PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE FOR THE ROLE OF SELF-REGULATORY PROCESSES IN SENSATION SEEKING

Two possible motives for sensation seeking behavior, escape from self- awareness and compensatory self-regulation, were investigated in two s tudies. In Study I a questionnaire was developed to identify the putat ive escape and compensation motives suspected to contribute to sensati on seeking behaviors. In Study II the factor structure of this new mea sure, called the Risk and Excitement Inventory (REI), was cross-valida ted using confirmatory factor analysis, and construct validity was exa mined. Together these studies suggest that the REI comprises two relia ble factors, compensation and escape from self-awareness. Study II sho wed that these factors have a reasonable degree of construct validity. Limits of the measure and the model are discussed, and suggestions ar e offered for future research.