Inventory-Description

The Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS-20) is a psychometric tool used to measure sensation seeking, which refers to individuals’ tendency to seek new and intense experiences, often involving risk-taking. Developed by Jeffrey Arnett in 1994, it consists of 20 questions that assess individuals’ preferences for new experiences and their perceptions of risk.

Data Analysis and Usage

The AISS-20 consists of two dimensions:
Novelty Seeking: Refers to the preference for new, different, and unusual situations.
Risk Taking: Describes the desire for engaging in dangerous or risky activities.
Participants respond to the questions using a Likert scale (usually 4-5 points) to indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with each statement. The responses are then aggregated to form a total score, which represents an individual’s level of sensation seeking. A higher score indicates a stronger tendency toward sensation seeking and risk-taking.
Data analysis of AISS-20 typically includes:
Descriptive Statistics (means, variances)
Factor Analysis (to confirm the validity of the two factors)
Comparative Analyses (studies examining differences by age group, gender, or culture)

Purpose

The goal of using AISS-20 is to understand individual variation in sensation seeking and risk-taking behavior. The tool is used in psychological research that explores high-risk behaviors (such as substance use, extreme sports, or delinquent behavior), while also helping to distinguish between normal and pathological risk-seeking.

Calibration

Calibration of AISS-20 involves cross-validation across different samples to ensure that the measurements are reliable and valid. Calibration studies include:
Content Validity: Ensures that the questions adequately represent the concept of sensation seeking.
Internal Consistency: Measures such as Cronbach’s Alpha are used to assess the coherence of the questions.
Test-Retest Reliability: Assesses the stability of results over time.

References

Arnett, J. (1994). Sensation Seeking: A New Conceptualization and a New Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 16(2), 289–296. DOI: 10.1016/0191-8869(94)90165-1
Zuckerman, M. (1994). Behavioral Expressions and Biosocial Bases of Sensation Seeking. Cambridge University Press.
Steinberg, L. (2008). A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking. Developmental Review, 28(1), 78–106. DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002