Great expectations: Different high-risk activities satisfy different motives.

Abstract

Research on people's motives for engaging in high-risk activities has typically been viewed through the single-focused lens of sensation seeking. We provide evidence that comprehensively challenges that view. First, we develop and confirm the structure of a 3-factor measure of motives: the Sensation Seeking, Emotion Regulation, and Agency Scale (SEAS; Study 1). We then use the SEAS to provide evidence of differential motives for 2 high-risk activities: skydiving and mountaineering. The motive for skydiving is strongly associated with sensation seeking; the motive for mountaineering is strongly associated with emotion regulation and agency but not with sensation seeking (Study 2). We also show that these conclusions cannot be drawn from existing measures of personality and sensation seeking (Study 3). Finally, individuals who are motivated by emotion regulation and agency needs also have greater expectations regarding their emotion regulation and agency. It is these greater expectations that most successfully discriminate mountaineers from skydivers and control participants (Study 4). It is concluded that researchers should no longer consider risk takers as a homogenous sensation-seeking group and that they should consider risk taking as a potential model of human endeavor. The SEAS can be used as a measure of motives for behavior whenever sensation seeking, agency, or emotion regulation is thought to be at the core of such motives, and the results are discussed in the context of encouraging personality researchers to consider the specific spontaneous behaviors that motivate different people.

Structural validation of three German versions of behavioral and motivational scales in high-risk sports

“…Each inventory contains 18 items with a seven-point Likert scale response mode ranging from one (completely disagree) to seven (completely agree). Barlow et al (2013) found evidence to support a three-factor structure for the Between and While inventories; however, they found that a two-factor model was a better fit to the data for the After inventory, with Agency and Emotion Regulation being combined into a single factor (i.e., agentic emotion regulation). Cronbach's alpha (α) displayed good internal consistency for each factor: Between participation inventory (α ≥ 0.84), While participating inventory (α ≥ 0.70), and After participation inventory (α ≥ 0.89).…”

“…Given that Barlow et al (2013) found a two-factor structure to be most appropriate for the SEAS After inventory, we analyzed our data with two-and threefactor models in order to see if the translated version confirmed these initial findings. In addition to the criteria mentioned above, we used the Deviance Information Criteria (DIC) to compare the two-and three-factor G-SEAS After inventory as recommended by Asparouhov, Muthén, and Morin (2015).…”

“…Suggesting that sensation seeking is the single panoptic explanation for voluntary engagement in sports as diverse as Himalayan mountaineering (e.g., extended duration, long periods of boredom, physically painful) and skydiving (e.g., very limited duration, characterized by thrilling enjoyable sensations) seems overly simplistic and several studies have shown that the motives for participation in high-risk sport are more varied than this (Barlow et al, 2015;Barlow, Woodman, & Hardy, 2013;Castanier, Le Scanff, & Woodman, 2010;Castanier, Le Scanff, & Woodman, 2011;Frühauf, Hardy, Pfoestl, Hoellen, & Kopp, 2017;Kerr & Houge Mackenzie, 2012;Lafollie & Le Scanff, 2007;Woodman et al, 2013;Woodman, Hardy, Barlow, & Le Scanff, 2010;Woodman, Huggins, Le Scanff, & Cazenave, 2009). A number of qualitative studies have uncovered additional and alternative motives for participation in high-risk sports (e.g., emotion regulation, agency, challenge, nature) (Brymer, 2010;Brymer & Gray, 2010;Frühauf et al, 2017;Kerr & Houge Mackenzie, 2012;Willig, 2008;Woodman et al, 2010).…”

“…This was based on research showing that participants in prolonged high-risk activities have difficulty with emotion regulation and a diminished sense of agency in aspects of their life and thus might participate in those high-risk sport activities to experience agency and become aware of their emotions . Barlow et al (2013) developed the SEAS using a variety of participants who took part in both high-risk sports (e.g., mountaineering and skydiving) and low-risk sports (e.g., basketball and hockey), in doing so they found that some activities might be motivated by the sensations of the activity (e.g., skydiving) and others might be motivated by the emotion regulation and agency transfers (e.g., mountaineering).…”

“…In light of these developments in understanding the motivations for participation in high-risk sports, a number of quantitative tools have been developed. Barlow et al (2013) established the Sensation Seeking, Emotion Regulation and Agency Scale (SEAS), a series of inventories that measure the following: the need for sensation, difficulty with emotion regulation, and lack of agency between bouts of participation in high-risk sports; the experience of sensation, emotion regulation, and agency while participating; and the transfer of sensation, emotion regulation, and agency following participation. This was based on research showing that participants in prolonged high-risk activities have difficulty with emotion regulation and a diminished sense of agency in aspects of their life and thus might participate in those high-risk sport activities to experience agency and become aware of their emotions .…”