SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JOB MARKET : Type T for Risk-Taking

What do Evel Knievel and Albert Einstein have in common? Both are risk-takers, Frank Farley says.

In 25 years of studying risk-taking, the University of Wisconsin psychologist has come to regard seeking new knowledge and new frontiers as part of the same personality trait. He sees a continuum of behavior ranging from those who avoid risk (Type t) to those who seek it (Type T).

“A lot of people are unhappy in their jobs because they may be a Type T in the Type t job,” Farley says. “I believe stress is an outcome of who you are and the situation of your life. If you’re a Type t working on daily deadlines and ever-changing topics . . . you’d probably be overwhelmed, unhappy and ineffective on that job. However, a Type T would thrive there because that’s not necessarily stress to them. It’s excitement.”

Farley believes that we could prevent more workplace unhappiness if people were made aware of their motivations at earlier ages. To this end, he sees more personality testing, counseling and psychology courses at the high school level.

“I think the U.S. is one of the most creative nations in the history of the world,” Farley says. “But any culture over long periods of time produces more traditions and customs and often takes fewer risks. I worry we might be losing some of our creative, healthy risk-taking quality.

“If we write endless rules and laws to eliminate risk, are we at some point in danger of losing what made us what we are?” he asks. “A couple of hundred years ago, we were rolling back the frontiers of this country. Today, we’re afraid of eating apples.”