1. Exercise as a Substitute for Sensation Seeking Michele Burbage, Hope Esposito, & Amelia Leonard University of Cincinnati

2. Introduction Sensation seeking (SS) is the need for diverse, unusual, and complex sensations and the willingness to take physical and social risks. Sensation can be measured by the Sensation Seeking Scale, also known as the SSS (Zuckerman, 1971). Individuals with high SS typically engage in risky behaviors, such as alcohol consumption, in order to obtain an intense feeling.

3. Introduction Past research in this area has shown positive correlations between exercise and SS activities The current study filled a gap in the research by examining moderate exercise and vigorous exercise, separately. The current study attempted to correlate both moderate and vigorous exercise with SS

4. Introduction Hypothesis: Both moderate and vigorous exercise will positively correlate with SS Moderate exercise defined as: 30 minutes of activity such as walking, easy swimming, strenuous housework, dancing, heavy gardening, etc. Vigorous exercise defined as: 20 minutes of continuous activity such as jogging, fast swimming, or aerobic dancing, so that heart beats hard and sweat is produced

5. Method Participants 11 individuals enrolled in a research methods at a public university. Ages ranged from 20 to 32 (M = 22.64, SD = 3.33) Materials: Paper-Based, Self-Report Demographic questionnaire Age, gender, current student status, current employment status, residential status Exercise questionnaire with two questions 1 st question: Measured moderate weekly exercise engagement 2 nd question: Measured vigorous weekly exercise engagement Sensation seeking scale (SSS): 19 T/F questions

6. Method Procedure All three paper-based questionnaires were given to participants at one 15-minute sitting, and completed individually 1 st : Demographics 2 nd : Exercise questionnaire (0 to 7 days per week) 3 rd : SS questionnaire, 19 T/F questions Possible score range: 0 to 19 Scores were coded: 0 for negative SS responses, 1 for positive, and added Pearson’s r correlational test was then used to test the hypothesis that exercise would positively correlate with SS

7. Results Normal Data Distribution => Pearson’s r Analyses Moderate positive correlation between moderate exercise and SS: r =.387, p =.239 (non- significant) Strong positive correlation between vigorous exercise and SS: r =.598, p =.052 (significant)

8. Figure 1. Linear correlation for Moderate Exercise and Sensation Seeking

9. Figure 2. Linear Correlation for Vigorous Exercise and Sensation Seeking

10. Discussion Results support previous findings Exercise positively correlates to Sensation Seeking Stronger evidence that vigorous weekly exercise correlates with Sensation Seeking than moderate weekly exercise Limitations Small sample size => weakened statistical power Homogenous sample, i.e. little racial, cultural, socioeconomic variability Convenience sampling – Not randomized

11. Discussion Strengths Simplified exercise questionnaire Only two questions Quickly and succinctly measures weekly exercise engagement Simplified Sensation Seeking scale Number of questions reduced from Zuckerman’s (1971) original scale: 40 down to 19

12. Discussion Implications for future research Recruit more participants = larger sample size Attempt to recruit a more heterogeneous sample Utilize random sampling to collect data Develop successful substance abuse (sensation seeking behavior) interventions by substituting harmful sensation seeking behaviors with beneficial, vigorous, regular exercise

13. Exercise as a Substitute for Sensation Seeking Michele Burbage, Hope Esposito, & Amelia Leonard University of Cincinnati