, despite distractions by their own spontaneous thoughts.
This might imply that distractions serve as an extra sensation. Zuckerman (1994, pp. 368369)
found that high sensation seekers are faster and more accurate than low ones in response to most
complicated stimulation. They also learn faster in settings of instrumental conditioning, when
they regard a task as a great challenge.
Emotionally, they are more likely to be non-conformists and to have an intense need for
autonomy and independence. In stressful conditions such as in the case of captivity, they
adjust better than the avoiders, by regarding the new situation as challenging. Avoiders are
more detached and tend to practice denial strategies (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985; Eysenck &
Zuckerman, 1978; Franken, Gibson, & Rowland, 1992; Solomon, Ginzburg, Neria, & Ohry,
1995).
In summary, sensation seekers dier from sensation avoiders in biological, perceptual- cogni-
tive and emotional respects. Most of their habits and preferences are aimed to maintain an opti-
mal (preferably high) level of arousal. Relative to most types of activities in modern life, road use
is a great facilitator of the motivation to seek sensation.
People are ready to endanger themselves, in contrast to the basic striving for self-preservation,
in case the endangerment is associated with increasing their self-esteem e.g. reckless driving. High
sensation seekers are used to committing road violations without an involvement in accidents,
and process information more eectively than those who commit violations and are involved in
road accidents. It implies that overcondence in ones own capability, risky approach and law-
breaking play a major role in accident involvement (Reason, Manstead, Stradling, Baxter, &
Campbell, 1990). In this context it should be noted that Furnham and Saipe (1993) found that
on-the-road risk-taking correlates with convictions much more than with driving accidents.
Convicted drivers seek higher levels of thrill and arousal in order to reach their optimal level of
stimulation. They dislike dull and predictable routine. Hence their propensity for taking risks on
the road. According to these authors, convicted drivers tend to be involved in fewer accidents
than are those without convictions.
Heino, Van der Molen, and Wilde (1992) found that low sensation seekers concentrate more on
driving than high sensation seekers and perceive greater risk while driving closer to a vehicle than
they are used to. The latter manifest greater skill orientation but poorer safety orientation
(McMillen, Smith, & Wells-Parker, 1989). It was found that high sensation seekers drove faster
and were more daring but more procient, i.e. hit fewer obstacles (Jonah, 1997, p. 656).
1812 T. Rosenbloom / Personality and Individual Dierences 35 (2003) 18091819

Several studies show that sensation seekers perceive less risk than sensation avoiders in various
driving situations and that perceived-risk and risky-driving are negatively correlated (Arnett,
1990; Heino et al., 1992; Horvath & Zuckerman, 1993; Yu & Williford, 1993). Conceivably, risk
perception may mediate the relationship between sensation seeking and risky driving. Sensation
seekers may not perceive certain driving behaviors as risky because they feel able to speed, follow
other cars closely, or drive safely after drinking.
To sum up, sensation seekers underestimate risk and seem to trust their own driving skills,
therefore allowing themselves riskier driving than sensation avoiders. They seem to process road
information more eciently, to cope more successfully with on-the-road stress and to drive better
than sensation avoiders.
Due to all mentioned above, high sensation seekers are supposed to be rather challenged in
condition of mortality salience and increase their risky reaction in association with situations
threatening on their lives. The purpose of this study is to examine in what manner the two phe-
nomenasensation seeking and mortality salienceinteract with each other.

1.1. Hypotheses

1. Although there is consistent evident from previous literature, it is reasonable to hypothesize

that beyond any experimental condition, high sensation seekers will score higher in their
reports on risky driving than low ones.
2. The second and the main hypothesis is rather initiative and assumes that the dierence in
the reports on risky driving between high and low sensation seekers will increase in a
mortality salience condition.

2. Method

2.1. Participants

One-hundred-and-twenty students, 45 males and 75 females, in the age range of 2033 (age
mean is 24.6) participated in the study. They all had a driving license for at least two years. They
gave their agreement to complete two questionnaires.

2.2. Instruments

2.2.1. Inventories
Two instruments were used to test the hypotheses. One was a well-established questionnaire
SSS of Zuckerman (1979) (1) and the other has been developed especially for the needs of the
study and had a common basis: (2) Inventory of Risk Taking (RT).
(1) The Sensation Seeking Scale V (SSS) (Zuckerman, 1994; see Appendix 1). It contains 40
forced-choice items, each includes a couple of statements which represent contradictory self-
declarations about some relevant issue. The reliability of the Hebrew version of the test ranges
 T. Rosenbloom / Personality and Individual Dierences 35 (2003) 18091819 1813

from 0.54 to 0.80 (TAS0.80, ES0.64, Dis0.76 and BS0.60). (2) The Inventory of Risk
Taking (RT). It contains four categories of questions representing dierent aspects of risky
actions of driving: (a) adjusting to new conditions of the vehicle or the way (e.g. use right side
vehicle or drive in an unfamiliar area); (b) speeding; (c) driving under the inuence of alcohol and
(d) driving in bad conditions or in bad weather. The inventory included 17 items, each describes a
risky action associated with one of the above-mentioned categories. The participants were asked
to report on a seven-point scale how frequently they experienced or performed each of the dan-
gerous states described in each item (1=never till 7=always).

2.2.2. Videolms
Two videolms were used:

(1) A ve-min terrifying video movie. The video shows a cemetery with a lot of graves. On each
grave there was a title showing how many kilometers per hour the driver lying under that
grave drove. This lm was aimed to remind people of their own death and to raise mortality
salience.
(2) A ve-minute nature video movie. The movie has been taken from a program of the National
Geography Society and contains a calm scene of owers.

2.3. Procedure

2.3.1. Pre-test
The RT was administered to 10 students in Methodolgy Class in order to analyze the items. The
original inventory included 25 items. Eight items were dropped due to disagreement among the
judges regarding their clarity or validity.

2.3.2. The main study

The study included two phases: (a) the participants completed the SSS individually. (b) two weeks
later, an experimenter met the participants in eight groups of 15 each in the students residence in
the university and showed them the video lm. Four groups of 15 each, arbitrarily chosen, wat-
ched the movie with the terrifying messages. The four other groups of 15 participants were shown
the neutral movie. After observing the movies, all the students were asked to complete the RT.
They were unaware of the link between the two parts of the study or as to the studys purpose.

3. Results

Table 1 presents the means and standard deviations of the participants scores in SSS (total and
its four scales) and in Risk Taking (total and its four components). These values served to divide
the scores of SSS in two categories: the lows (under the mean) and the highs (above the mean) in
the total Sensation Seeking parameter. In the group of the low sensation seekers there were 72
participants (22 males and 50 females) and in the high sensation seekers group there were 48
participants (23 males and 25 females).
1814 T. Rosenbloom / Personality and Individual Dierences 35 (2003) 18091819

Table 1
Means and standard deviations of Sensation Seeking scores and Risk Taking scores (n=120)

TAS BS Dis ES SS total Risk- Risk- Risk- Risk- Risk-

adjustment speeding alcohol conditions total

Mean 5.27 2.81 2.86 3.10 14.11 3.90 4.02 3.77 3.80 15.25
S.D. 2.64 2.07 2.04 2.06 6.74 1.26 1.61 1.40 1.57 5.11

An ANOVA for Repeated Measures was used to analyze a 224 design (Mortality Salience
and Sensation Seeking as independent variables and Risk Taking (four repeated measures) as a
dependent variable. A signicant main eect for Sensation Seeking was found (F(1)=93.35,
P<0.001). Regardless of the mortality salience condition, high sensation seekers reported higher
risk taking in driving than low sensation seekers did (Hypothesis 1).
A signicant interaction in risky driving (F(1)=5.91, P<0.01) was found between Mortality
Salience and Sensation Seeking. Low sensation seekers in the mortality salience condition,
reported on signicantly lower risk taking than did lowers in a non-mortality salience condition
while high sensation seekers reported risky driving similarly in the mortality/non-mortality sal-
ience condition (Hypothesis 2), as shown by Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Interaction of Risk Taking in driving between Mortality Salience and Sensation Seeking.
 T. Rosenbloom / Personality and Individual Dierences 35 (2003) 18091819 1815

Table 2
Means and standard deviations of high and low Sensation Seekers in Mortality and Non-mortality Salience conditions

SS High Low

Risk taking Adju Spee Alco Cond Total Adju Spee Alco Cond Total

Mortality Salience (n=60)

Means 4.69 5.35 4.65 4.45 19.15 3.03 2.71 2.49 2.54 10.77
S.D. 1.23 1.75 1.37 1.84 8.33 1.28 1.14 0.93 1.12 4.12

Non-mortality Salience (n=60)

Means 4.40 4.70 4.73 4.87 18.70 3.55 3.43 3.30 3.43 13.71
S.D. 0.81 1.02 0.97 1.11 7.22 9.73 0.97 0.91 0.97 5.73

Fig. 2. An interaction Sensation Seekingmortality Salience for speeding.

Table 2 presents the means and standard deviations of the four risky driving behaviors and the
total reported by high and low sensation seekers in mortality and non-mortality salience conditions.
In an ANOVA carried out on the data a signicant interaction of speeding (F(1)=8.91,
P<0.05) was found between Mortality salience and Sensation Seeking (speeding was one of the
risky driving expressions). Low sensation seekers reports on speeding were lower in mortality
salience than in non-mortality salience, while high sensation seekers reacted in an opposite way:
In mortality salience their reports on speeding were higher than in non-mortality salience (Fig. 2).

4. Discussion

Risk taking can be any behavior that has a signicant degree of uncertainty about the losses
associated with its outcome (e.g. driving high-speed). The losses may refer to any possible unde-
sirable consequences. The benets of risk-taking behavior generally serve as positive reinforcers
1816 T. Rosenbloom / Personality and Individual Dierences 35 (2003) 18091819

(e.g. making it to work on time). The motivating circumstances that serve to maintain or initiate
the risky action is when the subjective or perceived benets of this behavior override the losses
(Burns & Wilde, 1995).
Among the individual dierence approach, the most salient feature consistently correlated with
risky behavior is sensation seeking (Zuckerman, 1979). Sensation Seeking has been found to
correlate with many types of risk-taking behavior such as risky driving (Jonah, 1997; McMillen et
al., 1989). They are more daring and commit more violations as road users than lowers (Furnham
& Saipe, 1993; Wilson & Jonah, 1988).
The hypothesized inclination of high sensation seekers to take more risks in driving compared
to low ones has been shown in this study as well. Horvath and Zuckerman (1993) attempted to
outline some explanations for the high sensation seekers tendency to take risks. In their opinion,
one reason may be that high sensation seekers value the rewards of the activities more than the
low sensation seekers. Actions such as overtaking in a car in a busy road or gambling provide the
sensation seekers the desired sensation of arousal. This may outweigh the probability of negative
circumstances of those risks.
Tsuang, Boor, and Fleming (1985) regard the preferred engagement of high sensation seekers in
risky activities as a defense mechanism that facilitates feelings of frustration, anxiety and dis-
appointment. Provoking dangerous situations exceeds the highsensation seekerss personal value
and in that way they gain a feeling of success.
Terror management theory is in a way contradictory to the human phenomenon of risk taking.
Mankind is motivated by instincts for self-preservation and yet many individuals get involved in
actions that endanger their lives, not necessarily inevitably.
The main hypothesis (2) of the study was that high and low sensation seekers would react dif-
ferently in mortality salience conditions. Indeed, low sensation seekers reports were less risky in
mortality salience compared to their reports in a non-mortality salience condition. High sensation
seekers reports, however, were not signicantly dierent in the two conditions. Actually, they
were even riskier in a mortality salience condition, although not signicantly, especially in
speeding. The horror presented in the movie, connected with over-speeding and its fatal con-
sequences seemed to have a dierent eect on high sensation seekers responses: They indicated
higher rates of speeding than those who were watching the nature lm.
High speed is a major problem in trac (Haglund & Aberg, 2000). Drivers, especially the
younger, rate speeding, i.e. exceeding posted speed limits or the average speed of trac, as less
dangerous than most other trac violations contrary to the police data (Walton, 1999). This may
help in understanding the high rates of speeding reported by high sensation seekers, who generally
underestimate on-road risks (Franken et al., 1992; Solomon, Ginzburg, Neria, & Ohry, 1995).
The present research examined the eect of a probable intervention to the short range. It is
meaningful in the context of road safety because drivers may react to mortality salience in a fatal
manner but in a further research, it should be examined for how long this eect lasts.
In addition, a future study should try to get more anonymity among participants. In the present
study participants completed the SSS of Zuckerman 2 weeks before the experiment took place, in
order to yield disconnection between the two parts of the study. The disadvantage of this proce-
dure reduces the feeling of anonymity, due to the identity number given by the participants.
Taubman Ben Ari et al. (1999) found that some individuals took more risks in mortality sal-
ience. They explained the increase of risk taking despite mortality salience with the mediation of
 T. Rosenbloom / Personality and Individual Dierences 35 (2003) 18091819 1817

self-esteem. Only individuals whose self-esteem is associated with driving increased their reactions
of risk taking in a mortality salience. This may bring them to over emphasize the self-relevant
gains involved in reckless driving. Reckless driving, mainly in youngsters, may entail some bene-
ts for self-worth, such as increasing the sense of mastery, improving social prestige, and facil-
itating impression management.
Although widely studied, the theory of terror management has hardly related individual
dierences and is rather focused in situational characteristics. There are only a very few
studies that considered the role of individual dierences such as those stemming from
attachment styles (Mikulincer & Florian, 2000), neuroticism (Strachan, Pyszczynski, Green-
berg, & Solomon, 2001) or mild depression (Simon, Ardnt, Greenberg, Pyszczynski & Solo-
mon, 1998) in terror management. This research suggests that sensation seeking as a
personality trait may serve as a successful predictor of the extent death anxiety will be
aroused in mortality salience.
From the point of view of the study of sensation seeking, the ndings support the well-con-
rmed relation of sensation seeking with risk taking. Moreover, mortality salience activates high
sensation seekers to response in an extreme mode. Going to extremes may function for high
sensation seekers as an anxiety buer and as a successful way to cope with the threats of death
and this point is worth further research. High sensation seekers perceive the world as less threa-
tening compared to low sensation seekers (Franken et al., 1992; Solomon et al., 1995). Solomon
et al. (1995) attempted to examine various coping strategies in traumatic situations. They argued
that sensation seeking is a potential stress-buering resource and can act as moderator of stress in
reducing its detrimental eects. They concluded that sensation seekers adjusted better than lower
to the stresses of captivity. They were more likely to employ active coping strategies, problem
focused, while low-sensation seekers tended to employ more emotion-focused coping styles. It is
connected with the creative and exible thinking that characterizes high sensation seekers. They
perceived the stressing situation rather as challenging, while low sensation seekers used detach-
ment and denial as coping strategies.
The implication of these ndings can be reected in changing the approach to attempts fre-
quently made by the educational authorities to deter people from reckless driving and try to
prevent them from committing risky actions by intimidating means. Some of the educational
programs are based on exposing people, especially youngsters to consequences of fatal accidents
with the intention of increasing peoples awareness to the indispensability of on-road safety (e.g.
by visiting a brain-injury hospital etc.). It raises the question of whether the benets of such a
program exceeds the damages it may bring about. It might have dierential inuence on people
with diverse styles of terror management. Individuals who drive for sensation seeking may not
react as expected like most people by taking the outcomes in account but instead will be moti-
vated to seek more thrills than they usually do.
It raises another question, rather theoretical, of whether high sensation seekers respond to
threats with increasing risk taking or, alternatively they do not even dene such conditions as
threatening. A further research is needed to deal with this issue.
From the point of view of the theory of terror management one should study which mechan-
isms connected with personality characteristics such as aggressiveness or some of the psycho-
pathologies are activated in mortality salience. Undoubtedly, it may contribute to the
investigation of the dynamics provoked by the encounter of the individual with death.
1818 T. Rosenbloom / Personality and Individual Dierences 35 (2003) 18091819

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