1.2.

4-
Personal responses to risk in outdoor
experiences
KK- the variety of personal responses to risk when
experiencing outdoor environments, including the
interplay between competence, perceived risk and
real risk
KS- compare a range of personal responses to risk
when experiencing outdoor environments
Only those who will risk going too far can
possibly find out how far they can go.
—T.S. Eliot, 1931
 RISK – Good and Bad…
When we see the word ‘risk’ we more often see it as something inherently bad.
We often try to avoid risk wherever we can- taking steps, both individually and as a society, to
reduce the risks associated with many parts of our daily lives. However, there are risks that
can be good for us as humans.
 Stepping outside of our comfort zone can be challenging, but it has been proven to have
great benefits for our confidence and sense of self-worth, and provide other psychological
benefits.
 We feel better about ourselves when we can face a risky, challenging situation and succeed
at it. And if we don’t succeed? Learning about failure can also help us.
 If the risky situation is managed well, an initial failure may
encourage us to try again.
WHAT IS RISK?
Risk is the potential to lose something that you value measured
against the possibility of gaining something you value.

 The thing we might lose may be:

• physical - such as an injury to your body
• psychological - such as embarrassment at failure
• financial - such as damage to expensive equipment
 The thing we might gain could also be:
• physical - such as developing physical fitness, or some sort of biochemical change
such as an adrenaline boost
• psychological - such as a rise in self-esteem
• financial - such as some sort of monetary reward
 IDENTIFYING RISKS
Outdoor experiences inherently contain many possible risks.
These risks fit into three main categories:

Environmental Risks Risks associated with people Risks associated with

• These originate from the outdoor
environments themselves.
• This can include weather, terrain, the
availability of shelter and the
remoteness of many outdoor
environments.
• This could also include dangers
associated with some Australian
flora and fauna.
• Those that can be connected to the
people involved in outdoor
experiences, such as leaders and
participants, as well as other people
that groups may encounter.
• They include such factors as the
skills, knowledge, experience, health
and fitness, age, fear and other
emotions that participants bring to an
outdoor experience.
equipment
• Those associated with the
specialised equipment used to
participate in an experience and
the equipment used to get to the
places that we visit.
• They include such things as
clothing, buoyancy aids, kayaks,
surfboards, bikes, tents, climbing
ropes, helmets, motor vehicles
and fuel stoves.
 TYPES OF RISK
Absolute Risk

The uppermost limit of risk in a particular situation or

activity, assuming safety has not been considered.
Think of it as the ‘worst-case scenario’ type of risk;
for example, the risk of death associated in climbing a
rock wall with no safety devices.
 TYPES OF RISK
Percieved Risk
The subjective assessment that a person makes about the risk they
are about to face in a particular situation.
The perceived risk can vary dramatically, and could be much
higher or lower than the actual risk.
Factors that may influence perceived risk include confidence in the
activity or environment, familiarity with equipment, experience
levels of group members, emotional state, awareness of limitations
and fear of the unknown.
 TYPES OF RISK
Real Risk

The risk that actually exists for a particular situation or activity,

given that safety has been considered and controls put in place.
For example, the risk associated in climbing a rock wall using
ropes, harnesses, belay devices, helmets and other equipment.
MANAGING RISK
A useful way to help think about managing
risks related to outdoor activities is sometimes
called the competence–difficulty model.

 Competence is the ability of someone to

be able to deal with the situation they are
in, and comes from the skills and
experience that they have.
 Someone with more skills and greater
knowledge and experience is going to be
more competent to deal with a particular
situation than someone with fewer skills
and less experience.
Learning Task
● Copy the competence–difficulty
model into your workbook.
● For each section of the model
provide an example of when a
person may experience this response
to an outdoor activity.
● For example, a highly skilled
mountaineer may experience
boredom when asked to sit through
a beginner’s rock-climbing lesson
(Their level of skill is far greater
than that being taught).
RESPONSES TO RISK
Some people in society find adventure and risk-taking important;
for others, these activities are perceived to be senseless and dangerous.
 The ways in which people respond to risks in outdoor experiences varies greatly and
they are generally related to perceived risk rather than real risk- that is, what a person
believes the dangers are versus the actual or real risks present.
 If an incident does occur in the outdoors that involves near miss, injury or death,
a fairly typical chain of events can often follow:
Regulation
Media
Public Investigation Legal - Legislation
coverage of
response inquest proceedings (laws)
incident
- industry

Read pg.94
CASE STUDY:
A school caving incident and media: A dangerous mix!
On Monday 25 August 1997 a female student was stretchered from a cave at Shiprock Falls,
approximately 13 kilometres from Gembrook.
The media coverage that resulted was significant, with the incident being covered on all three commercial
television stations, the Herald Sun, the Age, local papers and on mainstream radio news.
 Watch – the news coverage of the incident
 Read – the story of the incident from the teacher's perspective
 Respond – answer the following in your book
1. Using examples from the case study, discuss the three different types of risks.
2. Describe your personal response to the risks involved in the activity of caving.
3. How may personal responses to the risks involved in caving be influenced by the media
coverage of this incident?
4. What role did level of competence in caving play in the this incident?
MITIGATING RISK
Response to tragedy by authorities such as local, state or federal governments, and statutory bodies such as
Parks Victoria, usually involves the imposition of regulations.
Often, such regulations take the form of training, staff:student ratios and registration requirements.
Such as in canoeing  (AAAS- inland water paddlecraft)
Another response is to restrict access. For
example, at Hanging Rock in Central Victoria,
rock climbing has been banned in part because
of the risk to other users of the area from
dislodged rocks and debris.
Sometimes sites are closed
altogether.
Work Requirement
1. Define the term ‘risk’.
2. Describe three benefits of participating in activities that
involve a degree of risk.
3. Using your own examples from an outdoor experience
this year, distinguish between the three types of risk.
4. Explain the interplay between competence, perceived
risk and real risk.
5. Compare two different responses you have experienced
when participating in an outdoor recreational activity.
6. Describe what is meant by the concept of peak
experience?