Novelty seeking in adulthood: increases accompany decline.
Using stereotypes, researchers have predicted that novelty seeking declines in adulthood. Through this cross-sectional study, the authors revealed that only the external sensational type of novelty seeking declined, whereas the internal sensational and internal and external cognitive types remained stable or increased. A population of 233 adults (152 men, 81 women) completed the Novelty Experiencing Scale (P. H. Pearson, 1970). Correlational analyses revealed that older men sought novelty more frequently through cognition than did younger men and that older women were less likely than were younger women to seek novelty through their senses. Multivariate analysis of variance, 2 x 5 (Gender x Age), showed that cognitive novelty seeking increased significantly among participants younger than 50 years of age. Sensational novelty seeking was lower among women older than 40 years and among men older than 50 years. The analyses revealed no significant Gender x Age interactions.
Reio
Thomas G
TG
College of Education and Human Development, University of Louisville, KY, USA. thomas.reio@louisville.edu
Choi
Namok
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006803:Human Development; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors