Surface approaches to learning materials and tasks are a commonplace challenge to teachers, and they prove difficult to shift, even among students who are otherwise talented or motivated to learn. The present study investigates a theory that surface approaches are triggered by a suboptimal, aversive response to learning stimuli, which overrides external motivations and provokes avoidance responses akin to the drive for intensity and novelty of experience found among sensation seekers. The study finds a significant correlation between surface tendencies measured on a new scale and sensation seeking tendencies measured on the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS).