Saturday, October 29, 2005 ::: novelty seekers anonymous
what is novelty seeking? -a characteristic closely related to personality -defined as "the tendency to engage in behaviours that lead to new and exciting experiences"
novelty seeking also seems to be related, pharmacologically, to the chemical "dopamine" dopamine's effect on the body include -a decreased sensitivity to pain -and a tendency to persist in ongoing behaviour --- So, this is what helps an animal engage in species typical behaviour such as fighting and mating
there is a substance, foreign to the body, which has a similar chemical effect as dopamine this substance is called cocaine cocaine stimulates the dopamine receptors to produce feelings of euphoria and pleasure
novelty seekers may be tapping into the same primal reward mechanisms as drug abusers individuals who constantly seek new and exciting experiences are more likely to abuse drugs but if novel experiences were sought out and indulged in to a large extent very often, then it could produce a biologically rewarding effect similar to a physiological addiction caused by drug abuse
this means that novelty seeking alone, could potentially be just as addicting and like all addictions, it can interfere with how a preson lives his normal day-to-day life
novelty seeking also seems to be related to two of dimensions of personality: -a high degree of extroversion -and a low degree conscientiousness this produces impulsitivity, curiousity and easy excitability
--- hmm, its interesting to note that for the last few years, my life has been nothing but a series of novel experiences ...
