Novelty seeking

In psychology, novelty seeking (NS) is a personality trait associated with exploratory activity in response to novel stimulation, impulsive decision making, extravagance in approach to reward cues, quick loss of temper, and avoidance of frustration.^[1] That is, novelty seeking (or sensation seeking) refers to the tendency to pursue new experiences with intense emotional sensations. It is a multifaceted behavioral construct that includes thrill seeking, novelty preference, risk taking, harm avoidance, and reward dependence. The novelty-seeking trait is considered a heritable tendency of individuals to take risks for the purpose of achieving stimulation and seeking new environments and situations that make their experiences more intense. This trait has been associated with the level of motive and excitement in response to novelty. Persons with high levels of novelty seeking have been described as more impulsive and disorderly than low novelty seekers and have a higher propensity to get involved in risky activities, such as starting to misuse drugs, engaging in risky sexual activities, and suffering accidental injuries.^[2] It is measured in the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire as well as the later version Temperament and Character Inventory and is considered one of the temperament dimensions of personality. Like the other temperament dimensions, it has been found to be highly heritable. Another related term, Variety seeking or variety-seeking buying behavior describes a consumer's desire to search for alternative products even if she or he is satisfied with a current product. For example, someone may drink tea with lunch one day but choose orange juice the next day specifically to get something different.^[3] High NS has been suggested to be related to low dopaminergic activity.^[4]

In the revised version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) novelty seeking consists of the following four subscales:

Exploratory excitability (NS1)
Impulsiveness (NS2)
Extravagance (NS3)^[5]
Disorderliness (NS4)

^ Cloninger, C.R.; Svrakic, DM; Przybeck, TR (December 1993). "A psychobiological model of temperament and character". Archives of General Psychiatry. 50 (12): 975–90. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1993.01820240059008. PMID 8250684.
^ Arenas, M. C.; Manzanedo, C. (2016). "Novelty Seeking". Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. pp. 1–4. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1095-1. ISBN 978-3-319-28099-8. S2CID 243640948.
^ "Variety Seeking | Universal Marketing Dictionary". 24 May 2018.
^ C. R. Cloninger (Autumn 1986). "A unified biosocial theory of personality and its role in the development of anxiety states". Psychiatric Developments. 4 (3): 167–226. PMID 3809156.
^ Loranger, Armand Walter (1997). Assessment and diagnosis of personality disorders. Cambridge University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-521-58043-4.

[Cloninger-1] Cloninger, C.R.; Svrakic, DM; Przybeck, TR (December 1993). "A psychobiological model of temperament and character". Archives of General Psychiatry. 50 (12): 975–90. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1993.01820240059008. PMID 8250684.

[2] Arenas, M. C.; Manzanedo, C. (2016). "Novelty Seeking". Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. pp. 1–4. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1095-1. ISBN 978-3-319-28099-8. S2CID 243640948.

[3] "Variety Seeking | Universal Marketing Dictionary". 24 May 2018.

[4] C. R. Cloninger (Autumn 1986). "A unified biosocial theory of personality and its role in the development of anxiety states". Psychiatric Developments. 4 (3): 167–226. PMID 3809156.

[5] Loranger, Armand Walter (1997). Assessment and diagnosis of personality disorders. Cambridge University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-521-58043-4.

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