Risk Judgments in Climbers: The Role of Difficulty, Meteorological Conditions, Confidence and Appropriate Tools

Andres Chamarro*, Tatiana Rovira, Silvia Edo, Jordi Fernandez-Castro

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Risk perception among climbers is a factor that can contribute to injury prevention. The purpose of this study was to analyze how expert climbers make judgments about potential risks to their safety. Specifically, we studied how climbers combine the available information on environmental conditions and personal resources in order to arrive at risk judgments. Sixteen distinct scenarios were presented to 134 climbers, and their risk perception related to each situation was recorded. Findings revealed that all variables were highly relevant for determining risk perception. When all variables were present at the same time, confidence was found to minimize the perception of risks caused by environmental conditions, such as difficult climbing. We conclude that an understanding of how expert climbers combine relevant information in order to judge risk can offer ways for them to take more effective preventive measures against injuries, specifically to identify hazards and their combined effects.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)221-235
Number of pages15
JournalLeisure Sciences
Volume41
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 May 2019

Keywords

  • adventure sports
  • climbing
  • decision making
  • physical environment
  • risk perception

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