Experiencing flow, enjoyment and risk in skydiving and climbing

Author(s): James Hardie-Bick and Penny Bonner

Source: Ethnography , Vol. 17, No. 3 (September 2016), pp. 369-387
Published by: Sage Publications, Ltd.

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26359139

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

Sage Publications, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Ethnography

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Special Issue Article

Ethnography

Experiencing flow, 2016, Vol. 17(3) 369–387

! The Author(s) 2015
Reprints and permissions:
enjoyment and risk sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1466138115609377
in skydiving and climbing eth.sagepub.com

James Hardie-Bick
University of Sussex, UK

Penny Bonner
Independent Scholar

Abstract
This article brings together findings from two separate ethnographic studies that
explore the motivations, behaviours and experiences of those who voluntarily engage
in high-risk activities. Focusing on Csikszentmihalyi’s phenomenology of enjoyment, and
taking a particular interest in the psychological and experiential aspects of action, the
accounts of skydivers and climbers are presented and discussed in relation to each of
the components Csikszentmihalyi has identified as necessary for providing a deep sense
of enjoyment. The aim of the article is to show how the concept of flow provides a
useful framework for understanding the attractions of engaging in high-risk pursuits that
are often overlooked. This contributes to an understanding of particular rural settings,
specifically mountains and flying sites, as a backdrop for meaningful action.

Keywords
flow, enjoyment, risk, skydivers, climbers, Csikszentmihalyi

Totally immersed in the climbing, my brain is powered up and energised, working to

its full potential, its limited memory freed from all those confusing hoops it has had to
jump through in the real world. Up here everything is real. No numbers. No words.
The only calculations are physical, the only questions how to progress and how not to
fall off. (Andy Kirkpatrick)

Introduction
Ethnography and anthropology have always attended to the physical and experien-
tial importance of location and the ways in which humans move meaningfully

Corresponding author:
James Hardie-Bick, Freeman Building, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QE, UK.
Email: j.p.hardie-bick@sussex.ac.uk

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
370 Ethnography 17(3)

through space. The concept of high-altitude movement is a good starting point for
embarking on such an analysis. While it might seem obvious that climbing and
skydiving are sports that navigate vertical space in an unusual way, however, the
crucial question is how engagements and movements within the physical environ-
ment are experienced. What does it mean for somebody to ascend vertically up a
rock face or to descend rapidly through space towards the ground? How do such
pursuits feel from the perspective of a participant (and indeed from the point of view
of a participant observer)? In this article, we examine these broad questions within a
particular context: the psychological experience of risk. In doing so, we add new
ethnographic insight that helps to answer the question of why anyone would volun-
tarily seek out experiences that could result in serious injury and even death (Ferrell,
2005; Lyng, 1990, 1993, 2005b, 2005c, 2008; Newmahr, 2011; Reith, 2005).
Using data from two independent research projects on skydiving and climbing, we
acknowledge that a small sub-section of those involved are constantly inventing ways
of increasing risks, but we make a distinctive contribution by addressing how par-
ticipants attempt to reduce rather than increase uncertainty and danger. In exploring
the processes involved with risk management, we shed new light on the contempor-
ary context of rural pursuits. Running contrary to discourses of the countryside as a
peaceful setting for traditional activities such as rambling, horse-riding or fishing,
this article suggests that the multi-sensory experience of moving through space and
managing the attendant risks of doing so is of primary importance to participants, an
aesthetic appreciation of the rural landscape in its own right. This approach gives us
access to a different reading of the countryside, one in which the physical landscape
as a site of action is experienced personally, emotionally and intimately. Thus, we do
not focus explicitly on skydiving or climbing as country sports per se, but treat them
as ‘autotelic experiences’ that foreground the importance of the internal conscious-
ness of highly particular types of space.
This article critically engages with the concept of ‘edgework’ by supporting and
extending Csikszentmihalyi’s theorization of autotelic experiences (1975, 1988, 2002).
Our intention is to draw attention to the different components of the phenomenology
of enjoyment to examine the attractions of engaging in such apparently high-risk
pursuits. This approach necessitates engagement with psychological literatures,
but these are set into context with findings from our participant observation work.
The article begins with a discussion of the theory of risk, and proceeds with a review
of the literature on edgework and flow. We then present our ethnographic findings
in relation to the phenomenological components that Csikszentmihalyi identified as
being part of the ‘flow experience’. We conclude by considering the sociological
implications of flow and the potential of using this concept to explore a range of
creative and enjoyable experiences in a number of physical environments.

Risk in context
Even though political institutions in Western societies have attempted to reduce the
risks of injury in the workplace and in many other areas of social life, an increasing

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hardie-Bick and Bonner 371

number of individuals are attempting to remove society’s (metaphorical) safety

harness by engaging in voluntary risk-taking (Celsi, 1992; Lyng, 1990, 2005a;
Palmer, 2002; Stranger, 1999). People are swarming to rural environments to do
so, be it rock climbing, skydiving, white water rafting or scuba diving. This suggests
that there is more to countryside experience than the appreciation of rural beauty.
In fact, it is a setting for the experience of what many would call dangerous pur-
suits. This is paradoxical for two reasons. Firstly, it punctures the traditional image
of the countryside as a peaceful place where restful pursuits like walking are under-
taken. Secondly, it complicates the meaning of the word ‘risk’ which, in both
everyday understanding and academic theorizing, is generally used to describe
negative or undesirable outcomes (Douglas, 1992; Furedi, 1999). It is with this
latter paradox that this article engages.
How risk is perceived has been the focus of extensive theorizing, particularly
within psychology. One suggestion is that we have two systems in our brain with
which we judge risk. System one allows us to make snap judgements and works
beyond the level of conscious awareness: in short, feeling. System two is how
‘experts’ reach objective measurements of risk; it involves slow reasoning that
allows us to conclude how ‘at risk’ a particular person is. Thus each system can
bring us to entirely different conclusions (D Gardner, 2008: 18–19). This explanation
assumes that there is an objective measure of risk, and so those who reach alternative
assessments are at best inaccurate and at worst pathological. Sociological theories
have tended to be critical of this suggestion. For example, Douglas (1992) argues
that risk assessments are always made within a particular social and political context
and that, consequently, no single perception of risk is truer than another. Furedi
(1999) notes the merits of this approach for exposing public concerns about risk.
Furedi’s view is that many of the fears expressed in the media surrounding food
safety, the risks of new technologies, and dangers to children should be seen as moral
panics and that greater awareness of potential risks fosters panic.
It is possible to interpret every flood or drought as a sign of the irreparable
damage humanity has caused to the earth’s climate, just as every minor blip on the
stock market might be read as an indication that the global economy is about to
crash. Humans are encouraged to monitor risk, which makes us cautious and
fearful. Anything we cannot understand or control becomes a source of potential
danger, from GM foods to stem cell research. This fear, Furedi argues, contributes
to a pessimistic view of humanity and causes us to limit experimentation and
potential for growth. Ulrich Beck (1998, 2004) is critical of this position. Risks
to our safety, environment and health should not just be seen as moral panics, he
argues, but as a culmination of the social-cultural context and the physical danger
of a particular situation (see also Giddens, 1990, 1991). As a result, today’s citizens
are specialists in managing and detecting risks and have the ability to assess the
likelihood of falling victim (Beck, 1998; Furedi, 1999; Giddens, 1990). An alterna-
tive sociological explanation is provided by the governmentality thesis which sees
risk as a method of maintaining social control (Castel, 1991; Ewald, 1991;
Foucault, 1991). Those adopting a governmentality approach have focused on

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
372 Ethnography 17(3)

how discourses, practices and institutions produce truths on risk. Information

about risk is collected and analysed by a diverse range of experts such that
groups of people are designated as ‘at risk’, requiring particular forms of know-
ledge and interventions. Information is, thus, transformed into guidance, and
people are encouraged to follow the latest recommendations by engaging in self-
regulation. From a Foucauldian (1991) perspective, risk is a ‘moral technology’,
and risk avoidance has become a moral enterprise that limits freedom and manipu-
lates behaviour.
The key characteristic linking all the above theories on risk is the overarching
sense that it is negative, which provokes the question: if humans are so risk averse,
why are an increasing number of individuals voluntarily seeking out risk? There
have of course been numerous attempts to answer this question, and psychologists
have identified various personality types that are more likely to take risks, such as
‘extroverts’ (Jung, 1924), ‘schizoids’ (Kretchmer, 1936), ‘counterphobics’ (Fenichel,
1939), and ‘eudaemonists’ (Bernard, 1968). Current research suggests that a pro-
pensity for risk-taking is associated with impulsivity, sensation-seeking and low
self-control (Mishra and Lalumiere, 2011). However, none of the personality types
identified adequately explain social patterns in voluntary risk-taking. If the explan-
ation were purely psychological, the number of people engaging in risky behaviour
should remain static over time; the fact that it does not suggests a more social cause
(Lyng, 2008). To contextualize our own research into this particular question, we
now turn to the literature on risk and voluntary risk-taking as it pertains to a
sporting and leisure context.

On the edge
To explain his desire to climb Mount Everest, George Mallory famously declared:
‘Because it’s there’. Activities characterized by high risk evidently fascinate.
Watching people engage in death-defying feats of athleticism and control can
leave observers in a state of awe. Yet most people are aware of the dangers of
engaging in extreme sport, and Mallory himself later became one of mountaineer-
ing’s most high-profile victims. ‘Because it’s there’ does not satisfy the curiosity of
those seeking to understand the motivation behind such an obvious form of risk-
taking. One of the first sociologists to address this question was Erving Goffman
(1969), who suggested that certain behaviours, which he termed ‘action’, could lead
to excitement, and to the strengthening of one’s moral character. Benefits are felt
when the individual voluntarily engages in an activity with associated risks. By
accepting the risks of injury or death, there is obviously the possibility that a failed
attempt could leave one branded as foolhardy, but the potential for a strengthened
sense of self is what makes ‘action’ so tempting (Goffman, 1969: 238). Since
then, various sociological studies have investigated various high-risk pursuits
(see Holyfield, 1999; Hunt, 1995; Lois, 2005; Reith, 2005).
Lyng (1990) provides a social psychological framework for understanding the
attractions of taking voluntary risks. His thesis is that people who engage in risky

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hardie-Bick and Bonner 373

pursuits such as skydiving do so to experience the sensations gained from main-

taining control over the seemingly uncontrollable; this is edgework (Lyng and
Snow, 1986). The term ‘edgework’ was coined by Thompson (1967, 1980), who
originally used the term to describe a range of transgressive experiences. The defini-
tive edgework experience involves death, or at least serious injury, if the individual
fails to meet the challenge. Lyng’s version of edgework is defined as the ability to
‘maintain control over a situation that verges on complete chaos, a situation that
most people would regard as completely uncontrollable’ (1990: 859). He suggests
that in any risky situation the individual must work to balance on a theoretical
edge – the line between control and chaos, and in many cases, life and death.
By moving as close to the edge as possible, the edgeworker can demonstrate control
over their fears, thus producing a magnified sense of self, a heightened sense of
awareness, and the achievement of self-actualization (Lyng, 1990: 860).
Edgeworkers are constantly pushing their boundaries in an attempt to maximize
risk and increase the likelihood of experiencing a ‘unique high’ (1990: 862).
The term ‘edgework’ can be applied to any activity that has the potential to
transgress everyday boundaries, for example, drug-taking (Reith, 2005), financial
risk-taking, (Smith, 2005), emotional labour (Lois, 2005) and sexual practices
(Newmahr, 2011). Thus, the edge does not necessarily have to represent the phys-
ical boundary between life and death. Lois’s (2005) ethnographic study of a search
and rescue organization, for example, shows how volunteers were required to
engage in extremely dangerous and often gruesome rescues which were not only
physically but emotionally demanding. Controlling one’s emotions was a key
aspect of the work (Lois, 2005: 130). Emotions had the potential to prevent the
individual from completing their work; for example a dangerous traverse could
paralyse an individual with fear, or a horrific accident could make someone feel
overwhelmed with nausea. Techniques such as focusing on the technical aspect of
the task or dehumanizing the victims allowed the workers to continue (Lois, 2005:
132). These emotions did not disappear upon completion of the rescue mission;
they had to be continuously redefined to prevent them from impacting on the next
mission (2005: 137). In this sense edgework can be seen as an ongoing process.
Lyng (2005c) suggests a variety of explanations for the increasing popularity of
edgework in contemporary society and interprets this through a Weberian gaze,
suggesting that as the rationalizing forces of modernity cause people to become
‘disenchanted’, they turn to edgework consumption to re-enchant their lives. Lyng
also suggests a similar, postmodern explanation, in which edgework represents a
method of achieving desire without the mediation of consumer objects. Just as we
buy clothes for their self-referential quality, we engage in edgework to demonstrate
that we can survive the risk – a sense of achievement which is further reinforced by
artefacts such as photos and video footage. This is both a means of consuming
as well as displaying one’s experience. Images of the experience become just as
significant as the experience itself. There are similarities between edgework and the
Foucauldian notion of ‘limit-experience’, which involves pushing boundaries and
thus shedding light on the knowledge we use to draw limits in our day-to-day lives.

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
374 Ethnography 17(3)

This exploration presents an opportunity to break free from rigid categories cre-
ated and perpetuated by disciplinary technologies (Miller, 2000). Limit-experiences
and edgework are appealing because they ‘represent the deployment of individual
power against power-knowledge’ (Lyng, 2005c: 44). In a society suffocated by risk
management, engaging in edgework may act as a form of protest and resistance.
There is often an assumption within the literature that an increase in risky
behaviour is synonymous with an increase in edgework. This may not be the
case. Edgework assumes that the most seductive aspect of high-risk activities is
the associated risk. It is claimed that individuals engage in high-risk behaviour
because they find ‘the experience to be seductively appealing’ (Lyng, 2005b: 18)
and that risk is actively sought out as ‘an end in itself’ rather than ‘a means to an
end’ (Lyng, 2005b: 5). Climbing without appropriate safety equipment or skydiving
under the influence of drugs are both examples of how some individuals attempt to
move as close as possible to the edge. Indeed, the real significance of the edge is
how close an individual can go without falling. However, anyone who has ever
engaged in any form of extreme sport, regardless of ability, will be well aware that
risk management is a central aspect of the experience. Skydivers carry out safety
checks on their kit before jumping, climbers think carefully about the weather
conditions, white water rafters know all about the currents they have to negotiate
and divers ensure they have checked their oxygen. Rather than throwing caution to
the wind, this suggests a group of people who take responsibility for their actions
within a highly specific terrain.

Risk and autotelic experiences

An alternative social psychological explanation for engaging in risky activities is
provided by Csikszentmihalyi (1975, 1988, 2002), whose research takes into
account participants who plan, evaluate and make informed judgements concern-
ing the risks associated with their sport. As Csikszentmihalyi states: ‘The whole
point of climbing is to avoid objective dangers as much as possible, and to elim-
inate subjective dangers entirely by rigorous discipline and sound preparation’
(2002: 60). The overall aim of his work is to describe the various ways people
can live fully engaged and enjoyable lives. Regardless of the age, gender, social
class or culture of those studied, he suggests the moments people describe as their
happiest are those in which they accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.
These are known as optimal experiences, challenging and demanding activities that
provide no external rewards such as money, status or power, just sheer, intrinsic
enjoyment. Experiences that provide their own intrinsic reward are what
Csikszentmihalyi terms autotelic experiences.
Csikszentmihalyi studied a range of individuals, including artists, athletes, com-
posers, surgeons and rock climbers, to develop the concept of flow: ‘the state in
which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the
experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for
the sheer sake of doing it’ (2002: 4). The ideal situation for flow to occur is

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hardie-Bick and Bonner 375

when an individual is free to enter a situation and has autonomy over their actions.
In contrast to Lyng, Csikszentmihalyi suggests that in order for someone to fully
enjoy high-risk pursuits, the level of danger must be proportionate to the partici-
pants’ level of ability. The individual must be presented with opportunities for
action, along with clear, realistic goals and immediate feedback on performance.
While Lyng is concerned primarily with pushing boundaries to test one’s limits,
Csikszentmihalyi argues that pushing oneself to such an extreme can lead to feel-
ings of anxiety and thus prevent the experience of flow. In short, one must strike a
balance between boredom and anxiety. Boredom will result from a lack of oppor-
tunity – when one’s situation is not challenging and can be easily dealt with.
Anxiety, on the other hand, will occur if the situation demands more skill or
experience than is currently possessed. Flow occurs when the situational demands
are generally approximate to the individual’s ability (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975: 50).
It is this which motivates participants to engage in high-risk activities.
Drawing on data from two independent ethnographic research projects, the next
section of the article extends Csikszentmihalyi’s thesis further by showing that the
majority of skydivers and climbers in our research projects did not deliberately set
out to increase risk, and that motivations were more complex than this. In the next
section of the article, we discuss the methods that we used to explore this issue.
We then highlight our findings. Extending Csikszentmihalyi’s conceptual frame-
work with this data, we offer insights that are absent from much of the current
research and theorizing on edgework, risk and motivation. The findings will be
presented and discussed in relation to the different components of the flow process
before drawing some final conclusions from the analysis.

Methods
The research project on skydiving (Hardie-Bick) investigated the norms, values
and behaviour that typify the social experiences of becoming and being a skydiver.
By investigating the complex stages and social procedures that take the complete
‘neophyte’ to being a licensed skydiver, this research looked beyond the immediacy
of excitement and analysed the motivations and experiences of those within the
skydiving community. The research findings are based on 15 months of participant
observation carried out at a parachute centre in the United Kingdom. In addition
to these observations, 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The partici-
pants ranged from 20 to 53 years of age, and five of the interviewees were female.
This sample reflected the high proportion of male skydivers at the parachute centre.
The interviewees (ranging from novice parachutists to fully licensed skydivers and
instructors) were deliberately selected to represent the different levels of experience
within the skydiving community. All interviewees were recruited by building rap-
port and gaining the trust of informants whilst conducting fieldwork.
The second research project on rock climbing (Bonner) is based on a period of
nine months of participant observation carried out at a climbing centre in the
United Kingdom. In addition to this, three semi-structured interviews and two

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
376 Ethnography 17(3)

focus groups were conducted with climbers representing a range of abilities, experi-
ence and climbing traditions to reflect the growing diversity and popularity of
climbing within the UK. The initial empirical focus investigated the experiences
of novice, amateur and retired climbers and aimed to understand the experiences of
the ‘everyday’ climber. A follow-up focus group was conducted with three profes-
sional climbing instructors, all of whom were proficient lead, traditional climbers
with a wide range of experiences including indoor top-roping, outdoor sport climb-
ing and bouldering. This strategy allowed for an exploration of the idea that flow
was a widely applicable theory, as opposed to a model more appropriate for
explaining the motivations of novices.
The strategy of participant observation (Douglas, 1976; Jorgensen, 1989;
O’Reilly, 2005) was specifically chosen in both research projects in order to dir-
ectly witness relevant events, and fully appreciate the skills and routines partici-
pants needed to master and to generally build rapport with other skydivers and
climbers. It allowed us to acquire an insider status to afford insights into personal
motivations and goals (Plate, 2007). In both projects, (recorded) data from the
fieldwork was ‘illuminated’ by conducting follow-up interviews. Both studies
drew upon a range of documentary sources such as climbing and skydiving
magazines, websites, reports and DVDs to provide ‘checks’ (Neuman, 1994) on
the data provided by our field notes together with the accounts of participants.
All interviews, field notes and documentary sources were continually analysed for
categories and emerging themes. Analysis of transcripts and field notes was an
ongoing process throughout the period of both research projects. In accordance
with the British Sociological Association’s ethical guidelines, pseudonyms are
used for all participants to maintain anonymity. We now turn to our empirical
findings in greater depth.

Flow: A balancing act

While edgework is the most cited sociological explanation for understanding why
people engage in high-risk activities, it fails to account for the intricate safety
routines of its participants. Informants in both our studies emphasized the import-
ance of safety and explained how they attempted to reduce rather than increase the
dangers. Speaking to those physically involved with these pursuits made this clear,
as the following two quotes from the skydiving case study show:

Julia: I want to push myself to my ability limits. Push and challenge myself. . . but to
the actual danger limits they’re, they’re already there and I don’t need to push them
any further, I know they’re there. I don’t want to increase them.

Anna: Everyone is pretty safety conscious. . . I mean most skydivers have an interest in
fatal accidents, not because they are particularly morbid, but because they want to
know exactly what happened in order to learn. . . The more time you look at them the
more you learn and the more safety conscious you become.

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hardie-Bick and Bonner 377

Informants confidently embraced the risk factors associated with their sport, but
they did not have a ‘death wish’. The overwhelming majority of participants in
both research projects spent much of their time learning how to reduce rather than
increase the dangers. Rather than seeking out chaos, participants actively sought to
reduce, manage and control the risks associated with their sport. As Mitchell (1983)
and Celsi et al. (1993) note, individuals actually delimit high-risk contexts to a
manageable level. Whilst a minority of individuals did show a ‘willingness to
take unnecessary risks’ (Lyng, 1998: 227), the edgework perspective did not capture
the motivations of many of our research participants.
Some of the central motivations of our informants were better explored through
Csikszentmihalyi’s framework of flow, in which he outlines the following compo-
nents: opportunities for action, feelings of competence and control, deep involve-
ment and concentration, a merging of action and awareness, a sense of time being
altered, a loss of self-consciousness and the emergence of a stronger sense of self
upon completion. A combination of these factors causes a deep sense of enjoyment,
something which the following section reflects on in relation to our own research
findings.
To remain in flow it is necessary to increase the complexity of the activity by
developing sufficient skills and taking on new challenges. Both skydiving and
climbing have clear and immediate goals that participants can aim to achieve,
something which was made clear in the ways that informants enthused about
their potential for progression within the skydiving case study:

Andrew: The first time I did it I just thought it was absolutely brilliant, but after the
feedback and talking to other more experienced students, I realized that that was just
the beginning. It’s about learning new skills all the time; after the first few jumps it’s
not about just getting out of the plane and living it, it’s actually learning to do stuff in
the air.

Paul: If I want to I can just jump out and do summersaults or whatever. Formation
flying is fun as well. I enjoy that, jumping with friends. But I just don’t get the
adrenalin anymore. It’s not about that, it’s about exploring what you can do.

Such comments were also voiced in the rock-climbing context. For example, Luke
discussed how he consistently set new goals to challenge himself as his skill level
progressed:

I’ve probably progressed from top-roping and bouldering indoors. . . to leading

indoors. . . Then gradually moving from someone who just climbs indoors to out-
doors. Although because we’re in England it’s that transition from sport climbing
indoors to traditional climbing outdoors. . . To mostly bouldering outdoors.

Aside from constantly improving their aerial positions or climbing techniques,

experienced participants may decide to accept the challenge of becoming an

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
378 Ethnography 17(3)

instructor or entering national and international competitions. Informants often

commented on the importance of having new experiences. Regardless of the indi-
vidual’s level of ability and experience, both pursuits offer a wide range of exciting
challenges.

Reflection and immediate feedback

Skydivers and climbers are constantly reflecting on what they did well and what
aspects of their performance they could improve:

Luke: Personally I judge [how well you’re doing] on how efficient you are, your tech-
nique level, rather than how fast you do anything or your strength. Even if I’m
climbing something easy and can’t do it, if I feel personally like I’m climbing with
good technique, then I feel like I’m climbing well.

Participants reflected on their own performance and friends would also comment
on their skills and level of ability. During the early stages of training, even the most
overwhelmed student parachutist is provided with feedback from their instructor.
The following field notes describe the feedback I received from my instructor after
my third jump at the skydiving centre:

Although he said my climb out [of the plane] was confident, I failed to arch my back
enough. ‘Your arch was quite flat, and you kicked your legs. It’s only natural, it’s
quite common actually. You know what you’re doing don’t you? You’re looking for
the ground, but the ground’s not there. So you need to make a conscious effort not to
kick your legs and you need to practise arching your back. You just need to break it
down, that’s all. Once you’ve climbed out into position, then you’re on to the next
stage. After you have left the plane and arched properly, then you’re on to the next
stage, have I got a malfunction. Believe me, if you have, you’ll deal with it. Don’t try
to think about everything at once. The thing is, you’re becoming aware of what you
are doing now. I bet you can’t even remember your first jump. Like everyone else, you
were shitting yourself. At the end of your first jump you were just pleased to be alive.
But now you’re more aware that you’re jumping from a plane, so you need to control
that. . .’. ‘So it wasn’t a good jump’, I said. ‘Well, it wasn’t brilliant, but it was safe,
and that’s the main thing. I’ve seen exits that are just not safe and all of those
exits today were safe. You’re all alive, so as far as I’m concerned, that’s a good day
at the office.’

We noticed that student parachutists who received negative feedback

were often eager to ‘go up again’ the same day in order to ‘get it right’.
Learning to skydive involves the successful completion of various progressive
stages (see Donaldson, 2000), and this encouraged a sense of competition. The
different stages were seen as personal challenges and served to encourage
progression.

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hardie-Bick and Bonner 379

Feeling competent and in control

A heightened sense of control plays an important part in activities involving phys-
ical danger. As Lyng (1990) has also noted, feelings of competence and control are
especially relevant for high-risk activities such as rock climbing and skydiving.
Both Karl and Stewart discussed the importance of self-reliance during their
interviews:

Karl: If you compare it [skydiving] to bungee jumping, I mean there’s no skill jumping
off something. . . The thing about a bungee jump is that you are at the mercy of those
who are organizing it. All you’ve got to do is let go. . . But with skydiving, it’s all about
you. Your own preparation, your mental preparation, it’s all down to you.

Stewart: You’re in control, it’s like you’ve got that control; with a roller coaster ride
you do nothing. . . you are there for the ride whereas parachuting you’re not there for
the ride, you’re the pilot.

In a similar way climbers also commented on the significance of maintaining con-

trol. As Simon describes:

It’s [climbing], not about adrenaline. Adrenaline is almost your enemy. It does what
it’s designed to do and it will push you on; it will push you on to somewhere you don’t
want to be. You’ve got to be in control. If you’re not in control you’re in trouble.

Here we appreciate that these participants were not interested in increasing the
risks; instead, informants repeatedly emphasized the importance of control. One of
the central attractions of high-risk activities is the responsibility for managing
actions and controlling any life-threatening situation that may occur.

Merging action and awareness

Climbing and skydiving are both activities that involve focusing on limited stimu-
lus fields, something that participants referred to frequently:

Mark: [When climbing] you have to think about what you’re doing, really focus on the
movement. It’s not just sort of, a mental route plan. If you’ve got to reach for some-
thing you’ve got to focus your mind on exactly doing that. . . You really have to make
every movement deliberate.

In the parachuting phase of our research, one of us (Hardie-Bick) experienced this

focused mindfulness at first hand. A section of field notes describing the first para-
chute jump are particularly relevant to this category and amplify the comments
made by Mark in a climbing context. As a complete neophyte, I knew I ‘was about
to perform for the first time in a role that calls for certain skills never yet publicly

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
380 Ethnography 17(3)

tested’ (Lyman and Scott, 1970: 187), but no matter how hard I tried to convince
myself otherwise, I still found the idea of jumping out of a small plane an extremely
daunting prospect. The following extract captures the nervous anticipation in the
plane prior to the first jump and describes the act of climbing out onto a short ‘step’
attached to the aircraft. The thought of climbing out onto the step and holding
onto the wing strut was a fear that had been gradually escalating in my mind since
the initial ground training and was a procedure I repeatedly rehearsed in a mock
aeroplane at the centre (see Hardie-Bick, 2005).

I’m feeling faint. I look out of the plane and contemplate climbing out on to the
step. Such contemplation only served to increase my symptoms. I feel I have turned
very pale. The instructor looks at me and genuinely asks if I am OK. I tell him I am,
although I know that my response is unconvincing. ‘How long have I got to prepare
myself?’ I ask. ‘About twenty seconds’ he shouts in my ear. All I can do is stare at
the horizon, and try not to look down. I concentrate on my breathing, slowly
inhaling through my nose and out through my mouth. I tell myself to be confident,
but I’m not sure my body will move when I need it to. I try to distract myself by
looking at the aircraft controls in front of me. I can feel the instructor checking my
parachute, pulling and pushing me back and forth. The instructor leans over me and
says something to the pilot. He then shouts in my ear ‘I want you to arch your
back for Britain OK’. I nod. Then I hear those dreaded words – ‘ON THE STEP’.
I take my left hand and hold the handle by my head and firmly place my right
hand on the door frame behind me. I stretch my right leg out of the plane, and on
to the step. Even though I had been warned, fighting against the wind is harder than
I had anticipated. I am very aware that it is vitally important I get this right.
My right leg is now on the step. I take my left arm off the handle and take a
firm grip of the wing strut. ‘Really tight grip’ the instructor shouts. I then remove
my right arm from the door frame and place it next to my left arm on the wing
strut. I pull myself up, placing my left leg over my right to the edge of the step.
I slide my hands up the wing strut until they are over the black tape [both hands
must be over the tape in order not to hit the plane when jumping]. After a few
seconds I am in position. My right leg is out behind me and my left leg is on the
edge of the step. Both hands are holding on to the wing strut. I turn to look at the
instructor. He looks me straight in the eyes and shouts ‘GO’. I immediately let go.
‘One thousand, two thousand. . .’.

The ground training that had been received prior to the jump clearly emphasized
the importance of being in the right position on the step before jumping. During
the training, the instructors showed film clips of ‘bad jumps’ and told stories
about accidents and near fatalities, so I was fully aware of the consequences of
not being in the correct position on the step before the jump. Although I had no
idea what the experience would be like, I knew I would have to concentrate and
make each of my movements deliberate and precise. There are clear advantages
of engaging in activities that merge action and awareness and require high levels

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hardie-Bick and Bonner 381

of concentration, something that emerged in interviews from both phases of the

research:

Stewart: It’s very much relief from anything else you know. A lot of people do find it
[skydiving] sort of puts things in perspective, you know, no matter how much trouble
they’re having at work during the week say, you know, tedious boss and they don’t
like the job and they’re not certain whether they want to continue doing this job.
All these things are just not important.

Aaron: That’s one the other reasons I like climbing I think, because you do completely
immerse yourself in that world for the time you’re doing it. I completely forget about
everything else going on at home; my job, money, tax, any of that crap. You just
forget about it and concentrate on enjoying what you’re doing and doing it safely.

Helen: You get away from it all. You can start climbing in the morning, and by the
evening you realize that there are various things in your life that might not be so great,
but you haven’t thought about it all day. And that’s what climbing’s about. The more
challenging the route, the more removed you will be.

While the flow activity lasts it is possible to momentarily lose track of time and
forget everyday problems. Focusing on the task at hand leaves no room for worry-
ing about anything else. The above quotations also highlight how the merging of
action and awareness involves a loss of self-consciousness. This does not imply a
loss of self or a loss of consciousness: ‘What slips below the threshold of awareness
is the concept of self. . . And being able to forget temporarily who we are seems
to be very enjoyable’ (Csikszentmihalyi, 2002: 64). Because of the deep concentra-
tion on the activity the person not only momentarily forgets his or her problems
but also loses a sense of self. The self is fully functioning, but not actually aware
of itself.

An emerging identity
After completing the activity usual self-consciousness resumes and individuals start
to reflect on their achievements. The following field notes from the climbing
research (Bonner) describe a set of emotional feelings after scaling a particularly
challenging wall:

I could see the hold I needed to reach with my right hand. I managed to balance
myself with all my weight on my big toe, all too aware that any sudden movement
could send me crashing face first into the wall, and stretched my right hand upwards
towards the hold. As soon as I grabbed it I used it to hold my weight and move my left
foot into a much less precarious position and push myself upwards, away from my
trouble spot. Upon reaching the top I heaved a sigh of both relief and exhaustion.
I slowly walked down the wall, jumping down the sloped area, and a huge grin spread

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
382 Ethnography 17(3)

across my face. This is probably the first wall I have climbed where I have experienced
flow. I had no concept of how long I had been climbing for, I was completely focused
on the task at hand, and I couldn’t even recall if my partner had shouted up any words
of encouragement or advice. I had blocked out any thoughts that were not directly
relevant to that particular climb, and apart from the particularly tough section
described above, I can’t recall how I reached the top.

This experience was reminiscent of Csikszentmihalyi’s point that, ‘when the difficulty
is just right, action follows action in a fluid series, and the actor has no need to adopt
an outside perspective from which to constantly intervene’ (1975: 85). As the above
field notes suggest, I was completely unaware of how quickly and far I was climbing
until I became stuck halfway through the sloped section. It was only after the climb
that the outside perspective returned and I started to think about what I had just
achieved and reflect about how my techniques were improving. Our informants often
commented on the sense of achievement they felt after they had successfully over-
come new challenges. Informants claimed that knowing about how one responds to
challenging situations is an important process for learning about oneself:

Andrew: I think it [skydiving] is a way of pushing yourself and seeing what you are
capable of. . . I think it’s important to have challenges. Unless you have seen how far
you can go, how far you can push yourself, where your own limits are, from a personal
point of view I don’t think you’ve explored your life that well.

Mark: Once I’ve achieved a climb I feel really strong, like, I don’t know, it gives you a
real sense of achievement, and I feel like, powerful. I know that sounds a bit ridicu-
lous, but I look at it, and I think, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be able to do it.

Each of the structural components discussed contributes to the experience of flow

and capture some of the important attractions of the overall experience of climbing
and skydiving. High-risk activities such as skydiving and climbing allow individuals
to participate in a manner that relates to their respective levels of skill. In addition
to this, as these are autotelic experiences that involve physical danger, such activ-
ities are an ‘outstanding example of a particular class of flow activities’
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1975: 74). The necessary involvement in the demanding activity
overrides the participant’s self-awareness and provides a release from conscious
constraints such as self-doubt and boredom.

Discussion and conclusion

The findings presented above suggest that the way our informants managed
uncertainty and risk was clearly at odds with much of the existing research on
high-risk pursuits (Lyng, 1990). When we engaged with those involved in the pur-
suits, it was clear that their motives were more complex than simple risk-taking.
Voluntary risk-taking, such as the sorts we experienced at first hand, offers

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hardie-Bick and Bonner 383

participants the chance to display courage by controlling their response to the

‘dialectic of fear and pleasure’ (Le Breton, 2000: 4), but the majority of participants
that we spoke to did not try to deliberately increase the risks. Drawing on
Csikszentmihalyi’s research we have argued that the idea of flow provides an import-
ant counter to the view of risk as a ‘dominant preoccupation’ of those who engage in
such activities. By breaking down the different phenomenological components of
enjoyment, we have added new ethnographic insights to this theoretical framework
by showing how the positive sensations and attractions associated with these activ-
ities are not necessarily restricted to a fixation upon danger.
In both our studies, however, there were participants who could accurately be
described as ‘edgeworkers’. These individuals seemed to always be thinking of
new, exciting and creative ways in which they could increase the risks associated
with their activity, but it is important to recognize that these individuals had gained a
negative reputation for themselves. In fact, many skydivers refused to jump with
individuals they considered to be dangerous, and there were a range of informal
mechanisms to limit such behaviour (Hardie-Bick, 2011). A reckless abandonment
of safety and an unnecessary escalation of risk can often leave an extreme sports-
person labelled as a liability. Hunt’s research with deep wreck divers also found those
who engaged in chronic, excessive risk-taking were frequently the subject of gossip
and gained reputations as ‘unsafe’ or ‘accidents waiting to happen’ (1995: 452).
Mitchell’s research with rock climbers and mountaineers reported similar findings.
As Mitchell (1983) suggests, climbers do not glory in the danger of the sport but
continually seek to limit dangerous circumstances, learning safety techniques, using
proper equipment and planning their climbs. None of these points should be seen as
distracting from the ‘serious ride’ that high-risk activities provide.
Mitchell (1983) argues that the experience of flow allows the individual to
escape their usual alienating experience of everyday life. Lyng also makes a similar
argument in relation to alienated labour and the seductive attractions of voluntary
risk-taking. As Lyng states, the high levels of concentration required to engage in
high-risk activities provide a powerful contrast to our usual everyday experiences.
High-risk activities are seductive as they allow individuals to display courage,
control fear and to live with a sense of personal agency. Goffman suggests that
‘serious action’ can be seen as compensating individuals for the absence of dir-
ect personal control and autonomy they experience in their everyday lives.
The experience of flow is a state of being that is rarely experienced in normative
life. Clearly, high-risk experiences are different from other flow activities. For
example, high-risk participants are constantly negotiating risk and therefore
they have to trust each other with their own lives. In addition to this, climbing a
new route or successfully completing a new manoeuvre during free fall can provide
powerfully intense feelings of both physical and mental achievement. Nevertheless,
regardless of whether one is skydiving, composing music or playing chess, all flow
experiences involve ‘the total involvement of body and mind with a feasible task. . .
It is this that makes the activity worthwhile, despite the absence of utilitarian
rewards’ (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975: 99).

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
384 Ethnography 17(3)

The majority of skydivers and climbers in our research projects did not delib-
erately set out to increase the risks by placing themselves in increasingly danger-
ous situations. Our research has emphasized how skydivers and climbers enjoy
the challenge of managing rather than maximizing the risks associated with these
pursuits. This has important implications. While the existing literature on edge-
work suggests that the benefits of self-determination and self-actualization are
limited to the high-risk context, research on flow suggests that many of the
positive sensations produced by engaging with high-risk activities are not neces-
sarily limited to high-risk experiences. The wider implications of this are that a
diverse range of mundane experiences can also produce a heightened sense of self
together with a sense of personal agency and self-determination. A vast range of
activities provide the chance of learning and developing new skills, and the
focused concentration required to practise these skills can also offer a type of
resistance to the usual routines and rituals of everyday life. It is well documented,
for example, that running and mountain walking offer a similar form of escapism,
mobility or personal challenge, albeit in a less risky way.
Instead of fixating upon risk, then, we have shifted towards an emphasis upon
flow which, we argue, provides individuals with a sense of transcendence, a feeling
of moving beyond the normal constraints of everyday life, a renewed sense of self
and deep feelings of satisfaction. What keeps one going is the experience of acting
outside one’s own conscious experience of self. There are many ways people can
achieve this sense of flow:

For a child, it could be placing with trembling fingers the last block on a tower
she has built, higher than any she has built so far; for a swimmer, it could be
trying to beat his own record; for a violinist, mastering an intricate musical passage.
For each person there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves.
(Csikszentmihalyi, 2002: 3)

By describing the different phenomenological components of the flow experience

within a climbing and skydiving context, we have addressed important motivating
factors overlooked by much of the current research on edgework. We have also
presented a different reading of country sports which, traditionally, have taken the
appreciation of landscape as a vital part of the engagement. Hunting with hounds,
shooting, hill-walking and angling have all been described as country pursuits which
link the participant with the landscape through an aesthetic appreciation of the rural
setting, a space which supports a particular ‘way of life’. Our case studies have
focused on the lived experience of risk to show that the countryside, and specifically
its more mountainous terrain, can also be experienced in more close-up, intimate and
embodied ways – something we have explored in the context of the theory of flow.
Focusing upon the psychological rather than the cultural terrain, we have also
suggested that research on flow has the potential to significantly widen the debate
on voluntary risk-taking as well as physical and mental activities in a range of
spaces. This has relevance for future ethnographic work as our research

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hardie-Bick and Bonner 385

demonstrates that the positive experiences and sensations associated with high-risk
pursuits are not necessarily limited to extraordinary activities. Nor need they neces-
sarily involve physical proximity to rock faces, mountains or the meadows of the
landing-field. This actively disassembles the definition of certain pursuits as rural
and others as urban, just as it helps unravel the labelling of some activities as
‘extreme’. As we have shown, exploring the imagined space that exists between
our own personal levels of boredom and anxiety also has the potential to make
more ordinary everyday experiences deeply rewarding. Understanding this experi-
ential terrain has potential to alter the ways that we consider a range of activities in
a number of different environments.

Edited by Lindsay Hamilton, Keele University, UK

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication
of this article.

References
Beck U (1998) Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage.
Beck U (2004) Ulrich Beck: The cosmopolitan turn. In: Gane N (ed.) The Future of Social
Theory. London: Continuum, pp. 143–166.
Bernard J (1968) The eudaemonists. In: Klausner SZ (ed.) Why Men Take Chances.
New York: Anchor, pp. 6–47.
Castel R (1991) From dangerousness to risk. In: Burchell G, Gordon C and Miller P (eds) The
Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester, pp. 281–298.
Celsi RL (1992) Transcendent benefits of high-risk sports. Advances in Consumer Research
19: 636–641.
Celsi RL, Rose RL and Leigh TW (1993) An exploration of high-risk leisure consumption
through skydiving. Journal of Consumer Research 20: 1–23.
Csikszentmihalyi M (1975) Beyond Boredom and Anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Csikszentmihalyi M (1988) The flow experience and its significance for human psychology.
In: Csikszentmihalyi M and Csikszentmihalyi IS (eds) Optimal Experience:
Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, pp. 15–35.
Csikszentmihalyi M (2002) Flow: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness. London:
Rider Books.
Donaldson C (2000) Skydive: Sport Parachuting Explained. Trowbridge: The Crowood Press.
Douglas JD (1976) Investigative Social Research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Douglas M (1992) Risk and Blame: Essays in Cultural Theory. London: Routledge.
Ewald F (1991) Insurance and risks. In: Burchell G, Gordon C and Miller P (eds) The Foucault
Effect: Studies in Governmentality. London: Harvester/Wheatsheaf, pp. 197–210.

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
386 Ethnography 17(3)

Fenichel O (1939) The counterphobic attitude. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 20:

263–74.
Ferrell J (2005) The only possible adventure: Edgework and anarchy. In: Lyng S (ed.)
Edgework: The Sociology of Risk-Taking. New York: Routledge, pp. 75–88.
Foucault M (1991) Governmentality. In: Burchell G, Gordon C and Miller P (eds) The Foucault
Effect: Studies in Governmentality. London: Harvester/Wheatsheaf, pp. 87–104.
Furedi F (1999) Culture of Fear: Risk-Taking and the Morality of Low Expectation. London:
Cassell.
Gardner D (2008) Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear. London: Virgin Books.
Gardner T (2008) More people mountaineering (British Mountaineering Council). Available
at: http://www.thebmc.co.uk/News.aspx?id¼2881 (accessed 22 September 2015).
Gardner T (2010a) Participation in climbing and mountaineering (British Mountaineering
Council). Available at: http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Feature.aspx?id¼1422.
Gardner T (2010b) BMC equity survey results (British Mountaineering Council). Available
at: http://www.thebmc.co.uk/News.aspx?id¼1030.
Gardner T (2010c) Climbing and mountaineering on the increase (British Mountaineering
Council). Available at: http://www.thebmc.co.uk/News.aspx?id¼4060.
Giddens A (1990) The Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity.
Giddens A (1991) Modernity and Self-Identity. Cambridge: Polity.
Goffman E (1969) Where the Action Is. London: Penguin.
Hardie-Bick J (2005) Dropping out and diving in: An ethnography of skydiving. Thesis, Durham
University. Available at: http//etheses.dur.ac.uk/2734/ (accessed 2 August 2013).
Hardie-Bick J (2011) Skydiving and the metaphorical edge. In: Hobbs D (ed.) Ethnography
in Context, Vol. 3. London: Sage.
Holyfield L (1999) Manufacturing adventure: The buying and selling of emotions. Journal of
Contemporary Ethnography 28(1): 3–32.
Hunt JC (1995) Divers’ accounts of normal risk. Symbolic Interaction 18(4): 439–462.
Jorgensen DL (1989) Participant Observation: A Methodology for Human Studies. Newbury
Park, CA: Sage.
Jung CG (1924) Psychological Types. New York: Harcourt Brace.
Kretchmer E (1936) Physique and Character: An Investigation of the Nature of Constitution
and the Theory of Temperament. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Le Breton D (2000) Playing symbolically with death in extreme sports. Body and Society 6(1):
1–11.
Lois J (2005) Gender and emotion management in the stages of edgework. In: Lyng S (ed.)
Edgework: The Sociology of Risk Taking. New York: Routledge, pp. 117–152.
Lyman S and Scott M (1970) A Sociology of the Absurd. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Lyng SH (1990) Edgework: A social psychological analysis of voluntary risk-taking.
American Journal of Sociology 95(4): 851–86.
Lyng SH (1993) Dysfunctional risk taking: Criminal behaviour as edgework. In: Bell NJ and
Bell RW (eds) Adolescent Risk Taking. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, pp. 55–65.
Lyng SH (1998) Dangerous methods: Risk-taking and the research process. In: Ferrell J and
Hamm MS (eds) Ethnography at the Edge: Crime, Deviance and Field Research. Boston:
Northeastern University Press, pp. 221–251.
Lyng SH (ed.) (2005a) Edgework: The Sociology of Risk Taking. New York: Routledge.
Lyng SH (2005b) Edgework and the risk-taking experience. In: Lyng S (ed.) Edgework:
The Sociology of Risk Taking. New York: Routledge, pp. 3–16.

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hardie-Bick and Bonner 387

Lyng SH (2005c) Sociology at the edge: Social theory and voluntary risk taking. In: Lyng S
(ed.) Edgework: The Sociology of Risk Taking. New York: Routledge, pp. 17–50.
Lyng SH (2008) Edgework, risk and uncertainty. In: Zinn JO (ed.) Social Theories of Risk
and Uncertainty: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Lyng SH and Snow DA (1986) Vocabularies of motive and high-risk behaviour: The case of
skydiving. In: Lawler EJ (ed.) Advances in Group Processes 3. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press,
pp. 157–179.
Miller J (2000) The Passion of Michel Foucault. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Mishra S and Lalumiere ML (2011) Individual differences in risk-propensity: Associations
between personality and behavioural measures of risk. Personality and Individual
Differences 50: 869–873.
Mitchell RG (1983) Mountain Experience: The Psychology and Sociology of Adventure.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Neuman W (1994) Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Newmahr S (2011) Playing on the Edge: Sadomasochism, Risk and Intimacy. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press.
O’Reilly K (2005) Ethnographic Methods. London: Routledge.
Palmer C (2002) ‘Shit happens’: The selling of risk in extreme sport. The Australian Journal
of Anthropology 13(3): 323–336.
Plate KR (2007) Rock climbing is a masculine sport? Understanding the complex gendered
subculture of rock climbing. In: Robinson V (ed.) Special Issue of Sheffield Online Papers
in Social Research, Gender and Extreme Sports: The Case of Climbing. pp. 1–14.
Reith G (2005) On the edge: Drugs and the consumption of risk in late modernity. In: Lyng
S (ed.) Edgework: The Sociology of Risk-Taking. New York: Routledge, pp. 227–246.
Smith CW (2005) Financial edgework: Trading in market currents. In: Lyng S (ed.)
Edgework: The Sociology of Risk-Taking. New York: Routledge, pp. 187–202.
Sports Structures (2010) British Mountaineering Council: Indoor Climbing Walls Survey,
Final Report. Sutton Coldfield: Sports Structures Ltd.
Stranger M (1999) The aesthetics of risk: A study of surfing. International Review of the
Sociology of Sport 34(3): 265–276.
Thompson HS (1967) Hells Angels. London: Penguin Books.
Thompson HS (1980) The Great Shark Hunt. London: Picador.

Author Biographies
James Hardie-Bick is Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at the University of
Sussex, UK. He has published on identity, edgework, transgression and various
other existential aspects of human performance. Recent publications include
‘Sartre on Edgework’ (2015) in What is Criminology About? Philosophical
Reflections (Routledge) and Necessary Illusions: Life, Death and the Construction
of Meaning (in press, Oñati Socio-Legal Series).

Penny Bonner lives in the UK and is an Independent Scholar with a particular

interest in the psychology of risk-taking, flow, enjoyment and edgework, particu-
larly in the mountaineering and climbing milieu.

This content downloaded from

130.190.247.198 on Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:33:24 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms