ABSTRACT
Research has found that people who prefer risky messages (i.e., unconventional, novel, intense, arousing, dramatic) also engage in risky behavior. Donohew, Palmgreen, and Duncan’s (1980) activation model, based on Zuckerman’s (1969) sensation-seeking theory, suggests that high sensation seekers remember and respond to messages with high sensation value; a measure of message sensation value, therefore, is useful for research involving drug abuse or other risky behavior. The PMSV extended Everett and Palmgreen’s (1995) and Stephenson and Palmgreen’s (2001) scale work, which helped establish construct validity.
