Why Do People Engage in Dangerous and Risky Activities?
By Justin Lee
As the sun sets, the once-lived, lush forest has transformed into a murky maze. You take a deep breath and begin to retrace your steps to when you first got lost several hours prior. With the cold and darkness closing in, you feel your heart race and your breathing speed up. There is a rustle in a bush behind you, and you freeze. Nothing happens for a few seconds, but as you begin to walk, you distinctly hear a twig break, and that is when you begin to sprint.
In this scenario, your body triggered your fight or flight response, which is the unconscious psychological reaction to an occurrence that was perceived as extremely stressful or life-threatening. It is in our biological nature to react to dangerous scenarios in this way, which is how our ancestors survived in the Stone Age. But if that is the case, then why do people engage in dangerous and risky behaviors such as skydiving, motorcycle riding, gambling, and using drugs?
To understand why such behavior occurs in humans, we need to first understand how our brains process and react to fear. The primary section of our brain that is responsible for activating our response is called the amygdala. Located next to both the hippocampus and limbic system, the amygdala primes our brain for fear by activating our fight or flight response, alerting our external senses, and preparing ourselves for the threat [5]. When placed in a dangerous situation where our body recognizes fear, the amygdala alerts your nervous system. It releases stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which elevate blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration rates [3]. This is what we call the fight or flight response, which is where our body determines whether it should prepare to flee from danger or stand its ground and fight. In the wild, it would be expected that the fight or flight response would be activated more frequently, especially in geographical regions where large predators are present, even if humans had access to modern weaponry. However, in the majority of developed countries, it can be inferred that this response would rarely activate, as metropolitan areas are most likely considered safer than places such as the Amazon rainforest.
If humans are in danger on a less frequent basis in the modern world, it would be logical for us to live our lives peacefully and carry on our day, as that is the way for us to survive comfortably. However, this is not the case, as a surprisingly high number of people engage in dangerous and risky activities. People who actively seek and place themselves in dangerous situations are often referred to as “adrenaline junkies.” According to psychologist and professor Ken Carter at Oxford College of Emory University Ken Carter, what was discovered about these people was that in situations where normal people would be producing the stress hormone cortisol to prepare themselves for fighting or flighting, adrenaline seekers produce much less cortisol and more dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure [4].
As a result, although people feel like adrenaline seekers do reckless things, to that individual, they do not perceive the things they do as reckless because their bodies are not telling them that they do not feel in danger. Psychologists found that these people feel in complete control and absorbed in their actions when they enter intense concentration, which is called “flow,” or as we know it, being in the zone [1]. While they are hyperfocused on their activity, they forget about everyday problems and anxieties to deliver the highest levels of performance. It was also found that the majority of the time, those who engage in these activities are in their adolescent years, and as they grow older, the high-sensation seeking tends to go down.
Other studies and research have shown that it is not just the risk that draws people into dangerous behaviors, but also the novelty that comes with it. Psychologists call this “novelty seeking,” which is the preference for unexpected and new experiences [2]. People who have this trait are impulsive and get easily bored, but experiencing something new would give them a flood of pleasure chemicals in their brains. Both the concepts of risk and novelty are linked to a certain degree: any new stimulus is inherently more risky in that the consequences are unknown.
In connection with this topic, I recently picked up a motorcycle and began my riding adventure this January. When I was in elementary school, I used to be scared of practically all the rides at amusement parks. It was not until middle school, when my best friend forced me to get on a ride with her, that I began to realize I loved going fast. Fast forward to when I first began driving, and like every other teenage boy, I was speeding quite frequently and taking my car into the mountains at night, driving on those windy roads. Eventually, even after spending thousands of dollars modifying my car for better performance, I was not satisfied with it and looked into purchasing a motorcycle. A lot of my family members were opposed to me purchasing one, as they told me the countless horror stories of people they knew getting into fatal accidents.
However, after getting one myself and racking over 1,300 miles this past 6 weeks commuting to UCSD, work, and doing some canyon carving, I realized the charm behind motorcycles. Because I placed myself in a higher-risk position daily, I realized that I was a lot more alert when commuting, and as stressful as this sounds, it wasn’t. I didn’t need to go fast anymore for the adrenaline when all I needed to worry about was distracted drivers merging into me. When I was riding, aside from the back pain, getting stuck at traffic lights in the recent rainy season, and the occasional close call with an SUV, I felt free and more connected to the road and outside world. My day-to-day activities have become more engaging and interesting, and instead of being stuck in traffic, I was able to get home 10 minutes quicker via lane splitting. So as far as I am concerned, being an adrenaline junkie isn’t all too bad.
Of course, that doesn’t mean those who seek this rush should be going about their day and engaging in dangerous acts around town frequently, as this endangers other people. There is nothing inherently wrong with people who love adrenaline, but there is a proper time and place for these individuals to enjoy these activities. It may be odd from a biological standpoint, but as humans are complex beings, enjoying such things is not far-fetched. Instead of actively villainizing these individuals as threats to society, perhaps informing and educating them of safer alternatives to their hobbies that take place in controlled environments can protect not only them but those around them. And to me, that would be a win-win.
Sources:
- Barrett, E. (2014, October 22). Why do people take extreme risks? Welldoing. https://welldoing.org/article/people-take-extreme-risks
- Voon, V. (2023, June 8). Why danger is exciting — but only to some people. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-danger-is-exciting-but-only-to-some-people-64680
- Northwestern Medicine. (n.d.). 5 Things You Never Knew About Fear. Northwestern Medicine. https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/emotional-health/5-things-you-never-knew-about-fear#:~:text=As%20soon%20as%20you%20recognize,body%27s%20fear%20response%20into%20motion
- Sofia, M. K., & Vaughn, E. (2019, November 1). The Science of Scary: Why it’s so Fun to be Freaked Out. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/11/01/775198994/the-science-of-scary-why-its-so-fun-to-be-freaked-out
- Boyle, Mary. “Partisan Brain” Cognitive Neuroeconomics, Mar. 2024, UC San Diego. Lecture.
