An exploration of courage in Chinese individuals

Definitional studies of courage have been performed by Western psychologists, but little research has examined Chinese folk courage. Two studies examined conceptions of courage in Chinese culture. In Study 1, the definitions, forms, inner traits, and reactions of courage were described by 307 individuals in China. A content analysis revealed that courage was divided into two forms: individually oriented and socially oriented; and the virtue was composed of persistence, responsibility, and breakthrough. Study 2 conducted in-depth interviews with 27 Chinese participants to explore the nature of courage further. The results suggested similar components; anger, self-confidence, support network, and social atmosphere were most likely to inspire courage; and trying something difficult was the most frequently experienced courageous event. Collectively, persistence and breakthrough were common components of both the current studies and the existing Western literature on courage, while responsibility may be more uniquely Chinese. Implications for prospective training programs are discussed.     

The left side of courage: Three exploratory studies on the antecedents of social courage

Abstract

Courage has been linked to important workplace outcomes, but little is known about the antecedents of courage. To identify possible methods to develop a more courageous workforce, the current article provides initial evidence regarding the antecedents of behavioral social courage from five broad categories: personality, job characteristics, leadership, culture, and demographic characteristics. Three exploratory studies show that certain antecedents from these categories have a significant relationship with behavioral social courage, including grit, proactive personality (personality), social support (job characteristics), empowering leadership (leadership), power distance (culture), and age (demographics). Perceived courage benefits and risks did not mediate the effect of most antecedents on behavioral social courage. These results suggest that certain antecedents may influence behavioral social courage, but the mediators of these relationships remain unknown. Further implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Facing fear-provoking stimuli: The role of courage and influence of task-importance

ABSTRACT

Courage research is emerging, although there is little empirical literature on task-importance, and morality or nobility within courage. This experimental study assessed courage, persistence despite fear, in the relationship between anxiety, behavioral approach and task-importance. Twenty-eight participants with elevated spider fear were randomly assigned to high or low importance conditions. Participants undertook a behavioral approach test where they moved their hand alongside a ruler to as close as they felt comfortable to a non-living spider display. In partial support of the first hypothesis, courage scores predicted behavioral approach distance above-and-beyond spider fear when task-importance was not experimentally augmented. Supporting the second hypothesis, experimentally induced task-importance significantly moderated the relationship between courage and behavioral approach distance such that high importance participants moved closer to the spiders at all levels of courage. This study provides foundational evidence that 1) self-report measures can predict behavioral courage above-and-beyond fear 2) perceived task-importance influences behaviour.     

Applying the approach/avoidance framework to understand the relationships between social courage,workplace outcomes,and well-being outcomes

ABSTRACT

The current article heeds three prior calls to advance the study of courage. First, we replicate prior findings regarding the relationship of social courage and work outcomes, but we also investigate, for the first time, the relationship between social courage and well-being outcomes. Second, we apply the approach/avoidance framework to understand how social courage influences these outcomes. Third, approach and avoidance motivations are tested as mediators of the relationships of social courage with outcomes while controlling for established aspects of personality, conscientiousness and neuroticism. Two longitudinal studies show that approach motivation is a robust mediator between courage and both workplace and well-being outcomes, suggesting that courageous individuals achieve positive outcomes because they particularly value the benefits in such actions. Avoidance motivation was a less consistent mediator. Implications are discussed, but it should be emphasized that broader relationships of social courage can now be identified by applying the approach/avoidance framework.     

Hardiness: The courage to grow from stresses

The recent emphasis on positive psychology is welcome, and has spurred much relevant research. But, there are still many unresolved conceptual and research issues, as more variables are being proposed as relevant. As part of this process, the present paper proposes hardiness as an addition to positive psychology. Hardiness is a combination of attitudes that provides the courage and motivation to do the hard, strategic work of turning stressful circumstances from potential disasters into growth opportunities. In this regard, the inherently stressful nature of living is discussed. Also clarified are the particular aspects of excellence in performance and health to which hardiness is relevant. The paper concludes with a call for issue-resolving research through which orientations and actions proposed as part of positive psychology can be compared in their contributions to performance and health. Two studies along these lines have found hardiness more powerful than optimism and religiousness in coping with stresses.     

The courage of the group therapist

This report strives to legitimize for the field of psychodynamic group therapy the reflection on and study of courage. The authors surveyed group therapy leaders, asking them to describe courageous moments in their own group practice, and then explored the common themes arising in these examples, including openly confronting their mistakes, facing their own and group members' anger, and dealing with unexpected moments in group sessions. Attending to courageous leader moments-and the feelings of hope and pride that they engender-help to neutralize the negative emotions that group leaders are constantly invited to contain. Paradoxically, accessing courageous moments can also evoke feelings of shame in the leader. If we are to require ourselves to embrace the sometimes terrifying challenge of journeying into the unknown with our patients, we must learn to be honest not just about our mistakes and our weaknesses, but also about our successes and our strengths.     

The courage to be: Paul Tillich's existentialist theology of the cross in relation to Martin Luther

Paul Tillich is a traditionally rooted, yet progressive, theologian and philosopher who sought to bring the Christian message to the predicament of existential meaninglessness faced by modern people. The present article addresses a scholarly gap by emphasizing Tillich's use of Martin Luther's theology of the cross, in order to demonstrate Tillich's theological relevance for today from a Lutheran lens.     

The moment and the next step

In psychoanalytical theory, the immediate future of the analysand has not been in the focus of interest. However, there is a change in the basic assumptions concerning the psychoanalytic process. Change is no longer seen as an inevitable automatic effect of insight into the unconscious. This is especially pertinent in the case of defect pathology. The author asks whether this altered view of the process will be followed by a change in technique. The question is: must change occasionally be stimulated by inspiration, suggestions and assessments from the analyst. While interpretation of the unconscious is still the major focus of analysis, some consideration of the next step of the analysand may also be part of our concern.     

Blended courage: Moral and psychological courage elements in mental health treatment seeking by active duty military personnel

We propose that seeking mental health care in an environment with heightened stigma may combine elements of both psychological and moral courage. Interviews of 32 active duty US Army personnel about their process of seeking current mental health care were analyzed for themes of voluntary action, personal risk, and noble or worthwhile goals (benefits). Risks and benefits were divided into internal risks and benefits, characteristic of psychological courage; and external risks and benefits, characteristic of moral courage. Concerns about external risks were themes in all narratives, while concerns about internal risks were themes in only about half of narratives. Both internal and external benefits of treatment were themes in approximately three-quarters of the narratives, whereas doubts about internal (but not external) benefits were also expressed at a similar rate. Thus, participants described an act of blended courage, with social risks of moral courage taken for wellness goals of psychological courage.     

依恋类型对主动遗忘的影响

成人依恋可以在依恋回避和依恋焦虑两个维度进行分析。不安全依恋的个体在依恋关系中持续感受到一种不安全感,因此个体往往采用心理防御策略来摆脱这种不安全感。对于许多不愉快的事件,个体常常也会采用类似的防御策略进行抑制,以减少自身的消极体验。主动遗忘是指个体有意识地避免回想某一目标对象而导致的遗忘现象,其可能与高回避个体的停用策略十分相似。为探讨对于依恋相关的记忆内容,高回避个体是否能够成功进行主动遗忘以规避负面情绪,或是防御失败引起依恋系统激活,反而更多回忆起相关记忆内容,本实验采用Think/No-Think(TNT)范式进行研究,以依恋相关故事作为对被试的依恋启动操作,设计了2(启动:依恋启动vs.依恋未启动)×3(主动遗忘:Think vs.No-Think vs.Baseline)×2(依恋维度得分:高vs低)混合设计研究不同依恋类型主动遗忘能力的影响。实验结果显示,TNT操作与回避类型与启动操作的交互作用显著,高依恋回避个体在受到依恋相关启动时表现出优秀的主动遗忘能力,而在未受到启动时则不能有效地遗忘依恋相关负性词对; 而低依恋回避个体则表现相反,在受到启动材料威胁时无法成功主动遗忘,而在未受启动条件下可以成功遗忘要求内容。对于不同焦虑类型的被试来说,其主动遗忘能力与启动操作无关,高焦虑类型被试表现出更强的主动遗忘能力,并从依恋内部工作模型角度进行了分析。     

How to stay safe while extending the mind

According to the extended mind thesis, cognitive processes are not confined to the nervous system but can extend beyond skin and skull to notebooks, iPhones, computers and such. The extended mind thesis is a metaphysical thesis about the material basis of our cognition. As such, whether the thesis is true can have implications for epistemological issues. Carter has recently argued that safety-based theories of knowledge are in tension with the extended mind hypothesis, since the safety condition implies that there is an epistemic difference between subjects who form their beliefs via their biological capacities and between subjects who have extended their cognition. Kelp, on the other hand, has argued that a safety-based theory of knowledge can be correct only if the extended mind thesis is true. While these claims are not logically inconsistent, they do leave the safety theorist in an uncomfortable position. I will argue that safety-based theories of knowledge are not hostage to the truth of the extended mind thesis, and that once the safety condition is properly understood it is not in tension with the extended mind thesis.

     

Object-based eye movements: The eyes prefer to stay within the same object

The present study addressed the question of whether we prefer to make eye movements within or between objects. More specifically, when fixating one end of an object, are we more likely to make the next saccade within that same object or to another object? Observers had to discriminate small letters placed on rectangles similar to those used by Egly, Driver, and Rafal (1994). Following an exogenous cue, observers made a saccade to one end of one of the rectangles. The small target letter, which could be discriminated only after it had been fixated, could appear either within the same or at a different object. Consistent with object-based attention, we show that observers prefer to make an eye movement to the other end of the fixated same object, rather than to the equidistant end of a different object. It is concluded that there is a preference to make eye shifts within the same object, rather than between objects.     

The affective experience of the analyst in the extra-analytic moment

This exploration of the extra-analytic moment focuses on the analyst’s affective experience of encountering her patient outside the boundaries of the consulting room. Two complex interactions are presented in which the analyst is challenged to confront known and unknown aspects of herself and negotiate her next move. The authors discuss the value of examining oneself beyond the traditional boundaries, and highlight the potential for personal and professional growth in moments when the analyst’s fallibility and humanity are unwittingly revealed. In allowing the unpredictable to become less of an unwanted event and more of an opportunity to express that which makes us human, our analytic work is enriched.Janet Rivkin Zuckerman, Ph.D., is Visiting Instructor at the Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Adjunct Clinical Supervisor at the Derner Institute, Adelphi University, and Ferkauf Graduate School, Yeshiva University, and Faculty Member and Supervisor at The Center for Preventive Psychiatry, White Plains, New York.Lisa Horelick, Psy.D., is Faculty Member and Supervisor at the Suffolk Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, Adjunct Clinical Supervisor at the Ferkauf Graduate School, Yeshiva University, and Supervisor at the Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Derner Institute, Adelphi University, New York.