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What motivates stunt men?

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Abstract

If confrontation with danger is related to fear, and fear is considered to be the motivation for avoidance behavior, the question remains why certain people seek confrontations with danger. The present study, part of a larger one, is concerned with confrontation with actual danger, as in dangerous sports or voluntarily chosen dangerous professions. It reports the results of interviews with six stunt men. These results partly support the hypothesis of Zuckerman on sensation-seeking personality features: The subjects appear to be eager for varied experience and relatively unconcerned with negative consequences of their actions. The ability to stand the strains and to concentrate under riskful conditions shows up as a further important characteristic of stunt men. The major reward that constitutes the motivation for engaging in the stunting profession appears to consist of being able to meet the challenges involved, with increased self-esteem, receiving acclaim, and monetary profit as secondary rewards. Ability and motivation thus are inextricably intertwined.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Subfaculteit Psychologie, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Weesperplein 8, 1018 XA, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Susanne Piët

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  1. Susanne Piët
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With acknowledgment to Prof. Nico Frijda, without whose support this article would not have been written and would not have acquired its present form.

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Piët, S. What motivates stunt men?. Motiv Emot 11, 195–213 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992344

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