Transcript Adventure Experience Paradigm

The Adventure Experience
Paradigm
From the Work of
Peter Martin
Updated 7/3/2012 by Martin Eriksson
Access – Curric Drive – Administration – Curriculum – VCE – Unit 1
Two Main Elements
Competence of
the individual
 Degree of
Difficulty

Five Stages

This model considers five stages of
adventure
– Exploration & Experimentation
– Adventure
– Peak Adventure
– Misadventure
– Devastation & Disaster
The Adventure Experience
Paradigm
DEVASTATION &
DISASTER
MISADVENTURE
D
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F
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C
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L
T
Y
PEAK
ADVENTURE
ADVENTURE
EXPLORATION &
EXPERIMENTATION
COMPETENCE
Exploration & Experimentation

Where the task is easy.
 The individual may find
time to pause or
experiment with the
task.
 Eg. Todd abseiling, is
comfortable with the
task, able to relax and
have a photo taken etc.
Exploration & Experimentation
D
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F
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C
U
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T
Y
ADVENTURE
EXPLORATION &
EXPERIMENTATION
COMPETENCE
Adventure
An experience where the individual is
placing themselves at risk and when the
outcome is uncertain.
 A climber’s attention becomes more
focussed on climbing, they become
more aware of whether or not they can
climb the route or not.

Adventure
D
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F
F
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C
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PEAK
ADVENTURE
ADVENTURE
EXPLORATION &
EXPERIMENTATION
COMPETENCE
Peak Adventure

The difficulty of the task is equal to that of the
competence of the individual creating optimal
arousal, resulting in maximal performance.
 Described by Csikzentmihalyi (1975) as a
flow experience where “action and awareness
merge” and there exists a “loss of ego….loss
of self-consciousness …”
 Martin states “Research into what motivates
people to undertake risk laden adventurous
activities indicates that a search for the
intensity of emotion and involvement, the
characteristics of peak adventure are prime
motivators for participation.”
Peak Adventure

MISADVENTURE
D
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C
U
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T
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PEAK
ADVENTURE
ADVENTURE
COMPETENCE
The likelihood of
achieving peak
adventure is less
as it is often
difficult to evenly
match personal
competence with
the difficulty of
the task.
Misadventure
Mortlock (1984) reckons it to be a state
of mind where the immediate reactions
are negative rather than positive.
 The challenge becomes too difficult for
the individual.
 It may also be social, emotional,
physical, or financial.

Misadventure
DEVASTATION &
DISASTER
MISADVENTURE
D
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F
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PEAK
ADVENTURE
COMPETENCE
Devastation & Disaster
The degree of difficulty is far
greater than that of individual’s
competence.
 An extension of Misadventure
where serious harm or death
may result.

Devastation & Disaster
DEVASTATION &
DISASTER
MISADVENTURE
D
I
F
F
I
C
U
L
T
Y
COMPETENCE
Perceived Difficulty
What a person thinks or understands
the difficulty to be.
 An inexperienced person may in fact
understand the risks to be small when in
fact they are unaware of some of the
true dangers. They may under or over
estimate the difficulty of the task
because they haven’t been in a similar
situation before.

Perceived Competence
What a person thinks or understands
their competence to be.
 An inexperienced person may under or
over estimate their competence
because they haven’t performed in a
wide variety of situations.

Perceived v’s Real
An inexperience canoeist perceives the
difficulty of a slow flowing river to be
adequate to her competence.
 In fact she has underestimated her
competence and overestimated the
difficulty of the task, resulting in
exploration and experimentation.

Perceived v’s Real
DEVASTATION &
DISASTER
MISADVENTURE
D
I
F
F
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C
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L
T
Y
PEAK
ADVENTURE
PERCIEVED
ADVENTURE
EXPLORATION &
EXPERIMENTATION
REAL
PERCIEVED
COMPETENCE
REAL
Perceived v’s Real
A beginning skier perceives the difficulty
of a blue run to be adequate to his
competence as he is generally good at
sports and the authorities usually
overestimate the runs.
 In fact he has overestimated his
competence as he has never really tried
any sport slightly similar to skiing. He
has also underestimated the difficulty of
the task, resulting him careering out of
control into a tree (misadventure).

Perceived v’s Real
DEVASTATION &
DISASTER
MISADVENTURE
D
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F
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C
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T
Y
PEAK
ADVENTURE
REAL
PERCIEVED
ADVENTURE
EXPLORATION &
EXPERIMENTATION
REAL
PERCIEVED
COMPETENCE