Table 1. Participant characteristics and task performance.
Means are presented in each column, with standard deviation for each group presented in parentheses. There were no significant group differences on any of the measures presented.
| High Sensation Seeking |
Low Sensation Seeking |
Statistic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 14.12 (0.96) | 13.75 (1.12) | t52 = 0.19 |
| Sex (Male/Female) | 21/6 | 15/12 | Χ 21,54 = 3.00† |
| Pubertya | 3.77 (1.19) | 3.44 (0.97) | U52 = 288.5, Z = −1.37 |
| IQb | 109.48 (12.33) | 111.48 (11.16) | t52 = 0.54 |
| SESc | 32.26 (14.88) | 25.67 (11.59) | U52 = 267.5, Z = −1.69† |
| Movement (RMS) | 0.25 (0.18) | 0.29 (0.21) | U52 = 316, Z = −0.84 |
| Sensation Seeking (%)d | 73.52 (10.13) | 21.59 (9.87) | |
| Performance on WOF task | |||
| Risky Selections (%) | 71.44 (23.34) | 64.26 (21.01) | U52 = 287.5, Z = −1.33 |
| Accuracy on Win Trials (%) | 98.64 (3.54) | 99.56 (1.58) | U52 = 321.5, Z = −1.15 |
| Accuracy on No Win Trials (%) | 95.82 (7.04) | 93.82 (19.37) | U52 = 342, Z = −0.43 |
Tanner’s Sexual Maturation Scale; scores range 1–5, with higher scores reflecting greater maturity (Taylor et al., 2001)
Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (Wechsler, 1999)
Hollingshead Index of Social Position; higher scores indicate lower socioeconomic status; mean scores here are commensurate with middle (High Sensation Seeking) and upper-middle class (Low Sensation Seeking) status (Hollingshead, 1975)
Impulsive Sensation Seeking Scale of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (Zuckerman et al., 1993)
WOF = Wheel of Fortune Task, RMS = root mean square
p < 0.1