Sensation seeking, augmenting-reducing, and the perceived and preferred effects of drugs

The following measures were administered to 78 undergraduates: the General and Disinhibition subscales of Zuckerman's (1971) Sensation-Seeking Scale; the Reducer-Augmenter Scale (RAS; Vando, 1970, 1974); self-reported use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis; the degree of attribution of stimulant, depressant, and neutral effects to these drugs; and desirability ratings of stimulant and depressant effects ascribed to various drugs. Major findings were as follows: (a) On the RAS, reducing correlated positively with both sensation-seeking measures. (b) Seven of the nine personality-versus-drug-use correlations were positive and significant. (c) Generally, the effects attributed to drugs did not differ by sex, personality, or use. (d) However, frequent drinkers attributed stimulant effects to alcohol more strongly than depressant effects, whereas infrequent drinkers did the opposite. (e) The mean desirability ratings of stimulant and depressant drug effects correlated positively. (f) High disinhibitors rated drug effects of both kinds more favorably than did lows. (g) A similar, more favorable evaluation by high than by low general sensation seekers was significant for male subjects only. (h) Score on the Reducer-Augmenter Scale was not significantly predictive of subjects' desirability ratings.