Risks of the Titanic: Why would anyone get on a submarine and travel 2 miles down the ocean?

The submersible Titan, carrying five passengers on a $250,000 expedition to survey the wreck of the Titanic, catastrophically imploded, sparking a conversation about why people take such risks. Factors include craving for excitement, conquering fears, boosting self-esteem, social status, and seeking wonder and awe, says psychology professor Ajay Satpute.

The price of the trip was reportedly $250,000. The quarters were cramped and the destination was about 2 miles below the surface of the cold and remote North Atlantic. Then there was the liability waiver which reportedly mentioned the risk of death three times on the first page alone.

What could have motivated the passengers of the Titan submarine to take such a risk?

Why that person did that one thing in this case is really hard to know, says Ajay Satpute, an assistant professor of psychology at Northeastern University who studies fear. But at least when it comes to choosing to rationalize what we do, we’re going to use many different reasons for doing so.

The Titan sank Sunday morning, June 18, and her support vessel lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later, according to the Coast Guard. Five people were on board the aircraft, which was launched to inspect the wreck of the Titanic ocean liner.

The missing submarine launched an international search and rescue mission that captured the world’s attention. On Thursday afternoon, June 22, however, the Coast Guard said debris found that morning was from the Titan and was consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the ship.

OceanGate Expeditions, a private company that organizes and operates trips to the Titan, said in a statement the same afternoon that it believed the passengers were sadly lost.

Satpute cautioned that individuals’ motivations and decision-making can be very different. Also, no psychological studies involving fear and deep-sea submersibles have been conducted.

Some of these things are hard to study because they are tragedies, Satpute says.

However, Satpute notes that psychologists have studied the connections between fear and excitement and participation in extreme sports, haunted houses and more. She says there are several factors that could influence a person’s decision to take such a risk.

The first is to seek the ultimate state of excitement, the perfect balance between feeling the rush of uncertainty and the comfort of security. For example, Satpute referred to a roller coaster ride.

We think it will be safe, but it’s meant to introduce some uncertainty about where the body is going next and that’s the arousal boost, Satpute said.

Another possible reason is a desire to establish mastery over something negative, a feeling of conquering a fear or learning to survive a negative stimulus. Do you watch a horror movie to prove to yourself that you can do it, for example, or do you see a car accident and think about what not to do when you’re driving?

We think it’s going to be safe, but it’s meant to introduce some uncertainty about where the body is going next, and that’s the arousal boost.

Ajay Satpute, assistant professor of psychology at Northeastern

It’s something the brain might want to do, Satpute says. A way to learn to survive.

There are also identity issues that can be associated with risk taking. Psychologists, for example, have measured increases in self-esteem when some people undergo risky experiences. Or perhaps there are social motivations – the ability to talk about things no one else can talk about or extreme risk-taking could be related to conspicuous consumption or doing something unique that confers elite or wealthy social status.

Finally, there is the quest for wonder and amazement. Seeing the wreck of a 20th-century ocean liner suddenly appear in the murky depths of the ocean could certainly stir up those emotions.

Of course, not all factors are necessarily present in every person, or in every risk situation. Several factors may even be more important in one person than in another.

Motives will depend on the person and likely the situation, Satpute says.

And individuals have different reactions to stimuli.

Do you visit the Titanic site for fun? Like a haunted house? After all, this can produce an emotional response that Satpute called the joy of relief: you go there willingly, you feel happy but also anxious, but then your happiness increases and your anxiety decreases.

You know it’s okay, says Satpute.

Or do you visit the Titanic site to feel a sense of remembrance and solemnity? How to visit the 9-11 Memorial and Museum site.

Or is it a little of both?

There are so many different possibilities that we don’t know about, Satpute says.

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