How Risky Is It?

A researcher at Brigham Young University asked 282 men and 162 women to rate the perceived risk of several “high risk” sports and indicate the likelihood of their participation in the sports. With zero being no risk and 10 being extreme risk, men and women generally rated the risk the same. Rankings were as follows:

Scuba diving ....................................... 4.0
Skiing ................................................. 4.5
Bungee jumping ..................................6.1
Rock climbing .....................................6.6
Motorcycle racing ..............................7.2
Hang gliding ........................................7.4
Cliff jumping .......................................7.8
Sky diving ...........................................7.9

For the most part, the students said that the lower the risk of the sport, the greater the likelihood they would participate in it. But in the real world of diving, that finding doesn’t translate into reality. You see, far more people ski than dive, a fact that constantly bugs the honchos of the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association. Could it be that the skiing industry promotes their sport better than the diving industry? You bet. More about that in the next issue.

From Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1997, 85, 756-758, Author: Dr. Darhl M. Pedersen, Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, 1090 SWKT Provo, UT 84602