Risk-taking refers to doing things that could potentially lead to harmful outcomes (Hardy & Woodman, 2019). We usually know what the harmful outcome might be, like getting hurt if we fall, but we’re not always sure if it will actually happen. There are two main types of risk-taking: deliberate risk taking, like rock climbing without a rope, and precautionary behaviors, like wearing a helmet (Woodman et al., 2013).
When it comes to risk-taking activities, they can range from being helpful to being harmful (Gomà-i-Freixanet, 1995). For example, firefighting is a helpful risk-taking activity, while drunk-driving is a harmful one. In sports, risk-taking is often associated with high-risk sports, which are neither helpful nor harmful. These sports involve a high chance of serious injury or even death (Breivik, 1999).
When people participate in high-risk sports, they face real dangers. How dangerous it feels can depend on things like how skilled they are. The reasons why people take risks are connected to their personality traits, like being impulsive or having difficulty expressing emotions or linked to seeking excitement, controlling their emotions, and feeling in control of their actions (Barlow et al., 2013).
Barlow, M., Woodman, T., & Hardy, L. (2013). Great expecta- tions: Different high-risk activities satisfy different motives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105(3), 458475. Available from https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033542.
Breivik, G. (1999). Empirical Studies of Risk Sport. Oslo: Norges Idrettshøgskole, Institutt for Samfunnsfag.
Goma`-i-Freixanet, M. (1995). Prosocial and antisocial aspects of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 19(2), 125134. Available from https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869 (95)00037-7.
Hardy, W., & Woodman, T. (2019). In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts. Academic Press.
Woodman, T., Barlow, M., Bandura, C., Hill, M., Kupciw, D., & Macgregor, A. (2013). Not all risks are equal: the risk tak- ing inventory for high-risk sports. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 35, 479492. Available from http:// http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24197716.