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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Operant Sensation Seeking in the Mouse
Published on: November 10, 2010
Learning to be saints or sinners: the indirect pathway from Sensation Seeking to behavior through Mastery Orientation
Peter J O'Connor1, Chris Jackson
1School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia. petero@psy.uq.edu.au
Abstract:
Recently, a model of learning has been proposed that argues that Sensation Seeking indirectly predicts functional and dysfunctional behaviors through Mastery Orientation. Central components of the model were tested across two studies. Study 1 tested the proposed indirect effect in the prediction of functional behavior using an objective learning task. Study 2 tested the proposed indirect effects in the prediction of functional and dysfunctional self-report behavior across two very different samples. Regression analyses in both studies generally supported the proposed model.
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