Winter X Games daredevil Caleb Moore died while attempting to execute a flying backflip aboard a snowmobile. Experts believe the continued pursuit of dangerous feats is inevitable along with an escalation in their degree of difficulty. Risk-taking is an essential quality of our species, explained Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple. "I define risk-taking as engaging in something with an uncertain outcome. We're always pushing to areas of uncertainty, where we can't control the variables," he said.

A new study found that toddlers whose parents regularly said things like "You tried really hard on that," rather than "Wonderful," have an edge when it comes to challenges. "Telling kids they're intelligent rather than praising the positive steps they're taking to solve a problem as they play can make them question their intelligence when they encounter something that's harder for them to do," said author Elizabeth Gunderson, an assistant professor of psychology at Temple.

Extreme winter sports keep getting riskier because we're a nation of risk-takers, and some personality types need those extreme thrills, according to psychologists. But the risks seem to be getting more risky, with no end in sight. "We're a nation of risk-takers, and that's a good thing,'' says Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple. “You want your kids to have thrilling adventures. I call it the fourth R: reading, writing, arithmetic and risk-taking,” he said.