Powder Fever and Its Impact on Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain

Abstract

We examined the effect of emotions, associated with “powder fever”, on decision-making in avalanche terrain. Background: Skiing in avalanche terrain is a voluntary activity that exposes the participant to potentially fatal risk. Impaired decision-making in this context can therefore have devastating results, often with limited prior corrective feedback and learning opportunities. Previous research has suggested that arousal caused by emotions affects risk assessment and intentions to engage in risky behavior. We propose that powder fever may induce similar responses. Methods: We used the following two experimental methods: laboratory studies with visual visceral stimuli (ski movies) and a field study with real stimuli (skiing exciting terrain). We evaluated the effect of emotions on attention, risk assessment, and willingness to expose oneself and others to risk. Results: Both the laboratory studies and the field study showed that skiing-related stimuli had a relatively strong effect on reported emotions. However, we found very few significant effects on decision-making or assessment of risk. Conclusions: Skiing activities make people happier. However, despite the clear parallels to sexual arousal, powder fever does not appear to significantly impair decision-making in our study. More research on the effects of powder fewer on milder forms of risk-taking behavior is needed.

An Ecological Dynamics Approach to Understanding Human-Environment Interactions in the Adventure Sport Context—Implications for Research and Practice

“…A current hot topic within the adventure sport research, exemplifying and underlining the challenge of context-dependence in uncertain and complex environments, concerns the behavior and decision making of backcountry skiers and snowboarders in avalanche terrain. In the field of avalanche research and education, contemporary theoretical approaches have been mainly adopted from fields such as behavioral economics, aviation, or military, alongside psychology, social, and cognitive sciences [ 92 , 93 , 94 ]. These traditional approaches have typically focused on the relations of a somewhat debatable concept of human factors and prevention of accidents.…”

“…This approach is often interpreted to be due to a situational inability of individuals to perceive probabilities or environmental information indicating avalanche hazard [ 94 ]. This cognitive bias and heuristics paradigm is exemplified in the concept of ‘heuristic traps’ [ 92 , 96 ], which is widely applied in avalanche education curricula, for instance, as a basis of decision-aids or checklists as practical tools to reduce error [ 93 , 97 ]. Despite the width of application, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of education on heuristic traps is not yet available in the peer reviewed literature.…”