Living on the Edge: The Science Behind Thrill Seeking Behaviors
Niah Dang
Illustrations by Max Brenneman
Picture a young man rock climbing, thousands of feet in the air. As you take a closer look, you realize that he lacks any safety equipment or ropes tethering him to the wall. There is no harness to catch him if he falls — and it’s a long way down. “What an idiot,” you mutter to yourself, shaking your head. It’s hard to imagine why someone would risk their life like that, seemingly for no reason. And yet, participation in death-defying pursuits has only increased over time [1]. Due to the growing commercialization and accessibility of these risky activities, the general uptick in involvement is unsurprising. Perhaps children watching the X Games and other widely broadcasted representations of extreme sports were exposed early to the world of extreme sports, paving the way for their own future pursuits [2]. These so-called ‘adrenaline junkies’ — who regularly seek out situations that may endanger their lives in search of a thrill — have expanded their endeavors to include an ever-growing number of dangerous activities [3]. ‘Adrenaline junkies’ may choose to walk on the wings of planes mid-air, scale the rocky sides of active volcanoes, or climb thousands of feet onto jagged rock faces with no backup. There is no clear scientific phenomenon underpinning what tempts people to flirt with death on a daily basis. However, we may begin to understand what drives this thrill-seeking behavior through biological, psychological, and social approaches.
Reaping the Rewards: The Role of Dopamine
Suddenly emerging into view, a person dressed only in a swimsuit jumps off a cliff and plunges into the murky depths of the ocean below. They break through the water’s surface moments later, gasping for air and dizzy with elation. This activity involves taking a major risk: a slight miscalculation of the jump could result in injury or death [4]. The thrill experienced from this kind of risk is a product of both adrenaline and dopamine, chemical messengers that can have numerous effects on our biological state. As a hormone, adrenaline travels through the bloodstream to many parts of the body [5]. Dopamine, on the other hand, is a neurotransmitter, so it acts within the brain and nervous system [6, 7]. Hormones and neurotransmitters can change the way our bodies function normally [8, 9]. Think about the twinge of fear masked by excitement as you peer over the edge of the diving board. Before you jump, you feel your heart racing, and your breathing becomes shallow. Once you resurface, a rush of satisfaction hits, tempting you to climb back up for another go. Cliff jumpers commonly experience these feelings. This complicated biological phenomenon arises from a combination of the adrenaline response and dopamine reward system [3].
Some neurons work as a part of our body’s limbic system, a collection of brain structures regulated by dopamine [10]. Changes in the amount of dopamine in a pathway commonly called the reward system, can modify behavioral responses to variations in your surroundings [9]. As the name suggests, the reward system elicits and reinforces behaviors associated with rewards, such as finding food. Why would dopamine be released when someone participates in a dangerous activity if it could potentially cause them serious harm? Dopamine is typically released slowly and irregularly, yet can be induced to release in bursts in certain situations [11]. In addition to being released in response to rewarding stimuli, dopamine can also be released during intense or novel experiences. Sudden bursts of dopamine can even encode distinct messages to the body [12]. When someone goes mountain climbing, for instance, they subject their body to dramatically increased physical stress. When augmented by the novelty of a new experience, like an unexplored climbing route, stress leads to an increase in dopamine [13]. Stress, often augmented by the novelty of an unfamiliar scenario, increases dopamine release and strengthens reward-related connections in the brain [9].
Worth the Risk: The Role of Adrenaline
When someone is faced with a stressful situation, their body’s fight or flight system kicks in [14]. During this response, the nervous system stimulates the secretion of adrenaline to help prepare the body to react [15]. When a snowboarder glides along the tip of a mountain, they feel the sharp pounding of their heart and their breath begins to quicken [8]. These physical changes are telltale signs that one’s fight or flight response is in full effect. Emotional stress, in particular, has been shown to increase the amount of adrenaline the body produces [17]. Adrenaline elevates oxygen levels in the body, which can increase mental clarity [16]. Emotional stress can also enhance physical performance to a certain extent [17]. We all have our own personal ‘threshold’ for adrenaline, at which we perform our best. When this ‘threshold’ is exceeded, however, it can result in less-than-optimal performance; the perfect balance of adrenaline is vital for success. As a snowboarder skillfully weaves through the trees down the mountain, the physical stress of this activity stimulates adrenaline release and heightens their focus [18]. In fact, when describing the threatening situations that risk-takers subject themselves to, the word ‘rush’ is often used [19]. A rush refers to the feelings of thrill and flow, and thrill is explained by one’s adrenaline levels. Flow is a more nuanced sensation and involves the mental aspect of these extreme activities, specifically when mental focus and physical practice coincide [19]. This rush can provide an extra boost of cognitive and physical energy, making these activities more enticing. Arguably, individuals who engage in extreme activities are thought to be attracted to the rush associated with their activity rather than the intrinsic danger of participation [19].
Losing Your Grip: When Thrill Seeking Goes Awry
Adrenaline and dopamine may also be involved in the addictive aspect of chasing adrenaline. In fact, ‘adrenaline junkies’ can experience behaviors similar to someone addicted to drugs or alcohol, especially in their ability to maintain self-control [20]. In the addiction circuitry that underscores drug or alcohol dependence, dopamine and adrenaline are critical in increasing addictive behaviors by causing dysfunction within pathways that control attention and impulse control [4]. Behavioral addictions can be severely threatening to one's health [21]. Since it is difficult to differentiate between normal and excessive participation in risky activities, behavioral addictions are also harder to classify than substance addictions [21]. However, there are factors that commonly indicate a behavioral dependency, including a lack of control, continued engagement in an activity despite known adverse consequences, and persistent urges to participate in a behavior [21]. For instance, Dean Potter, a competitive, well-recognized figure for dangerous extreme sports, engaged in high-lining, wingsuiting, BASE jumping, and other risky sports [4]. Potter also had a history of impulsive behavior — notably, illegally climbing in national parks — that caused him to lose substantial sponsorship deals. Potter was “fiercely competitive and proud… he was prepared to go to extreme lengths to protect and extend his records and accomplishments.” The desire to extend and protect his legacy ultimately cost him his life after unsuccessfully attempting a risky, illegal, and never-before-performed BASE flight at Yosemite National Park [4]. This tragedy exemplifies the true danger behavioral addictions pose and why it is important to continue searching for the reason people return to danger.
If You Jump, I Will…
Being surrounded by peers activates the systems responsible for social and emotional processing, and can increase the influence of peer pressure [22]. In an effort to be noticed by their peers, some people turn to risky behaviors [22]. Although it may be an annoying question for many teens, parents have a good reason for asking, “If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?” Consider a scenario in which all your friends jump from a plane, skydiving down to Earth. Whether we admit it or not, cheers from our friends might push us to jump, and soon, we might be free-falling. Social pressure from our peers is at play with such extreme activities [23]. Throughout our evolutionary history and to this day, humans have been driven to achieve higher status among their peers to obtain power and admiration [24]. Historically, respect from community members has provided survival and reproductive benefits through increased social influence within a group [24]. Status can be achieved in several ways, and risk-taking is one of them [24].
Social groups often reward successful risk-takers with prestige and recognition, outweighing the physical risks of the behavior [25]. Imagine a group of rock climbers constantly pushing each other to new heights. To keep up with the group, members may attempt climbs they would have otherwise deemed too risky to complete alone. This social acceptance, in combination with the biological dopamine reward, can make dangerous behaviors seem well worth the risk. These risky acts even have the potential to facilitate friendships [3]. In groups where members take on extreme activities together, members often come to depend on one another; dangerous elements foster trust and friendship between people [3]. Daredevil rock climbers may even feel safe enough to try riskier climbs, knowing their companions will catch them if they fall. This social element of encouragement, combined with the perceived safety of having others around, can push group members to explore new heights and surpass their own expectations of their abilities. These friendships can act as a reward loop, motivating people to continue to engage in risky behaviors [3].
How Safe is Too Safe?
In our modern society, safety features adorn every corner of our world. Fire alarms alert us when smoke is detected, railings are built so people don’t topple from great heights, and regulations on buildings are enforced to ensure structural soundness. A prevailing theory as to why the number of people who pursue extreme activities has been increasing over time is known as compensation theory [4, 25, 26]. This theory suggests that in an increasingly modernized world, people feel restricted by the endless safety features of society and compensate for this by partaking in risky activities [4, 25]. This tendency potentially originates from the ‘raw’ human desire for excitement, which precedes modern civilization [25]. We often seek large doses of whatever we feel has been withheld. Maybe bungee jumping into a canyon isn’t a death wish but rather a natural desire for excitement in an overly cautious society.
Chasing the High: Some Just Can’t Get Enough
Why people choose to participate in life-threatening activities is a subject that requires much more research. Several factors contribute to people’s participation in thrill-seeking endeavors. Trying to understand these behaviors through a single perspective would discount the complex interplay of factors that draw people to them. For a young teenage boy, jumping off the roof into the pool below might be his best bet at catching his buddies’ attention and praise. For the tired mom, drained by the same repetitive daily schedule, rock climbing trips with adventurous friends might give her the energy to keep going. For most that participate, it’s the feeling only attainable when you cheat death — a feeling many of us will rarely experience [19]. So, next time you see that young man rock climbing high above the ground, you may shake your head in disapproval and disbelief, but perhaps you will also understand the factors that compel him to stare death straight in the eyes.
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