Value Orientation of People involved in Action or Extreme Sports in Hungary

Abstract

A number of research studies have shown that there has been a remarkable shift in value orientation of the population in Hungary since the transition from state socialism to market economy, which took place after 1989. This change in value preferences contributed to the formation of various sports subcultures. This study aims to analyse the value priorities of people involved in so-called extreme sports to explore their drives and motivations. A value scale by Tibori-Bauer derived from the Rokeach Value Survey is used for the analysis in which the categories of materialist, post-materialist, traditional and private sphere values along with community values and those related to risk-taking are examined on a non-representative sample of Hungarian mountain bikers, mountaineers and skydivers. A principal component analysis is carried out in order to ascertain whether this set of values corresponds to the value constructs of the participants. Results show that action sport participants have a very different view from that of mainstream society on the risks involved in their activities. They report a higher preference for post-materialist values in a society mostly dominated by materialist values. The population of extreme sport participants demonstrates a clear shift from traditional and materialist values to the postmodern values of self-determination and self-actualisation.