Who Do People Make Risky Decisions?

"Recently I was invited to participate in a podcast on risky decisions. The specific incident was the death of a hiker who had deliberately chosen a route that was known to be really dangerous. Why would any rational person choose to expose himself or herself to this degree of risk? That's what my interviewer asked me. But beyond the question was the interviewer's mindset - you have to be crazy to voluntarily put yourself in a position where you are risking your life."

"I immediately thought about the movie "Free Solo," documenting Alex Honnold's climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, in California in June 2017. Hannold does not strike me as someone who is crazy. He did not wake up one day and say to himself, "Let me try to summit El Capitan without any ropes or safety harness." He carefully plotted his route and tried it out using safety harness, rejecting options that he judged to be too dangerous."

"I can think of several reasons why people might expose themselves to unnecessary risk. One is that they may be wired differently than the rest of us. I have seen some evidence that Honnold doesn't show the same amygdala-based fear response as the rest of us. A second reason is that some people are more prone to sensation-seeking than others. They really enjoy that adrenaline rush. They will go skydiving or whitewater kayaking."

People engage in risky behaviors for multiple reasons, including different neural wiring that reduces amygdala-based fear, a propensity for sensation-seeking, and a desire to challenge oneself. Careful planning and progressive practice can make extreme risks appear rational, as exemplified by Alex Honnold's methodical rehearsal of El Capitan before attempting a free solo only when sufficiently confident. Sensation-seekers pursue adrenaline through activities like skydiving or whitewater kayaking. Increasing challenge yields satisfaction when tasks are overcome. Simple single-cause explanations for risky behavior are misleading. Risk-taking can be a controlled, healthy impulse rather than evidence of craziness.

Read at Psychology Today