It would seem that a large proportion of our population responds with [full] attention only to threatening experiences. . . These people brush aside experiences which are non-threatening and not dangerous, as therefore not being worthy of attention or any other response, cognitive or emotional. For them, life is either a meeting of dangers or a relaxation between dangers. But there are some people for whom this is not so. These are the people who will respond not only to dangerous situations. Probably feeling more safe and secure fundamentally, they can afford the luxury of responding to, noticing, and even thrilling with experiences which are not dangerous but pleasantly exciting.
— Abraham Maslow, Cognition of the Particular and the Generic