نگاه دیگر به هیجان خواهی و قمار

Zuckerman (1999) described the pathological gambler as the prototype of a high sensation seeker. The aim of the presented review is to clarify the role of sensation seeking in the aetiology and pathogenesis of pathological gambling, while also drawing conclusions concerning the conceptualisation of sensation seeking. The overwhelming majority of empirical psychometric results contradict the suggestions of Zuckerman which, in part, rely on the measurement of sensation seeking. The results suggest that pathological gamblers have similar sensation seeking values as control subjects, and occasionally display even lower values. Nevertheless, further studies show the importance of (psychometrically measured) sensation seeking in the dynamic of pathological gambling. Based on the reviewed results, this paper aims to critically discuss the concept of sensation seeking and its psychometric assessment, and postulates to conceptualise sensation seeking as a need instead of a concrete behaviour. In regard to possible research directions in pathological gambling, we recommend differentiating between at least three factors: the need for novelty and intensity of stimulation, the available variety of behaviour undertaken to satisfy this need, and the possible control of such behaviour (impulse control).