In order to distinguish the trigger and the factors maintaining bulimia nervosa (BN), TCI temperamental scores were compared among BN patients, normal controls without diet experiences (N-N), and normal controls with diet experiences (N-D). On the novelty-seeking (NS) scale, the BN patients scored significantly higher than the N-N subjects, but there was no significant difference between the BN patients and the N-D subjects, and the N-D subjects scored higher than the N-N subjects. These findings suggest that high NS scores are related to diet experiences rather than chronic bulimic symptoms.