Reasons for thrill-seeking experiences

When we experience pleasure, the body releases dopamine that binds to receptors in the body, which gives us a sense of intense excitement. It can be a problem as it can lead to addictive behavior.

Some people have a defect, called a polymorphism, where the receptor can't efficiently bind to dopamine. The body needs to produce more dopamine to give the receptors a better chance of collecting it.

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Why do we like watching horror films?

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"The first of the three main reasons we like watching horror films is quite elementary," says film scholar Søren Birkvad of Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences: "Horror films entertain us". We like watching horror films simply because it's entertaining. It acts as a means to fend off boredom.

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Reasons we like watching horror films

Horror films entertain us. They act as a means to fend off boredom.
The horror film is a way of unravelling evil. Ideas and myths like Frankenstein provide us w...

Why we feel intimidated with abnormal things

1. Thoughts like "what if there actually are ghosts" create excitement. Seeking this kind of experiences may be a kind of logical reality-check.

2. Such experiences may evoke different types of repressed complexes or ideas that we may wish to process.

3. Freud claims that most people are never completely freed from the fear of darkness, loneliness and silence.

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The Science Behind Why We Love Risk

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There's a longstanding assumption behind most of the research on extreme athletes: "Clearly, something's wrong with them." That's what Eric Brymer, a researcher at Leeds Beckett in the UK, has seen for most of his career. Why else would anyone willingly participate in an activity that is quite literally defined by its high levels of perceived risk?

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The Motivation Behind Extreme Sports

One of the most powerful motivators is the satisfaction that comes from succeeding at a hard sport and from the grinding it requires. Although some are looking just for th...

Extreme Sports And Risk

Researchers found that extreme sports athletes often don’t consider their sports risky, and dedicate a lot of time studying and minimizing risks. They believe they have done all they can to mitigate risks through hard work and focus.

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A pleasure to burn: Why do people like spicy foods?

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Getting back to people, there are several vying theories as to how humans developed a taste for pain. One is that we simply enjoy the thrill of it. Dr. Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that people use spicy foods as a type of "constrained risk" or "benign masochism."Eating spicy foods triggers a mild defense response in us.

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Spicy foods and "constrained risks"

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Eating spicy foods triggers a mild defense response in us. Our heart rates rise, our breathing increases, and our adrenaline starts to flow. We feel alive. It's the same thrill-seeking behavior exhibi...

Spicy foods-an acquired taste

Spicy foods have antifungal and antibacterial properties. In this light, humans have culturally and genetically evolved a preference for spicy foods because they protect us from microscopic assailants. When our taste buds encounter pungency, it's a signal to our brains that the food is cleaner.

Preference for spicy foods, like all foods, is the result of a complex interplay of genes, culture, memory, and personality, a complex design that scientists are only now beginning to u...

Preference for spicy foods, like all foods, is the result of a complex interplay of genes, culture, memory, and personality, a complex design that scientists are only now beginning to understand