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Since Beck (1992) claimed that we are now living in a "risk society" there has been an abundance of sociological research surrounding the subject. Most recently the idea of voluntary risk taking has been brought to the fore front of sociological debate. It is clear that in a society where people spend a great deal of time avoiding risks there are also people actively seeking to take part in risks. Why is this the case, and are there certain groups within society more prone to this type of risk-taking behaviour than others?

In order to address this two part question effectively it is first of all necessary to discuss what voluntary risk-taking is referring to. Once this has been summarized it is then necessary to discuss the various sociological accounts of the pleasures of voluntary risk-taking, the work of such writers as Lyng (1990), Miller (1991) and Kahneman, Slovic and Tversky (1982) will be examined. Finally I will use case studies from Morrongiello and Dawber (1999),......

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Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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