The Amazing Race

I've never watched an episode of this show. But I do see huge numbers
of ads for it, and I'm wondering. Do they poll contestants for to
reveal all their fears and psychological problems so they can then
exploit them?

Steven L....

If you're referring to the promos that show contestants scared of the
bungee-jumping task, that's not something the producers chose just for
these particular contestants. "Amazing Race" has had bungee-jumping
tasks throughout most of its seasons. If anything, fans have grumbled
that there aren't enough new types of tasks this season; once again
we've got the same bungee-jumping tasks and the searching tasks and the
carrying heavy items through the streets and so on that "Amazing Race"
has always had.

Barbara Bailey...

Well, the course is prettty much laid out already (or at least well in
progress,) as the contestents are being cast, but the first
application form (the one that you send with your video) does ask
about phobias, fears, and what you consider your weaknesses.
Questionaires that come up later inthe casting process also ask what
you think your partner's strengths and weaknesses are.

So are the tasks designed to exploit a particular person's fears? No.
Are people cast because they'll have a big reaction to one or more of
the tasks? Possibly. Are some of the tasks designed to hit on
something that's likely to be a common fear? Yes. (There's always
something height/falling related. It's a very common fear, and can be
triggered by one of the "Go to the observation deck to find the
clue-box by the railing" things, or by a rappelling task, or by an
ice-climb, or zipline, or something like that.)