Applied Research in Quality of Life

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-020-09829-y

Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking: Differing

Associations with Psychological Well-Being

Russell D. Ravert 1 & M. Brent Donnellan 2

Received: 14 November 2019 / Accepted: 4 March 2020/

# The International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) and Springer Nature B.V. 2020

Abstract
Sensation seeking and lack of inhibition are often discussed as risk factors for hazard-
ous and maladaptive behavior, particularly during the transition into adulthood. How-
ever, some degree and types of novelty-seeking and exploration may also be adaptive
and conducive to psychological well-being. The current study examines associations
between sensation seeking, impulsivity, and well-being in a large US adult sample (n =
1399, mean age = 36.2 years, range: 18–78). As conceptualized by the UPPS-P model
(Whiteside and Lynam, Personality and Individual Differences, 30(4), 669-689, 2001),
sensation seeking (pursuit of stimulation) was distinguished from other forms of
impulsivity (lack of inhibition) by having a positive association with psychological
well-being, eudaimonic well-being, and mental health status. Those positive relations
were stronger for younger adults compared to older adults. Negative urgency, lack of
perseverance, lack of premeditation, and positive urgency all held either negative or
null associations with well-being. Findings indicate that sensation seeking has positive
associations with psychological and eudaimonic well-being, in contrast to other ele-
ments of impulsivity, and particularly among younger adults.

Keywords Psychological well-being . Eudaimonic well-being . Life satisfaction .

Impulsivity . Sensation seeking

Impulsivity and sensation seeking are prominent constructs in psychological research.

Whereas prior research has examined their relative contributions to behavior and

* Russell D. Ravert
ravertr@missouri.edu

M. Brent Donnellan
donnel59@msu.edu

1
Department of Human Development & Family Science, University of Missouri, 314 Gentry,
Columbia, MO 65211, USA
2
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, Psychology Building 252C, 316 Physics
Rd., East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
 R. Ravert, M. B. Donnellan

mental health problems, their associations with well-being have largely gone unexam-
ined. This study proposes that sensation seeking, in contrast to other aspects of
impulsivity, may be related to eudaimonic and psychological well-being, particularly
among young adults.
Impulsivity and sensation seeking are frequently described as separate but related
constructs, although the exact nature of their relationship is complex and somewhat
unresolved (e.g., Zuckerman and Glicksohn 2016; Magid et al. 2007). This multi-
dimensional approach is reflected in the UPPS-P impulsivity behavior model
(Whiteside and Lynam 2001), in which sensation seeking is considered to be one of
five impulsivity dimensions, the others being negative urgency (lack of inhibition under
conditions of negative affect), lack of perseverance (lack of ability to remain focused),
premeditation (lack of deliberation before acting), and positive urgency (a tendency to
rash actions when experiencing positive emotions). Sensation seeking in the UPPS-P
model is conceptualized as having two aspects; “1) a tendency to enjoy and pursue
activities that are exciting and 2) an openness to trying new experiences that may or
may not be dangerous” (Whiteside and Lynam 2001, p. 686).

Differentiating Sensation Seeking and Impulsivity

In general, sensation seeking involves approaching or seeking stimulation (e.g., novel

or intense stimuli), whereas impulsivity involves failure to inhibit behaviors
(Zuckerman and Glicksohn 2016). Sensation seeking and impulsivity have been
examined with regard to their associations with risk behaviors and other maladaptive
outcomes, with much of the evidence demonstrating the differential nature of their
associations with hazardous or otherwise problematic behavior (e.g., Quinn and Harden
2013; Khurana et al. 2018; Magid et al. 2007). However, their relations with positive
mental health variables is largely unstudied. Prior research hints that some aspects of
sensation seeking may be adaptive and functional. For example, in a study examining
the UPPS-P model and borderline personality features (BPD), Peters et al. (2013)
concluded that sensation seeking might be indicative of adaptive functioning compared
with other UPPS-P domains, possibly due to sensation seeking’s overlap with Extra-
version, a known positive personality trait correlate of well-being (e.g., Steel et al.
2008). Sensation seeking shares features with Openness as well (Aluja et al. 2003),
another personality dimension associated with subjective well-being. Sensation seeking
may serve as a form of resilience and resource to manage adversity (McKay et al.
2018). Two studies reported positive associations between sensation and seeking and
psychological well-being in college samples (Ravert et al. 2013; Sovetkina 2014).
Thus, sensation seeking may differ from other forms of impulsivity by virtue of its
positive associations with psychological well-being.
From a developmental perspective, any association between sensation seeking and
well-being might be expected to be strongest in young adults. To some degree, novelty
seeking may hold evolutionary advantage during youth (Ellis et al. 2012), and a
willingness to embrace uncertainty and some types of risk when moving into adulthood
may be useful in contemporary societies. Indeed, a high degree of exploration might
help individuals navigate issues of identity and intimacy during the transition to
adulthood (Arnett 2000). Romer et al. (2017) have proposed a Lifespan Wisdom Model
Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking: Differing Associations with...

that stresses the importance of exploration in youth and emphasizes that sensation
seeking can be adaptive and developmentally appropriate - unless it is accompanied by
impulsivity. Consistent with this model, a latent growth path analysis of Canadian
youth indicated that a combination of high sensation seeking and low impulsivity was
associated with positive outcomes including psychological well-being (Yoneda et al.
2019). It is uncertain whether any potentially adaptive correlates of sensation seeking
would exist in older adults given the shifting importance of exploration across the life
span. Thus, testing for age as moderator of the sensation and well-being association is
important, given a need for increased study of impulsivity beyond youth populations
(Argyriou et al. 2017).

Measuring Well-Being

Psychological well-being is a multi-dimensional construct that is not simply a lack of

problems or disorders (Keyes 2007; Ryff and Keyes 1995). The current study adopts a
comprehensive approach by addressing well-being from subjective, psychological,
eudaimonic, and integrated traditions. Subjective well-being is conceived as a global
appraisal of how happy and satisfied people are with life. The five-item Satisfaction
With Life Scale (Diener et al. 1985) used in this study has also been included in
thousands of studies across the social sciences in the forty plus years since its
introduction (see Pavot and Diener 2008 for review). It is well regarded as an indicator
of subjective well-being.
Other scholars have argued that well-being should be conceptualized as more than
just one’s reported level of happiness and satisfaction. Ryff (1989) proposed a multi-
dimensional approach that emphasizes six areas of realizing one’s potential. Those six
areas are measured by the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-being:, a) self-acceptance,
b) positive relations with others, c) autonomy, d) environmental mastery, e) purpose in
life, and f) personal growth (Ryff 1989; Ryff and Keyes 1995).
Whereas subjective well-being focuses on global reports of satisfaction, and psy-
chological well-being focuses on psychological elements associated with optimal
function, yet a third well-being tradition follows Aristotle’s principles of eudaimonia
as involving the pursuit of excellence and self-realization (Waterman 2008).
Waterman’s (2008) Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being measures six inter-
related aspects of this characterization of well-being; a) self-discovery, b) developing
one’s best potentials, c) a sense of purpose and meaning, d) effort in pursuing
excellence, e) intense involvement in activities, and f) enjoyment of personal
expression.
Using an integrative approach bringing together subjective, psychological, and
eudaimonic aspects of well-being, Keyes (2002) developed a mental health status
category scheme in which individuals are categorized as languishing (exhibiting
malfunctioning), flourishing (exhibiting well-being), or moderate (meeting neither
criteria). Studies using the Keyes (2007) mental health continuum short form generally
find somewhere around half of individuals flourishing (e.g., Keyes et al. 2012; Kading
et al. 2015). In the current study, we chose to use measures of well-being representing
each of the psychological, eudaimonic, subjective, and integrative traditions.
 R. Ravert, M. B. Donnellan

In sum, theory and previous research suggests that sensation seeking has elements
and correlates (e.g. openness to experiences) that may be associated with well-being,
particularly during the transition into adulthood. Accordingly, this study tests the
hypothesis that sensation seeking will be positively associated with life satisfaction,
psychological well-being, eudaimonic well-being, and mental health flourishing. Those
associations are expected to be strongest among younger adults. We do not expect to
find positive associations between impulsivity as measured by the other four dimen-
sions of the UPPS-S model and well-being.

Materials and Method

The sample consisted of 1399 U.S. adults (49.9% men, 49.8% women, 4 missing)
recruited through the Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service to complete an online survey
during April, 2016. A total of 1444 individuals initially opened the survey, of which 45
(3.1%) cases were discarded because the respondent had not completed the survey or
had not accurately answered at least 75% of attention check items.
The mean participant age was 36.2 years (range: 18–78, SD = 11.7, one missing),
and the sample included an equal proportion of women (49.8%) and men (49.9%, .3%
missing). In terms of race/ethnicity, 81.3% of participants identified as White, 8.1% as
Black or African American, 6.7% as Asian or Pacific Islander, and 4.9% as Hispanic or
Latino, Hispanic, 1.1% American Indian, .9% indicated ‘other or prefer not to answer’
(respondents were asked to choose all that applied).
Participants were paid $2.00 for their participation. The project was approved by the
first author’s university IRB and participants provided informed consent. The web-
based survey was implemented through a University-based Qualtrics platform, and
consisted of 153 items. Participants were allowed to decline items. Four quality control
items were included in the survey (e.g., “please select ‘strongly’ disagree as your
answer to the question”). Within each measure, the order of survey items was random-
ized. The survey was divided into fifteen pages, and the median survey completion time
was 16.2 min.

Measures

Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking The SUPPS-P (Lynam et al. 2007) measures five
distinct facets: negative urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation, sensation
seeking, and positive urgency (Cyders et al. 2014; Whiteside and Lynam 2001).
Respondents report how well each item describes them using a 4-point scale ranging
from1 = agree strongly to 4 = disagree strongly. The measure included 4 items per
dimension, with eight items reverse-scored. Scale composites were created by taking
the average response to the relevant items. High scores represented greater levels of
each dimension. Previous psychometric work supports use of the SUPPS-P as an
alternative to the longer measure (Cyders et al. 2014).

Life Satisfaction The Satisfaction with Life scale (Diener et al. 1985) consists of five
items designed to measure judgments of satisfaction with one’s life. A sample item is,
‘In most ways my life is close to my ideal.’ Responses are a 7-point scale, from 1 =
Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking: Differing Associations with...

strongly agree to 7 = strongly disagree, with all items scored to indicate higher levels of
satisfaction.

Psychological Well-Being The 18-item short version of the Ryff Scales of Psycholog-
ical Well-being (Ryff and Keyes 1995) measures self-acceptance, positive relations
with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth.
The measure includes three items for each primary factor, which comprise a single
higher order factor. Respondents selected from a 6-point scale of 1 = strongly disagree
to 6 = strongly agree. A composite psychological well-being score was calculated as
the mean score across the 18 items, with high scores represented high well-being. We
used the short version of the Ryff scales in the current study to reduce participant
burden. Previous work found that the short measure had a similar six-dimension
theoretical structure although the scales tend to have lower levels of internal consis-
tency (Espinoza et al. 2018).

Eudaimonic Well-Being Waterman’s Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-being

(Waterman et al. 2010) consists of 21 items and measures the degree to which one
feels a sense of pursing excellence, sense of purpose, and enjoying activities of personal
expression. The measure, with responses on a 5-point scale of 1 = strongly disagree to
5 = strongly agree. A eudaimonic well-being score was calculated as the mean score
across the 21 items, with a high score representing high well-being.

Mental Health Status Following the method proposed by Keyes (2009), responses on a
14-item measure were used to categorize individual’s mental health status as
“languishing,” “moderate,” or “flourishing.” Participants who scored never or only
“once or twice” indicators of well-being and low levels on at least six indicators of
positive functioning were considered languishing. Individuals who reported experienc-
ing hedonic well-being “every day” or “almost every day” and at least six of the eleven
signs of positive psychological functioning were coded as flourishing. Individuals who
met neither criteria were coded as moderate mental health.

Analysis Plan

Descriptive statistics, correlations, factor analyses, and regression analyses were con-
ducted using SPSS. Three separate hierarchical analyses were conducted, with life
satisfaction, psychological well-being, and eudaimonic well-being as the outcomes. In
each analysis, the outcome score was regressed on gender and age in step one, scores
for each of the five UPPS-P scales in a second step, and age x UPPS-P scale interaction
terms for each of the five UPPS-P domains in a third step. Because previous research
has found curvilinear relationships between age and some well-being indicators (e.g.,
positive affect, Gana et al. 2015; happiness, Blanchflower and Oswald 2004), we tested
several additional models that included quadratic interactions with age (i.e., age x age;
age x age x sensation seeking). None of these quadratic age terms reached statistical
significance, and they were not included in the analyses reported here to simplify the
presentation.
 R. Ravert, M. B. Donnellan

Table 1 Descriptive statistics (N = 1399)

Scale # items Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis α

UPPS-Negative Urgency 4 2.06 0.72 .225 −.661 .808

UPPS-Lack of Perseverance 4 1.74 0.56 .670 .428 .778
UPPS-Lack of Premeditation 4 1.70 0.55 .587 .366 .831
UPPS-Sensation Seeking 4 2.38 0.78 .017 −.833 .787
UPPS-Positive Urgency 4 1.68 0.64 .748 −.180 .818
Life Satisfaction 5 4.42 1.66 −0.42 −0.86 .930
Ryff Scales of Well-being Composite 18 4.06 0.70 −0.08 −0.54 .884
Waterman Eudaimonic Well-being 21 3.67 0.54 −0.26 −0.01 .891

SD = standard deviation; α = Cronbach’s alpha

Results

Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics for all measuring instruments used in the study are shown in
Table 1. Skewness and kurtosis for all measures indicated that distributions sufficiently
approximated normality. Cronbach’s alphas were generally above α = .70 and consid-
ered as acceptable in light of the scale lengths. Table 2 presents bivariate correlations.
Younger respondents scored higher on all UPPS-P scales, and males had higher scores
on three of those five measures. Sensation seeking was positively associated with
psychological well-being and eudaimonic well-being, consistent with hypotheses.
However, sensation seeking was not significantly associated with life satisfaction.

Statistically Predicting Aspects of Well-Being

Life Satisfaction Controlling for age and gender, low negative urgency, low lack of
perseverance, and high positive urgency were associated with high life satisfaction (see
Table 3). Sensation seeking and lack of premeditation were not significant predictors,
and no significant age interactions were found. Thus, the life satisfaction results did not
support our initial hypotheses.

Psychological Well-Being Consistent with hypotheses (and shown in Table 3), control-
ling for age and gender, sensation seeking scores were positively associated with
psychological well-being. In contrast, psychological well-being was associated with
low urgency, low lack of perseverance, and low positive urgency. Lack of premedita-
tion was not a significant predictor of psychological being. A significant age x
sensation seeking interaction was indicated, with the association between sensation
seeking and composite psychological well-being found to be stronger among young
adults.
Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking: Differing Associations with...

Table 2 Correlations between study variables (N = 1399)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. AGE
2. Female .093**
3. NegUrge −.187*** .004
4. LackPers −.079** −.077** .246***
5. LackPremed −.059* −.004 .336*** .421***
6. UPPSsen −.152*** −.292*** .119*** −.033 .201***
7. PosUrge −.195*** −.130*** .596*** .241*** .472*** .328***
8. DienerLS .021 .104*** −.257*** −.235*** −.061* .045 −.052
9. RyffWB .162*** .089** −.484*** −.502*** −.304*** .093** −.353*** .549***
10.WaterWB .186*** .080** −.381*** −.540*** −.284*** .079** −.261*** .494*** .775***

NegUrge UPPS-P negative urgency, LackPers UPPS-P lack of perseverance, LackPremed UPPS-P lack of
premeditation, UPPSsen UPPS-P sensation seeking, PosUrge UPPS-P positive urgency, DienerLS Diener life
satisfaction, RyffWB Ryff psychological well-being, WaterWB Waterman eudaimonic well-being
* p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

Eudaimonic Well-Being Controlling for age and gender, eudaimonic well-being was
negatively associated with two UPPS-P dimensions (negative urgency and lack of
perseverance) and positively associated with sensation seeking (see Table 3). Lack of
premeditation and positive urgency were not significant predictors. A sensation seeking
x age interaction was found, indicating a stronger sensation seeking – eudaimonic well-
being association among younger adults.

Impulsivity, Sensation Seeking, and Mental Health Status

To assess the hypothesized relationship between sensation seeking and flourishing

mental health status, mean UPPS-P scores were compared for languishing, moderate,
and flourishing groups. Figure 1 reports estimated marginal mean scores (controlling
for gender and age) for each UPPS-P dimension across those three health status groups.
Sensation seeking scores varied by mental health status group [F(2,1276) = 11.54, p
< .001], with post hoc comparisons (Tukey HSD test) indicating that the mean sensa-
tion seeking score for the flourishing group (M = 2.46, SD = .78) was significantly
higher than those in the moderate group (M = 2.33, SD = .76, p = .019), and the
languishing group (M = 2.10, SD = .86, p < .01). In other words, consistent with pre-
dictions, sensation seeking was associated with positive mental health status.

Discussion

Emerging research and theory suggests that sensation seeking is a specific facet of
impulsivity that may have distinct patterns of associations with well-being variables.
The current findings indicate that sensation seeking holds positive association with
psychological and eudaimonic well-being, in contrast to other forms of impulsivity
Table 3 Regression analysis: UPSS-P dimensions and well-being (N = 1395)

Satisfaction with Life Psychological well-being Eudaimonic well-being

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

β Β β Β β Β β β β

Age .010 −.027 −.256* .153*** .070** .150 .178*** .114*** .343**
Female .103*** .127*** .128*** .075** .102*** .104*** .063* .078** .079***
Negative Urgency −.333*** −.200* −.345*** −.284** −.257*** −.242**
Lack of Perseverance −.205*** −.071 −.366** −.492*** −.443*** −.443***
Lack of Premeditation .050 .179 −.028 .103 −.032 .032
Sensation Seeking .046 .090 .196*** .344*** .142*** .325***
Positive Urgency .170*** .122 −.082** −.222* .000 −.023
Age x Negative Urgency −.159 −.081 −021
Age x Lack of Perseverance −.051 .173 .001
Age x Lack of Premeditation −.182 −.175 −.085
Age x Sensation Seeking −.055 −.192* −.235*
Age x Positive Urgency .048 .162 .019
R2 change .011** .126*** .005 .031*** .395*** .005* .038*** .347*** .004
AdjustedR2 .009 .132 .134 .030 .424 .427 .036 .381 .383

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001

R. Ravert, M. B. Donnellan
Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking: Differing Associations with...

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
Negave Urgency Lack of Lack of Sensaon Posive Urgency
Prseverance Premeditaon Seeking

Languishing Group (n = 121) Moderate Group (n = 521) Flourishing Group (n = 637)

Fig. 1 Mean UPPS-P dimension scores across three mental health status groups. Note: estimated marginal
mean scores for each UPPS-P dimension, controlling for gender and age

which are typically negatively associated with well-being. These results support prior
suggestions that sensation seeking may be protective or characteristic of adaptive
functioning (Peters et al. 2013; Yoneda et al. 2019).
In addition, we found that the association between sensation seeking and well-being
was stronger among younger adults than in older adults. Dispositional tendencies can
prove more or less adaptive at different developmental periods (e.g., Hill and Roberts
2012) and thus age may provide a further complicating considering with considering
the correlates of sensation seeking. The current study suggests that sensation seeking
might be more strongly associated with particular types of well-being for younger
adults. An openness to experiences may be functional during young adulthood in
contemporary societies that offer many different pathways with potential benefits along
with costs (e.g., leaving home, seeking out new relationships, changing career/
academic paths). Given the importance of exploration during the transition to adult-
hood, a tendency to seek out novel stimuli may help individuals navigate the develop-
mental tasks of this time in the life span. In that sense, all behavioral expressions of
sensation seeking are not all necessarily maladaptive (Roberti 2004; Romer et al. 2017),
but may serve a useful purpose by promoting exploration and agency needed to meet
developmental tasks such as forming a sense of identity, building resources, and forging
one’s path during the move toward adulthood (Arnett 2000; Côté and Bynner 2008).
One interesting exception to our theorizing was the result that life satisfaction was
not significantly predicted by sensation seeking. This result is sensible when consider-
ing that well-being is multifaceted, and findings may reflect differences between life
satisfaction and other well-being constructs. Previous researchers (e.g., Schwartz et al.
2011; Ryff 2014) have noted theoretical and empirical differences between life
 R. Ravert, M. B. Donnellan

satisfaction and psychological well-being, arguing that life satisfaction reflects hedonic
happiness rather than the types of eudaimonic well-being assessed in the other mea-
sures. Thus, just like researchers adopt a multifaceted approach to impulsivity, a
multifaceted approach to well-being is also warranted.

Limitations and Conclusions

There are limitations to this work that must be acknowledged. First, we relied on a
convenience sample recruited though Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Although this kind
of sample differs in some ways from the general population (e.g., tend to be younger,
more diverse, higher education), research supports that data collected in this method
tends to be comparable to that collected through traditional methods (Buhrmester et al.
2011; Paolacci and Chandler 2014; Casler et al. 2013). Further research is necessary to
examine whether the current results generalize to other samples. Second, the cross-
sectional nature of the design does not allow for study of developmental change. Other
limitations regard use of the UPPS-P instrument. Comparison of the full and short
versions have concluded that the short version used in the current study is appropriate
for correlational studies although not as precise (Lozano et al. 2018). Additionally,
whereas UPPS-P was used in the current study primarily to allow concurrent exami-
nation of distinct, but related impulsivity facets, it is only one available measure of
sensation seeking.
The correlational nature of our findings allows for several possible explanations for
why sensation seeking is associated with well-being. First, sensation seeking is thought
to involve some degree of overlap with extraversion and openness (Aluja et al. 2003),
both being dimensions associated with psychological well-being (Sun et al. 2017).
Thus, a high sensation seeking disposition may allow one to approach situations that
individuals low on the trait may not select (Lissek et al. 2005), and may therefore
facilitate novel social, academic, or career opportunities that enhance well-being (Harris
et al. 2017). Likewise, sensation seeking may help foster valued capabilities such as
innovation and entrepreneurship (Wiklund et al. 2017; Nicolaou et al. 2008), leading
individuals to feel more accomplished and fulfilled. Further, sensation seeking may
serve as a protective resource to help manage stress and adversity (McKay et al. 2018).
Given that personality characteristics including sensation seeking are not fixed, but
are conducive to change (Quinn et al. 2011), a third possible explanation for the
associations we found is that establishing a high level of psychological or eudaimonic
well-being may lead to increased levels of sensation seeking. That is, developing a
strong sense of well-being may increase the degree to which a person pursues novel,
intense experiences. A final possibility is that some other third variable (e.g., develop-
mental experiences) may be responsible for cultivating a strong propensity for novelty,
along with high orientation toward growth and fulfillment and sense of psychological
being as well. Future research should use longitudinal research to address these
alternate possibilities and should search for mediators to help specify why sensation
seeking is more compatible with well-being than impulsivity.
In summary, findings demonstrate that sensation seeking is positively associated
with psychological and eudaimonic well-being among U.S. adults, and particularly
among younger adults. High sensation seekers reported a higher sense of personal
fulfillment and psychological growth (even though they were not necessarily more
Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking: Differing Associations with...

satisfied with life). The findings that those associations were particularly strong among
young adults is consistent with a developmental framework that considers the contem-
porary transition into adulthood as requiring a high degree of agency and exploration,
such that willingness to explore and seek novelty may often be adaptive.
Refining the understanding of the relations between well-being and attributes like
sensation seeking and impulsivity might help to identify the types of novelty seeking
(e.g., dispositions, attitudes, behaviors) that are most conducive to positive psycholog-
ical and mental health. Doing so might also help scholars better understand the nature
of risk-taking and well-being from a developmental perspective, and ultimately con-
tribute to efforts aimed at improving quality of life across the lifespan.

Acknowledgments This work was supported by a grant from the University of Missouri Research Council.

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