Why do people take risks?

They often pay a lot of money for it and take great risks – like the five people who were on board the missing submarine “Titan”, which is currently being searched near the wreck of the “Titanic” in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Whether it’s rich people for whom high ticket prices are not a financial problem, or people who have been saving money for years – they all have a “very special tendency to take risks”, they actively seek out this risk and see it as a kick, says Professor Birgitta Stecher in Psychology Berlin from the University of Berlin. Economics and Law (HWR). “It’s also about feeling challenged and alive. You could call that a personality trait. At the other extreme are people who have a very high need for security and control.”

“Some hope things will go well.”

These people risked such projects in the hope of emerging as “victorious”. “For example, if you judge a journey that you won’t survive, you won’t go along with it. I suppose most people who do something like this also have a certain belief in technology. And some people hope it’s okay.” In the case of wealthy people, they may also want to show that they can do something with their money that others cannot.

An entry in the Guinness Book of Records, a souvenir photo or just a personal affirmation of oneself can also motivate some people. Other people travel out of scientific curiosity – in this way they contribute to the exploration and survey of the world and space and thus to the scientific progress of centuries.

Hobby astronauts launch into space

Whereas in the past it was explorers, individually or in groups, who often organized and funded their own projects, the scope of these thrill shows has come close to mainstream in recent years thanks to the improvement in technical capabilities. For example, there are now several companies that fly people who are not trained astronauts for short or longer trips into space, including Blue Origin by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos or SpaceX by Elon Musk.

British businessman Hamish Harding, who was aboard the vanished submarine Titan, booked a short spaceflight with Blue Origin last year. According to media reports, the cost of these trips amounted to about 30 million dollars (about 27 million euros). However, manned space travel is still considered very difficult and technically risky. Just a few months into Harding’s full flight, for example, the Blue Origin rocket crashed shortly after launch, with luckily no people on board.

Climbing to the top is expensive

According to first estimates by Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism, more than 600 mountaineers, local mountain guides and porters have reached Mount Everest, which at around 8,849m is the highest mountain in the world, this year alone – at least 12 people have died this year in this undertaking that Mountaineers have to count thousands of dollars for it.

Demand for excursions to the famous Titanic wreck is also high: in 2021 his company Oceangate Expeditions, which is behind the disappeared submersible “Titan”, will come to the wreck six times and in 2022 seven times, said the company’s president, Stockton Rush, in a lecture last year. In addition to Harding, according to media reports, citing Oceangate, Rush is also one of the five occupants of the submarine. The ticket costs about 250 thousand dollars.

British businessman Harding participates in the famous “Explorers Club” in New York, where explorers have been meeting for more than 100 years. The club’s president, Richard Garriott de Cailloux, wrote in an open letter to its members. “We all share the strong hope that the submarine will be found as soon as possible and that the crew will be safe.”

(from Kristen Hursten And Gisela Grossdpa)