According to David, what does a safer and more controlled world lead to?

W: Why are some people prepared to risk all while others are happy to sit at home watching TV? Here this morning to talk about the strange phenomenon of risk taking for the sheer excitement of it is David Viscardi, a psychologist who specialises in risk. He has recently written a book, ’ The Risk Phenomenon’. David, why is it that some people seem to crave adventures and excitement?
M: Many of us live in a world which has eliminated risk and tried to guarantee safety. This emphasis on safety at all costs starts to seem boring to—shall we call them—the sensation seekers of our time. Many people find normal everyday life much too dull and still need excitement. They turn to risk sports as an escape.
W: Are you saying risk sports like bungee-jumping or white-water rafting have a beneficial side?
M: Oh yes! These sports empower people to overcome fears that inhibit them in their real lives. When you do a risk sport you force yourself to do something very scary, but at the same time you learn that being frightened does not mean you are out of control. Er, lots of people say they would like to start a business, for example, but they don’t have the courage. Risk sports help them develop courage—a sense of being in control, even in the most terrifying conditions.
W: Mmm, which is the most popular risk-taking sport?
M: Oh, probably bungee-jumping. One-and-a-half million people worldwide have tried it. You can jump from a crane, a bridge or a hot-air balloon. You’re attached to a length of elastic rope and experience a free fall of nearly one hundred miles an hour before being slowed by an increasing pull on the ankles, which becomes a firm tug as the elastic is pulled tight. Bungee jumpers say there’s a moment when they think they’ll die and then there’s a fantastic rush of adrenalin which hits them like a blinding flash.
W: Is this what makes people take these extreme risks—the thrill of releasing adrenalin?
M: People’s need to experience risk is certainly affected by their physical and psychological makeup. Erm, some individuals, such as extroverts, tend not to get anxious very easily. Other types of people are easily made anxious and tend to avoid sensation. Extroverts are more likely to seek out sensations so they can experience a level of excitement in the body which makes them feel good. They tolerate anxiety or uncertainty better and are more adventurous. Most of us enjoy risk to some extent—we enjoy riding a rollercoaster at theme parks, for example. It’s just the degree of risk we will take that counts.