True Thrill Seekers

     Freefalling off the edge of a bridge with nothing, but a rescue parachute that you paid twenty dollars for is exhilarating for people like Nick. Dr. Ken Carter, a psychology professor from Emory University, went to Twin Falls, Idaho. He went to see people base jump off the only bridge in North America where you can jump off of it whenever you want. He was there to collect information for his book that he was writing on thrill seekers. When he went there, Dr. Carter ran into a guy named Nick. Nick was planning on jumping off of the bridge and he needed someone to film him. After Nick was done base jumping, Dr. Carter asked,"Didn't it scare you when your parachute deployed later than it should have?" Nick Replied by saying, " So I am watching the ground rush up and it's almost like an eerie , surreal feeling. In a way, you're scared, but in another way you are really calm and taking it in. You're like this is happening and I'm along for the ride, you know?" ( Carter, Ted Talk Video). The ironic thing is that most people wouldn't have been that calm in that situation. Most people would've freaked out because they feel that they could have easily died. Nick is the type of person that would belong to the community of people who are called thrill seekers. He looks for that excitement that someone gets when jumping off a cliff. These people aren't actually afraid. They get a sense of calmness and relaxation, when they are relying on a flimsy parachute to get them to safety. For the longest time, psychologist have wondered what makes theses thrill seekers willing to do these extreme sports and they never understood what all of the factors were.

     Over the years, research have found that thrill seekers will usually score higher on Zuckerman's high sensation seeking test. These people tend to show that that they score high in adrenaline/adventure. Though they are also able to score high in categories such as,"disinhibition, boredom susceptibility, and experience seeking"(National Library of Medicine, 2017). These types of people usually score so high because they love the high they get from any type of risky behavior. " People with this trait are often impulsive and easily bored -but new experiences release a surge of pleasure chemicals in their brains" (Voon , 2016). High sensation seekers usually have one category be the most prominent for them. For thrill seekers, they probably will score the highest in adventure and thrill seeking because they get that adrenaline and novelty from doing extreme and daring sports.

     People who are thrill seekers tend to have higher levels of dopamine in the brain because it the chemical has the power to give you the optimal arousal that you desire. " People who take a risks usually get a big hit of dopamine each time they have a novel experience, because their brains aren't able to inhibit the neurotransmitter adequately. That blast makes them feel good, so they keep returning for the rush from similarly risky or new behaviors" (Park, 2008).  Thrill seekers have the tendency so seek out risky behaviors that give them rewards. They don't see the consequences of their actions and it  the high they get from extreme sports can sometimes turn into an addiction.

Even though it is exhilarating to go sky diving or skiing, most people have limits of what they can do. Thrill seekers don't see the harm in getting addicted to dangerous sports because they need to fulfill their high optimal level of arousal, otherwise they will find other ways to compensate. Psychologists need to keep studying thrill seeker, so then they are able to try and help treat their addiction when it becomes life threatening.

Sources:

Thrill Seekers Ted Talk 
Natural Born Thrill Seeker
Sensation Seeking
Why We Take Risks