Motivation in Extreme Sports - Essay Example

Motivation in Extreme Sports Majority of sports and sporting activities come with the risk of bodily injury. However, there are a number of sporting activities, which could lead to serious physical harm. These include paragliding, ab-sailing, rock-climbing, and bungee jumping (Allman et al, 2009). Perhaps the most famous and tragic sport fatalities was in Formula 1 on the 1st of May, 1994, in which three time world champion Ayrton Senna died during the Grand Prix in San Marino. At the time of the crash, he was doing 135 mph and died on impact (Buckley, 2012). Following his autopsy, it was concluded that his death could have been as a result of one of three injuries suffered by the driver during the crash. In this blog, I will seek to explore the motivations of man to compete in sporting activities that are life threatening. To begin with, extreme sport has become a popular phenomenon in the past two decades. This can be attributed to the significant and dramatic increase in coverage by the media and the increased interest of sponsors and advertisers. The aspect of mass marketing has led to the expansion of the demographic base that is interested in extreme leisure sport and activity (Kerr & Mackenzie, 2012). Kerr & Mackenzie highlight how important it is to understand the negative risks associated with participation in extreme sport, contending that they have now become popular activities for ordinary citizens during the weekend. It is obvious that most people, while acknowledging the danger of extreme sport, are not turned away by the danger (Brymer & Gray, 2010). People are motivated to take part in extreme sport for several psychological reasons. One belief holds that particular individuals get their motivation to participate from pre-disposition, such as personality traits (Rhea & Scott, 2010; Hetland & Vittersø, 2012). These two research articles sought to measure the personalities of participants in rock climbing, which showed they had low levels of anxiety and preferred emotional and sensation seeking behavior. Thus, their research showed that certain individuals had potential personality trait pre-disposition to take part in extreme sport. Another motivating factor is the link between an individual’s self-efficacy and their participation in extreme sport (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2013). Brymer & Schweitzer’s research built on earlier research from Brymer (2009), which had concluded that successfully completing dangerous sports and activities had considerably pleasurable outcomes for those involved. This makes these individuals participate in extreme sport for their emotional satisfaction. There is literature, however, that considers whether participants in extreme sports take part because of the risks involved or if they take part die to motivations that come from their attempts to manage prevalent risks to themselves (Brymer & Oades, 2009). Brymer & Oades hypothesize that, through being part of extreme sport, these individuals want to improve their self-control. By being part of extreme sport, they are able allow for increased control of themselves in normal life. This, again, is a potential motive for individuals who take part in a dangerous sport. Motivation to take part in extreme sport could also be explained by the prospective theory. Dean (2012) postulated this theory; they suggested that when individuals are involved in making choices and evaluating outcomes that are uncertain, they take consequence and probability information into consideration. This theory’s fundamental assumption is that when individuals are involved in an emotional struggle, they seek out behavior that involves more risk. This is in comparison to avoidance of risky behavior and indulgence when individuals are not involved in any emotionally straining struggles (Brymer, 2010). The prospective theory is applicable as a motive to be involved in extreme sporting activity since the individuals feel they are at their lowest point emotionally. In this case, they feel that the extreme sport will enable them to improve their life outlook. The potential of the experience to be emotionally pleasurable assumed by extreme sport participants will improve their emotions and life in general, which motivates them to take part. Throughout the writing of this blog, I have given the diverse reasons that potentially lead to individuals taking part in extreme sport. The blog has sought to do that by linking the outcomes of taking part in extreme sport, self-efficacy, and prospective theory. The motivations that individuals have to take part in extreme sport vary according to the individual. For this reason, using any of these reasons to explain why a particular individual takes part in extreme sport would lead to inconclusive results. Just as man is unique, so is the motivation why they partake in extreme sport. Blog Comments Blog #1: What motivates teachers to go ‘the extra mile’? The blog’s opening sentence immediately captured the attention of the reader, as the story on Musharaf was a popular trending topic on twitter that even got coverage on some major news channels. This opening helps to set stage for the rest of the paragraph, connecting Musharaf’s ability to speak in front of the class to the work of his English teacher (Emotion and Motivation, 2013), which, in turn, leads the reader to the main topic as to the motivation teachers have in going the “extra mile” with their problematic students. The rest of the blog feeds off this introduction and comprehensively; though briefly, covers the various reasons that motivate teachers to help needy students. The blog was informative and easy to follow due to its well-structured presentation of ideas, while the topic was evaluated and supported with relevant, well-cited sources, although some, especially in the second paragraph, could be dated. The conclusion tied the various motivations together in a logical manner. On top of teacher motivation being a product of the reward teachers get in seeing students achieve, I would also add that teachers seem to be motivated by the new experiences that they get dealing with the children, especially in channeling their talent to a meaningful end (Evans, 2012). In addition, for teachers in the lower classes, being around young children is a motivating factor in itself as it makes them feel young at heart. Blog #2: Universal Emotion in Music This blog begins with a hypothetical question as to how people could like one song, while some others hated it (Emotion and Motivation, 2013), which immediately drew the reader to know why this was the reason. However, the use of citation on what seems to be the thesis statement gives the blog an appearance of being too technical. It would have been better to rephrase the statement as the blog-writer’s own. However, the next paragraph flows from the introduction in a way that immediately re-grabs the attention of the reader. The emotional connection that people have to music across the world is a fascinating phenomenon and blog argues the reasons why this is the case in a well-structured and logical manner, discussing various theories and counter-theories. However, while the paper is an interesting read, there is too little in the way of personal opinion with too much information being from academic articles. The points given in support of the topic were well supported with citations and references that were relevant to the topic, although some could be considered dated. In addition to the points given, in the blog, to support why music is emotional universally, it could also be claimed that music stimulates human mental faculties, while it also acts in mental development (Burger et al, 2013). References Allman, T. L., Mittelstaedt, R. D., Martin, B., & Goldenberg, M. (2009). Exploring the Motivations of BASE Jumpers: Extreme Sport Enthusiasts. Journal of Sport & Tourism , 14 (4), 229-247. Brymer, E. (2009). Extreme Sports as a facilitator of ecocentricity and positive life changes. World Leisure Journal , 51 (1), 47-53. Brymer, E. (2010). Risk taking in Extreme Sports: A phenomenological perspective. Annals of Leisure Research , 13 (1-2), 218-238. Brymer, E. & Gray, T. (2010). Developing an intimate “relationship” with nature through extreme sports participation. Leisure/Loisir , 34 (4), 361-375. Brymer, E. & Schweitzer, R. (2013). The search for freedom in extreme sports: A phenomenological exploration. Psychology of Sport and Exercise , 14 ( 6), 865–873. Brymer, E. & Oades, L.G. (2009). Extreme Sports: A Positive Transformation in Courage and Humility. Journal of Humanistic Psychology , 49 (1), 114-126. Buckley, R. (2012). Rush as a key motivation in skilled adventure tourism: Resolving the risk recreation paradox. Tourism Management , 33 (4), 961–970. Burger, B., Saarikallio, S., Luck, G., Thompson, M. R., & Toiviainen, P. (2013). Relationships Between Perceived Emotions in Music and Music-induced Movement. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal , 30 (5 ), 517-533. Dean, D. H. (2012). Self-control and perceived physical risk in an extreme sport . Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers , 13 (1), 62-73. Emotion and Motivation. (2013, November 19). What motivates teachers to go ‘the extra mile’? Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://psychedemotionmotivation.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/what-motivates-teachers-to-go-the-extra-mile/ Emotion and Motivation. (2013, November 19). What motivates teachers to go ‘the extra mile’? Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://psychedemotionmotivation.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/ Evans, L. (2012). Teacher morale, job satisfaction, and motivation, London: P. Chapman Pub. Hetland, A. & Vittersø, J. (2012). The feelings of extreme risk: exploring emotional quality and variability in skydiving and BASE jumping. Journal of Sport Behavior , 35 (2), 154-180. Kerr, J. H. & Mackenzie, S. H. (2012). Multiple motives for participating in adventure sports. Psychology of Sport and Exercise , 13 (5), 649–657. Rhea, Deborah. J. & Scott, Martin. (2010). Personality Trait Differences of Traditional Sport Athletes, Bullriders, and Other Alternative Sport Athletes, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching 5 (1), 75-86. Read More