Thrill and Adventure Seekers: Affective Organization of Personal Meaning of Extreme Weather

Abstract

The aim of the article is the analysis of the personal meaning of extreme weather among a Thrill and Adventure Seekers. There are two affective motives, which play an important role in the analysis of personal meaning of extreme weather: (1) the striving for self-enhancement, (2) the longing for the unification with nature. Furthermore, the process of meaning construction can be examined on the basis of two types of emotions: positive and negative ones. In the research on the personal meaning of extreme weather a modified version of H. Herman's Self-Confrontation method and the Thrill and Adventure Seeking Scale of M. Zuckerman`s were used. 130 students (M = 20.40; SD = 1.5) were asked about personal experiences concerning the elements of nature: the thunderstorm, the fog, the heavy rain, the strong wind and the snowstorm. The results have indicated that a Thrill and Adventure Seekers in contact with severe weather conditions tend to reveal: score higher on the level of desire for self-enhancement, the level of positive emotions or the level of the longing for the unification with nature and score lower on the level of negative emotions than controls.