High sensation seeking is associated with behavioral and neural insensitivity to increased negative outcomes during decision-making under uncertainty

Abstract

High-level sensation seeking (HSS) has been linked to a range of risky and unhealthy behavior; however, the neural mechanisms underlying such linkage remain unclear. In the present study, we used event-related potential (ERP) with a Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) to investigate how sensation seeking modulates brain responses to sequential decision-making with variable reward/loss outcome magnitudes. Behavior data showed that decision-making behavior was significantly affected by the large compared with the small magnitude of monetary outcome in the BART for individuals with low-level sensation seeking (LSS), but not for individuals with HSS. Similarly, HSS individuals displayed no changes in feedback-related negativity (FRN) in response to negative outcomes from decision-making with large or small reward/loss magnitudes, whereas LSS individuals showed greater FRN in response to decision-making with large loss magnitude than those with small loss magnitude. In addition, FRN amplitude differences correlated with decision-making behavior changes from small to large outcome magnitude for LSS, while such correlation was not observed for HSS. These findings suggest that a high-level of sensation seeking is associated with behavioral and neural insensitivity to increased negative outcome during decision-making under uncertainty, which may lead to greater risky behavior in these individuals when facing potential loss. Keywords Sensation seeking . Feedback-related negativity . Balloon Analogue Risk TaskHuman decision-making behaviors are influenced by a number of personality factors, including sensation seeking and impulsivity. Sensation seeking, a personality trait defined as the seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and willingness to take physical, social, legal, and financials risks for the sake of such experience (Zuckerman, 1994), has been linked to participation in various unhealthy and risky activities, including risky driving (Jonah, 1997), excessive gambling (Harris, Newby, & Klein, 2015), physically risky sports (Ruedl et al., 2015), aggressive and/or unsocialized behavior (Wilson & Scarpa, 2011), and substance use (Bardo et al., 2007). Compared to individuals with the low sensation-seeking (LSS) trait, individuals with the high sensation-seeking (HSS) trait tend to exhibit greater subjective rewarding effects when using psychostimulants, such as alcohol and d-amphetamine, or when ignoring traffic rules Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

The effect of an affect, sensation seeking, and premeditation on risky decision-making: Conditional process analysis

“…It is suggested that high sensation seekers and people lacking premeditation are likely to make disadvantageous decisions in a task with involved risk [ 11 , 15 ]. These findings support previous studies that claim a significant relationship between sensation-seeking, premeditation, and decision-making [ 12 , 14 , 15 ].…”

“…For mediation and moderation analysis, it was hypothesized that sensation-seeking and lack of premeditation would predict the payoff (Hypothesis 1), and the mood (positive or PLOS ONE make disadvantageous decisions in a task with involved risk [11,15]. These findings support previous studies that claim a significant relationship between sensation-seeking, premeditation, and decision-making [12,14,15]. The second hypothesis is partially fulfilled, where positive mood before IGT performance significantly negatively mediated the direct relationship between both the predictors and payoff (except 26-34 years old men with sensation seeking as a mediator).…”

“…Previous literature prominently associates sensation-seeking with risky decision-making [ 11 , 12 ]. Sensation-seeking is a personality characteristic that pushes an individual to seek thrill and excitement in day-to-day activities.…”

“…Under uncertainty, this characteristic tends to play a dominant role in guiding decisions and individual behaviors. The high sensation-seeking trait impairs the sensitivity to recurring losses or adverse outcomes and degrades performance [ 12 ]. Delibas et al [ 13 ] reported the negative impact of high sensation-seeking in clinical patients but also cautioned about interpreting it as a deficit in decision-making.…”

Sensation-seeking traits influence risk adjustment through reward sensitivity during dynamic risky decisions

“…SS is closely related to RS based on reward and novelty seeking [2,13,14]. Higher SS could be oppositely related to RS, as only a higher element of risk could reach the threshold of the seekers' presumed excitement and arousal for reward.…”