Behavioral and physiological responses were monitored while extreme high (n=l6) and low (n=15) scorers on the Sensation Seeking Scale were presented 10 tones at 60, 80, and 100 dB. In general, no compelling behavioral or physiological differences between the groups were found. Initially, there were no differences between the groups on the behavioral variables. The low sensation seeking subjects reported lower verbal ratings of pleasure and higher verbal ratings of stress than did the high sensationsseeking subjects as a result of increased stimulation. Although these results provide support for the hypothesis that high sensation seeking individuals prefer higher levels of stimulation, the interpretation of these data is not that clear-cut since the ratings were done over the blocks. As a result it is not clear whether the subjects are rating their response to the tones, the cummulative effect of isolation, or what. Although a "biological basis" of sensation seeking has been proposed, the present empirical data do not support this notion. Of the number of physiological variables, the only significant physiological group difference to emerge was with vasomotor activity, with the low sensationsseeking subjects being generally more responsive. Although not significant, the high sensation seeking subjects did display the predicted larger skin conductance orienting response on the first presentation of the novel stimuli. The general pattern of increased skin conductance, heart rate acceleration, and vasoconstriction in response to stimulation suggests that the experimental procedure had similar effects on "both groups. Further research with vasomotor activity may clarify the physiological basis of the sensation seeking dimension; however, at this point, the "biological "basis of sensation seeking remains unclear. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1937. / Cover title. Vita. "Reprinted from the Psychological record 1937, 1, no. 19." Bibliography: p. 335-337.

The present thesis constitutes an empirical investigation of the prediction of Norwich's Entropy Theory of Perception that the positive exponent of the magnitude estimation power function and the negative exponents of equations relating the Weber fraction and simple reaction time to stimulus intensity should, since they can all be derived from the theory's Fundamental Equation, be numerically the same. A pilot study consisting of magnitude estimation and reaction time experiments (using pure tone auditory stimuli of varying intensities at five frequencies), and a "main" study comprised of magnitude estimation, reaction time, and Weber fraction experiments are described. The results, while offering possible confirmation of the prediction, remain somewhat tentative, owing to the persistently problematic technique of curve fitting upon which determination of the reaction time and Weber fraction exponents rests. The theory, in leading one to even attempt to compare such previously unrelated measures as magnitude estimation and reaction time with Weber fractions, has yielded, theoretical issues aside, some worthwhile empirical results: I have obtained measures on three different psychophysical tasks from the same subjects over (effectively) the same stimulus range for each of those subjects; and, moreover have, I believe for the first time, explicitly noted that the Weber fraction displays the same decrease in exponent with increasing frequency, followed by an upturn at the highest frequencies, that characterizes both the equal loudness curves and the reaction time curves a la Chocholle. Suggestions are made regarding supplementary curve fitting methods by which to analyze these data, as well as for future research in the psychophysiological realm which, in addition to expanding the scope of the prediction that is being tested, may provide some much needed insight into the numerical values of the multiplicative and additive constants that occur in the equations under consideration in this thesis. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

published_or_final_version / Philosophy / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among sensation seeking, burnout, injury, and job satisfaction among firefighters. Participants included 93 firefighters from a southeastern fire department. Each participant was asked to fill out a packet of self-report surveys including a demographic form, Sensation Seeking Scale Form V, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Job Satisfaction Survey, Absenteeism form, and an On-The-Job Injury form. This exploratory study provided an initial assessment of personality in relation to burnout and injuries in firefighters. The information from this study will hopefully help fire chiefs and administrators to better understand firefighters and the factors influencing their burnout, injuries, and job satisfaction. This information may, in turn, be useful in developing strategies to reduce burnout and better identify risk-factors affecting burnout and job performance in this population.

A small proportion of the population experiences synaesthesia, in which a stimulus (the inducer) causes a percept (the concurrent) in its own sensory domain, and in another domain, or another sub-domain of the same sense. This thesis is concerned with synaesthesiae in which numbers and letters take on spatial locations or colours. In Paper 1, alphabet-form synaesthesia is investigated. The majority of alphabet forms belonging to native English speakers are straight, horizontal lines. Any breaks, gaps or direction changes tend to fall in line with the parsing of the Alphabet Song. Synaesthetes show greater inducer-concurrent consistency than controls; their spatial attention can also be cued by letters. In Paper 2, synaesthetes with alphabet forms and number forms took part in case or parity judgement tasks. Synaesthetes behave similarly to controls on the parity judgement tasks (i.e. both groups categorise small numbers more quickly with the left hand than the right hand). In the case judgement task neither group shows an equivalent effect for letters of the alphabet. Controls alone show a QWERTY effect, in which letters on the left of the keyboard are categorised more quickly with the left hand than the right hand. A large-scale study of letter-colour and number-colour synaesthesia in Paper 3 shows that correlations between letter frequency and saturation, alphabetical position and saturation, magnitude and luminance, magnitude and saturation are seen when luminance and saturation are considered as across-hue and within-hue variables. Papers 4 and 5 are concerned with synaesthetic bidirectionality, wherein concurrents can elicit implicit mental representations of their inducers. While no experiment in these papers shows evidence for bidirectionality, this may be due to the presentation of concurrent colours as graphemes instead of colour blocks. However, priming effects appear during a synaesthetic Stroop task when numbers are presented as digits, suggesting a stronger role for digits than other notations in number-colour synaesthesia.

Humans and other animals learn to associate flavours with aspects of consuming foods, which can result in acquired liking or aversion for that flavour. Two main processes of learning have been proposed to be critical: flavour-flavour (FFL) and flavour-nutrient (FNL) learning. This thesis addresses two main research questions primarily in the context of FNL; firstly, does liking for a flavour acquired through FNL persist once energy has been removed? It has been suggested that acquired flavour liking is resistant to extinction, but there are conflicting results within the human literature, which has concentrated on FFL. Studies One and Two explored this but failed to demonstrate acquired liking, although they tentatively suggested that extinction did not occur for acquired liking as pleasantness ratings remained stable after removal of energy. The second research question investigated whether liking acquired through FNL was modulated by expectations. Study Three manipulated viscosity of a yoghurt drink to determine if this impacted upon FNL, as thicker products have been shown to signal higher energy content. Expectations were influenced by viscosity, but with little impact upon pleasantness ratings and little evidence that FNL was enhanced. Studies Four and Five used labelling to influence expectations regarding a yoghurt-based breakfast. Study Four found that when no information was provided, liking changed as predicted from FNL. Contrary to prediction, when congruent information about energy content was provided, this acquired liking was not demonstrated, and ratings remained stable across sessions. Study Five did not replicate this finding, with pleasantness ratings in line with FNL literature. Addition of a hedonic label actually resulted in decreased pleasantness of the breakfast over time, suggesting a contrast effect with the flavour not delivering what was expected. Methodological limitations are recognised, with measurement of liking and contingency awareness discussed as potential explanations for weaker findings.

Previous research from the Sussex Ingestive Behaviour Group suggests that satiety beliefs generated by product information and satiety-relevant sensory characteristics (thick consistency and creamy flavours) can enhance the satiety response to covertly added energy in beverages. However these characteristics in low-energy beverages can generate rebound hunger effects. This thesis explored whether this enhanced-satiety concept can be translated to real consumers. Study 1 examined the extent of energy reduction that could be tolerated without rebound hunger effects. The original enhanced satiety concept was not replicated, although there was tentative evidence that energy compensation was more accurate for small energy additions. Study 2 explored whether enhanced satiety would prevail following repeated exposures in consumers' own homes. Enhanced satiety was found before and after exposure. Additionally focus groups suggested that diet-concerned consumers may be particularly interested in such products. Therefore in Study 3 this population, represented in the literature by those reporting high dietary restraint, was studied suggesting that those high in restraint and disinhibition compensated more accurately for energy in unenhanced beverages. A final complication for consumers is that believed healthy foods are often overconsumed. Two final studies demonstrated that health labels generated beliefs about the sensory experience and expected satiation and satiety of beverages. Tasting overrode the effects of these beliefs, although expectation-experience congruency led to assimilation of healthy beliefs, and indulgent-based fullness. Portion size selection was unaffected. Together the findings from these studies suggest that the enhanced satiety concept may have some utility in the real world, although it remains unclear as to how little caloric content can be tolerated whilst still enhancing satiety, and whether diet concerned consumers would benefit. Finally whilst health information may have a role in appetite expectations the interaction with sensory experience is important for generating overall product evaluations, and sensory experience is likely to override label information in dictating portion size selection.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cornell University, 1916. / "Reprinted from the American journal of psychology, vol. XXVIII, 1917."

Thesis--University of Chicago, 1920. / "Private edition, distributed by the University of Chicago libraries, Chicago Illinois." "Printed from Psychological monographs, vol. XXXII, no. 4, whole no. 146."