What causes extreme sports athletes to want to parachute off mountains or jump motorcycles over buildings? Genetics, upbringing and personality all play role, says Frank Farley, a professor in Temple's College of Education who studies risk taking. "One key ingredient in these people is their self-confidence, a belief that they control their own destiny or fate," said Farley. "They don't have a death wish; if anything, they have a 'life wish.'"