Faa - Am - 76 -

The incidence of motion sickness in a large (N = 3,618) college population was determined by means of a questionnaire. Significantly greater proportions of men than women had low susceptibility scores; significantly greater proportions of women had high susceptibility scores. Comparisons of MSQ scores were made with other selfassessments, age changes, motion experiences, familial susceptibility, use of motion sickness medication, muscular coordination, willingness to participate in motion experiments, flying experience, phobias, visual motion effects, and use of alcohol. MSQ scores were next used to select groups of highly susceptible and nonsusceptible subjects (12 men and 12 women in each group) to assess the relationships of motion sickness susceptibility to laboratory measures of vestibular function and duration of the spiral aftereffect. When subjective alertness levels were controlled, there was no enhancement of eithfr elicited nystagmus or turning sensations in comparing susceptible with nonsusceptible individuals. MSQ scores were also used to select an additional 25 men and 25 women for each of the two categories of susceptibility. These subjects were tested on at least three but not more than six of the following eight tests: Floor Ataxia Test Battery, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, Cornell Medical Index, Cornell Word Form, Eysenck Personality Inventory, Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, and the 16 Personality Factors test. The consistent and significant patterns of results from those tests are discussed in terms of the personality characteristics that generally distinguish those highly susceptible from those nonsusceptible to motion sickness.