Sensation-seeking and video choice in second grade children

One hundred and twenty-three second grade students were asked to choose a video about “scary sharks” or “bunnies.” Two versions of each video were shown, one high in excitement and one low in excitement. Children high in sensation-seeking and boys were more likely to choose the scary video, while those low in sensation-seeking and girls most often chose to see the bunny video. When content was manipulated for high and low excitement, those choosing the scary video liked the exciting versions and somewhat disliked the less exciting versions, while those who had chosen the bunny video liked the less exciting version and disliked the exciting versions. These findings extend to young children previous research showing that sensation-seeking operates in media selection.