Use Of Sensation Seeking Scale With Malaysian Students

Abstract

The Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) was developed to measure individuals' need to maintain an optimal level of arousal through varied, changing and novel sensations. Using 641 local undergraduate university students (males=254, females=387) as subjects, the present study is an attempt to adapt Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale to Malaysian conditions. Form IV of the SSS, which provides scores on five scales (General Scale, GS; Thrill and Adventure Seeking, TAS; Experience Seeking, ES; Disinhibition, Dis; and Boredom Susceptibility, BS) was translated and adapted into Bahasa Malaysia using the back translation technique. The study also aims to look at individual differences in SSS among Malaysians with respect to their age, sex, race and sportsmanship. The results indicated that subjects significantly differed (t-tests) on SSS across sex, race and sportsmanship. Males, as opposed to females, scored higher on all the sensation seeking scales. In terms of race, Indians were found to be high sensation seekers followed by Chinese and Malays. Finally, both males and females who engaged in sports had significantly higher scores on the General and TAS scales compared to their counterparts who did not engage in sports. Females who engaged in sports were also experience seekers as compared to females who did not engage in sports. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the existing literature as well as with respect to future research in Malaysia.