Individual Differences in Auditory, Pain, and Motor Stimulation

Abstract

Abstract. Augmenting/reducing is a personality dimension related to the processing of sensory stimuli. Augmenters are assumed to augment the impact of stimuli leading to stimulation-avoidant behavior and lower pain tolerance. Reducers are assumed to attenuate sensory stimuli leading to stimulation-seeking behavior and higher pain tolerance. Augmenting/reducing can be assessed by the method of evoked potentials or - as in this study - by questionnaire. Two studies were conducted to examine associations between augmenting/reducing as assessed by questionnaire and stimulus intensity modulation. Study 1 found reducers (n = 24, 12 females) to more frequently consume psychoactive substances and to turn music on louder than augmenters (n = 25, 12 females) even after controlling for individual hearing ability. In Study 2, reducers (n = 19, 10 females) were more pain tolerant than augmenters (n = 18, 9 females) and this difference increased with increasing stimulation time. Moreover, reducers were faster than augmenters in a rapid tapping task but there was no difference in a lower-stimulation tracking task. The results suggest that differences between augmenters and reducers are most reliable when the stimulation potential is high. The clinical relevance of this construct is discussed.

Relation of maternal personality to perceptions of environmental chaos in the home

“…While this hypothesis is intuitively compelling, evidence linking extraversion to measures of arousal level is often weak or not highly consistent (Amelang & Ullwer, 1991;Bullock & Gilliland, 1993;Hagemann & Naumann, 2009;Matthews & Amelang, 1993). However, consistent with what might be predicted from this theoretical framework, there is evidence indicating that extraversion is moderately and negatively correlated with noise sensitivity, with extraverts being less likely to be noise sensitive, less annoyed by sound (Campbell, 1992;Weinstein, 1978), or less adversely affected by noise during cognitive testing than introverts (Belojevic, Slepcevic, & Jakovljevic, 2001;Dobbs, Furnham & McClelland, 2011;Standing, Lynn, & Moxness, 1990). At present, little evidence is available on relations between extraversion and other aspects of chaos such as crowding.…”

“…For example, stimulus insensitive individuals or stimulus screeners were reported as more likely to approach and affiliate with more arousing settings (Aron, 2004;Mehrabian, 1995;Russell & Mehrabian, 1978;Schwerdtfeger, 2007). Similarly, extraversion was found to be linked with stimulus-seeking behaviors (Eysenck, 1981;Eysenck & Zuckerman, 1978;Howarth & Eysenck, 1968;Strelau & Eysenck, 1987).…”