activities too – BASE diving as well as ballroom dancing. Risk isn’t
the goal; it’s what they must do to have the high sensation-seeking
experience. Those with high sensation-seeking scores also enjoy all
sorts of non-risky but stimulating activities.
High sensation-seekers also biologically experience their
edgy hobbies differently than low sensation-seekers do. High sensa-
tion-seekers’ lowered cortisol and heightened dopamine, and some-
times lack of fear,not onlydraw them to certainsports and pastimes,
but also can make them experts in their execution. While low sensa-
tion-seekers might be flooded with sensations during hang gliding,
a high sensation-seeker’s neuropsychological makeup makes it
easier to perform the tasks that high-risk activities demand.
High sensation-seekers’ edgy hobbies can give them a sense
of mastery over themselves and their environments and can make
them feel really alive. Their hobbies can also be dangerous and
costly when they’re taken too far.Roller Girl
High sensation-seekers perceive risk differently than low sensation-
seekers – so much so that they actually enjoy the riskiness of their
hobbies. They like relying on their instincts in dangerous situations
and they enjoy the focus and increased self-control they get from
their activities.
Pam, a young professional currently living in Texas, told me
about the high-stakes, street-style roller blading she likes. She recalls
with fondness her identity as “Roller Girl,” which sounded a bit like
a superhero alter ego, and a particular memory from when she was
living in Chicago. “One of my memories is that we were going down
by Michigan Avenue around the art museum, down in that area. We
would go flying in front of a taxi and then flying in front of a bike.
We’d go flying up on the curbs and then jump down and then go in
the street. A bike would pull in front of us and right away I would see
it. It’s almost like all of sudden he sees me but I had seen him 20 feet
back. I could almost tell that he was probably going to hit me by just
the angleofthebike, the way he was riding, everything. Itwas justan
unbelievable moment of focus and concentration.
“We’re flying down this hill and I’m like, ‘Sheila, I don’t
know how to brake.’ She’s like, ‘Well, you better brake or you’re
going to die.’ I wasn’t afraid. That is the most interesting thing.
All of a sudden, I was like, ‘Okay, I need a target.’ I found a light70 / Buzz!Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Access paid by the UCSF Library, on 11 Nov 2019 at 14:19:03, subject to the Cambridge