http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/health/nutrition/30best.html?_r=1

“It’s known as the just world hypothesis,” he said, “this notion
that the world should be fair.”

Dr. Glassner said “we get especially outraged” when the world is not fair, as
with a cycling crash. Or, he noted, “we blame ourselves” for the injustice of it
all, as with a running injury.

The hypothesis does let some people continue a risky sport — by deciding that a
serious accident was not really random.

“You see it with rock climbers,” says Rob Coppolillo. “There will be a fatality
or someone will really get hurt. There are those psychological back flips you
can make yourself do. ‘It won’t happen to me.’ ”

And if you have an accident and you can blame yourself for it, then you can also
convince yourself that it won’t happen again.