The original courage scale developed by Woodard (2004) measured backbone as the product of the willingness to have action and the fearfulness experienced while taking the activity. Recent findings suggest that fear may not be a necessary role of courageous activity. Items from the original courage scale were reanalyzed using merely the "willingness to human action" scores. A iv-factor construction--work/employment, patriotic/religion-based belief system, specific social-moral, and independent courage or family unit based--was institute. This factor solution was replicated in a slightly revised version of the scale administered to a new participant sample. Interpretation of these factors suggested that backbone may exist classified by more circuitous, context-based situations. A revised version of the scale, the Woodard Pury Courage Scale-23, is included for further research and investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

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The Construct of Backbone

Categorization and Measurement

Cooper R. Woodard The Groden Eye

Cynthia L. S. Pury Clemson University

The original backbone calibration developed by Wood-

ard (2004) measured backbone as the product of

the willingness to take action and the fright ex-

perienced while taking the activity. Contempo find-

ings suggest that fear may not be a necessary

part of courageous activeness. Items from the orig-

inal courage scale were reanalyzed using only

the "willingness to act" scores. A four-gene

structure—piece of work/employment, patriotic/organized religion-

based belief arrangement, specific social-moral, and

independent backbone or family based—was

constitute. This gene solution was replicated in a

slightly revised version of the scale adminis-

tered to a new participant sample. Interpreta-

tion of these factors suggested that courage may

be classified by more circuitous, context-based

situations. A revised version of the scale, the

Woodard Pury Backbone Calibration-23, is included

for further research and investigation.

Keywords: courage, fear

Courage is a unremarkably accustomed and

ofttimes discussed construct, yet inquiry in

this area is remarkably express. Until re-

cently, courage remained in the dorsum-

ground, an obvious but overlooked cadre

virtue that undoubtedly colored many as-

pects of life. In the comprehensive review

of positive psychology topics in Snyder and

Lopez'southward (2005) Handbook of Positive Psy-

chology, courage is noted iii times in the

introductory chapter (Seligman, 2005). It is

suggested to be a personal trait on par with

love and forgiveness, a buffer against men-

tal illness, and a primary outcome goal of

psychotherapy. Despite these attributes, it

is not discussed again in nearly 800 pages

of text and more that 50 capacity. This may

in part be due to various definitions, too

as controversy regarding the diverse types

of courage.

"I exercise know the nature of courage; but, some-

how or other, she has slipped away from me,

and I cannot get hold of her and tell her

nature."

Laches in Courage past Plato

Defining Courage: The Question of

Fearfulness

1 reason why courage has non re-

ceived more attending and inquiry may be

attributed to difficulties in establishing a

clear and concise definition. Early research

on backbone made great strides in forming a

foundational definition, although the ques-

tion of fear continued to be a circuitous

dimension of this construct. Shelp (1984)

proposed four components of courage: (1)

gratuitous choice to accept or not accept the con-

sequences of acting, (2) risk or danger, (iii)

a worthy finish, and (4) dubiousness of out-

Cooper R. Woodard, The Groden Heart,

Providence, Rhode Isle; Cynthia L. S. Pury,

Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina.

Nosotros thank Jennifer Kentera and Tasha

McRae for their assistance with information collection,

and Candice Arnold, Jackie Diehl, Jen Kentera,

and Ginny Sneed for their helpful comments on

a draft of this paper. We also give thanks Wayne

Velicer, James Bodfish, and Matthew Goodwin

for statistical and editorial aid, and June

Groden for making available resources for this

research.

Correspondence concerning this commodity

should be addressed to Cooper R. Woodard, 56

Edgehill Route, Providence, RI 02906. E-mail service:

neillwood1@cox.net

Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association and the Social club of Consulting Psychology, 1065-9293/07/$12.00

DOI: ten.1037/1065-9293.59.ii.135

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practise and Inquiry, Vol. 59, No. 2, 135–147

135

come. He indicated that fearfulness may or may

non exist present in the courageous deed. Spe-

cifically, should we not label someone cou-

rageous if they take part in a dangerous human action

for a worthy end, but show no fear? Shelp

explained that the person who shows cour-

age is not necessarily fearless or fearful, just

rather respects fright, attempts to master fright,

and acts despite some level of fear being

present. He offered this definition: "Cour-

historic period is the disposition to voluntarily act,

perhaps fearfully, in a dangerous circum-

stance, where the relevant risks are reason-

ably appraised, in an endeavor to obtain or

preserve some perceived good for ane self

or others recognizing that the desired per-

ceived good may not be realized" (p. 354).

Rachman (1984), in his enquiry on fright

acquisition, fearlessness, and the effects of

trauma, suggested that courage was related

to resilience in the face of threat or danger,

and perseverance or the capacity to act de-

spite stress and fear. All the same, he noted the

power for phobic patients to deed coura-

geously despite exhibiting extreme fear,

and questioned whether or not this repre-

sented a lack of courage. Rachman dis-

cussed both sides of this issue, questioning

whether courage was mastery of fearfulness and

hence fearlessness, or if backbone in its pur-

est grade necessitated fearfulness. He concludes by

suggesting that grooming or exposure to the

fearful situation may move the person

along on a type of continuum, from backbone

to fearlessness. This seems to advise that

courage required some element of fearfulness, un-

til i arrives at a different state of fright-

lessness in the face of threat for a worthy

purpose, end, or result.

More contempo reviews and research take

focused on possible definitions for courage,

although the question of the part of fright

remains complex. (For a comprehensive

listing of selected scholarly definitions of

backbone, the reader is referred to p. 191 of

Lopez, O'Byrne, and Peterson [2003].) For

instance, Woodard (2004) developed a

courage calibration by administering a pool of

108 situation-based questions to 200 partic-

ipants. Using a cognitive-vulnerability con-

ceptualization of fear (Beck, Emery, &

Greenberg, 1985), Woodard defined cour-

age as "the ability to act for a meaningful

(noble, skilful, or applied) crusade, despite

experiencing the fright associated with per-

ceived threat exceeding the available re-

sources" (p. 174). Using the theoretical

base of fearfulness and the definition identified for

courage, a courage score was calculated by

multiplying the rating of the participant's

willingness to act in the situation by the

participant's fear rating. This method en-

sured that fear was a part of a participant's

backbone, and discounted the participant

who was as willing as the fearful partici-

pant, only with lessened levels of fear.

Pury, Kowalski, and Spearman (2007)

gave open-concluded questions on backbone (as

well as a variety of scale-based questions)

to 250 participants. Findings suggested that

deportment considered courageous compared to

the private's typical actions, or "per-

sonal" backbone, might alternatively be

idea of as fearful courage. On the other

mitt, actions considered courageous com-

pared with the way most people typically

human activity, or "general" courage, might exist consis-

tent with the concept of fearless or confi-

dent backbone. Such a reference-based con-

ceptualization of backbone every bit a construct

perhaps beingness modified by fright-reducing

familiarity, ignorance, or training explains

how what is courageous for one person

may or may not be courageous for another.

For the purposes of the nowadays research

project, we chose to focus on willingness to

act in threatening situations for a worthy

outcome, without including the added

question of fearfulness. We established the follow-

ing definition of backbone: Backbone is the

voluntary willingness to act, with or with-

out varying levels of fear, in response to a

threat to attain an of import, perchance

moral, outcome or goal. This definition ac-

knowledges that fearfulness may or may non be

present to any significant degree for an human activity

136 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

June 2007

to be considered mettlesome, and makes

evident the two by and large agreed upon

components of courage: threat and worthy

or important outcome.

Identifying Types of Courage

Equally the definition of courage has contin-

ued to evolve, nonempirical data on

various types of courage has surfaced in the

literature. While very early discussions of

courage were ofttimes tied to physical courage

(or backbone when the risk is i of physical

harm), discussions of moral courage exist-

came more prevalent (Walton, 1986).

Moral courage represented action when the

threat was one of moral or ethical integrity,

or perhaps (as suggested by Putman, 1997)

when there is an element of social disap-

proval. Or is this social courage (eastward.g.,

Larsen & Giles, 1976)? What almost exis-

tential backbone (eastward.g., Maddi, 2004)? Put-

human being (1997) also suggested there might be

psychological courage, or the courage dis-

played when one encounters ane's own ir-

rational fears and anxieties, or fear of loss

of psychological stability. Lopez et al.

(2003) suggested that psychological cour-

age is related to vital courage, where the

threat is illness and side furnishings of medical

treatment.

It remains unclear how many types of

courage exist, and research supporting whatsoever

suggested type of courage is limited. Role of

the difficulty of categorization may stem

from the multiple components identified in

the definition of courage, including (1) the

presence of a threat, and (2) an important or

worthy finish or effect. The threat may

produce varying degrees of fear, including

perhaps none at all, and the worthy goal

may have varying degrees of moral impor-

tance. When creating a blazon of courage,

should situations be categorized by the

threat ("I would run into a burning build-

ing. . ." as physical, for case) or by the

outcome (". . .to save the lives of trapped

and fearful children" as moral, for test-

ple)? Traditionally, backbone has been cate-

gorized based on the threat (e.g., Putman'due south

psychological courage and most discus-

sions of physical courage), but this remains

a slippery aspect of backbone categorization.

Moral backbone, for example, is more often

identified in situations where there is a

morally desirable goal. It is rarely identi-

fied for threats to a person's moral well-

being or integrity.

Lopez et al. (2003) suggested that there

were three types of courage: physical,

moral, and vital. Yet, this categoriza-

tion or division is based on reviews of

previous studies, about of which simply exam-

ined backbone in a specific, predefined con-

text, such as courageous medical patients

(Finfgeld, 1999) or busy bomb dis-

posal operators (Cox, Hallam, O'Connor,

& Rachman, 1983). Farther back up for the

physical, moral, and vital division was pro-

posed in a literature review and inquiry

written report conducted by O'Byrne, Lopez, and

Petersen (2000). In this inquiry, five open-

ended and five scaled questions were ad-

ministered to 38 participants. The enquiry-

ers selected and identified major themes in

the responses. All the same, although some re-

sponses could be classified into one of the

three proposed categories (e.grand., physical;

continuing to play soccer despite breaking

an arm), others were non so easily catego-

rized (east.grand., trying out for cheerleading in

forepart of others). Pury et al. (2007) reported

that the most common themes (threats and

outcomes) of backbone in their sample were

threefold: physical, moral, and trying

something new. Limited themes of vital

courage were reported, although trying

something new may be a common, non-

pathological example of a threat to the

psyche covered by psychological courage

(Putman, 1997).

Few enquiry studies take tried to em-

pirically derive types or categorizations of

courage. In the process of exploring hardi-

ness, Woodard (2004) used cistron analysis

to examine responses to the previously dis-

cussed scale he developed. Results sug-

137 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

June 2007

gested a four-factor solution: general cour-

age, dealing with groups, acting indepen-

dently, and a combination of physical and

moral situations. However, some items

loaded on more than one gene, and as

noted previously, the scoring method fa-

vored the loftier fright– high willingness-to-human action

participant. The purpose of the present re-

search is to add to our current understand-

ing of the various types of courage that may

exist by categorizing the Personal Perspec-

tives Survey (PPS-31) created by Woodard

(2004), reexamine Woodard's (2004) factor

structure without the added dimension of

fright, and compare this information to the

factor structure of the Woodard Pury Cour-

age Scale (WPCS-30).

Method

Overview

The nowadays research was conducted in

three phases. During Phase 1, participants

(n ⫽ 47) were asked to categorize the blazon

of threat nowadays in each of the 31 items of

the PPS-31. The options given for catego-

rizing the threat were as follows: social,

physical, or emotional well-being. "Moral"

was not provided every bit an option, because

none of the items on the test had a moral

threat (although many had moral out-

comes). "Vital" was not provided as an

option because these items could generally

be considered physical threats. Nosotros hypoth-

esized that participants would be able to

concur (⬎75%) on the type of threat posed

in the PPS-31 items, and that this categori-

zation might aid to explain results from

Phase 2 and 3 of the report.

During Phase two, the "willingness to human action"

scores from the original Woodard (2004)

participant sample were reexamined. For

Phase 3, a slightly revised version of the

scale used in the Woodard (2004) inquiry,

theWPCS-30, was then administered to a

new participant pool (north ⫽ 162) for the

purpose of repeating the factor analysis.

We hypothesized that the factor structure of

the WPCS-30 "willingness to act" items of

the new sample would be similar to the

"willingness to act" cistron structure from

Woodard (2004) participant sample. Based

on the outcome of this research, we planned

to suggest empirically supported types of

backbone and offer a revised version of the

WPCS-xxx that has a stable factor structure.

Research Participants

The participants for the first phase of the

written report were 47 college undergraduates, and

the participants for the third phase of the

study were 162 higher undergraduates.

The participants were drawn from a medi-

um-sized public university in the southeast

and received course credit for participation.

The size of the sample for Phase two was

based on recommendations made by ex-

perts in the field of cistron analysis (Golden-

berg & Velicer, in printing). The participants

for stage ii of this inquiry written report were

64% female, with a hateful age of 18.3

(SD ⫽ 0.86; range ⫽ eighteen –24). This sample

was 11% African American, 85% Cauca-

sian, 1% Asian/Pacific Islander, i% His-

panic, and 2% mixed indigenous background.

Measures

The PPS-31 was used in Phase 1 of the

present inquiry projection. This aforementioned mea-

sure was used in the Woodard (2004) re-

search, the data from which was reanalyzed

in Phase 2 of the present study. For

Stage 3, the WPCS-thirty (a minimally re-

vised version of the PPS-31), was used.

The revisions to the PPS-31 included (one)

ensuring the items reflected our current def-

inition of courage, (ii) removing one item

and replacing ane item that may have pre-

vented time to come validation research, and (3)

using positive wording to meliorate clarity

(iii items). Both instruments are newspaper-

and-pencil tests composed of 31 or xxx

items. Each item presents a threat with an

important outcome, and asks the participant

to first rate their willingness to act on a

138 Consulting Psychology Journal: Do and Research

June 2007

five-point scale (one ⫽ strongly disagree ,5 ⫽

strongly agree), and then rate the level of

fear they would feel (1 ⫽ little fright ,

5 ⫽ very loftier fear ).

In the original commodity (Woodard, 2004), a

total backbone score was produced by multi-

plying the willingness to act rating by the fearfulness

rating. Still, given our revised definition

of courage as not necessitating fearfulness, the will-

ingness to human activity score lonely was used in the

present inquiry. Note that each item referred

to in the text and tables in the present research

retains the original item number from Wood-

ard (2004) publication to maintain clarity.

Results

Phase i: Categorization of the

PPS-31 Items

Twoscore-vii students were asked to cat-

egorize the 31 items of the PPS-31 to de-

termine the type of threat and level of

agreement of type of threat nowadays in each

item. For the 31 items as a group, hold-

ment ranged from 45% to 97%, with an

boilerplate agreement percentage of 77.8%.

Fourteen of the items were categorized every bit

concrete threats (average agreement per-

centage ⫽ 81.8%), eleven were categorized as

social threats (average agreement percent-

age ⫽ 76.4%), and vi items were catego-

rized equally emotional threats (boilerplate concur-

ment pct ⫽ 71%). Categorization of

blazon of threat (P ⫽ physical, Due south ⫽ social,

and E ⫽ emotional) is indicated in Table ane.

Phase 2: Cistron Analysis of

the PPS-31

Woodard (2004) nerveless a participant

sample (northward ⫽ 200) to create the PPS-31. In

the procedure of creating this scale, a courage

score was calculated by multiplying the

level of agreement ("willingness to act")

rating past the fear rating, and so summing

these scores. Given our revised definition

of courage including situations where fearfulness

is non present, the original responses from

the Woodard (2004) participant pool were

reexamined. The agreement or "willingness

to deed" total scores (which were not multi-

plied past the fright rating) had a mean of

111.45, a range of 82 to 141, and a standard

departure of 12.29. These results were ex-

plored using a principle components cistron

analysis with varimax rotation. The scree

plot suggested a four-gene solution, which

accounted for 31.iv% of the total variance.

Seven items did not load ⬎0.40 on whatever of

the four factors and were deleted. The de-

leted items are listed at the bottom of Ta-

ble i. In a 2nd factor analysis on the

remaining 24 items, all just one item loaded

⬎0.40 on one of the iv factors. No items

loaded ⬎0.40 on more than than one factor, and

this solution accounted for 36.6% of the

total variance. The cistron loadings for each

item are represented in Table 1.

Phase three: Replication of the Cistron

Structure With the WCPS-30

The WCPS-30 was administered to 162

research participants. As noted higher up, the

items on this scale are the same as those on

the PPS-31 except for some pocket-size wording

changes (for consistency with the definition

of backbone), i detail (#60) was deleted, i

item was replaced (#55), and all items were

positively worded. To replicate the cistron

structure, the aforementioned seven items that were

removed afterwards the first cistron assay of the

Woodard (2004) data were removed from

this information set. The understanding or "willingness

to human activity" full scores had a hateful of 108.69, a

range of 81 to 134, and a standard deviation

of 9.95. The results of a principle components

factor analysis with varimax rotation of the

understanding or "willingness to act" particular re-

sponses are contained in Table ii. In this so-

lution, 37% of the variance is accounted for,

and 3 items did not load ⬎.40 on any of

the four factors. Iii items had factor load-

ings ⬎ 0.40 on two factors. Of the 23 items

included in the cistron analysis, 15 (65%)

loaded ⬎0.40 on the aforementioned factor as that

particular's loading in the Woodard (2004) sample

139 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

June 2007

and are marked with an asterisk in Table 2.

For these 23 items, the agreement or "will-

ingness to act" total scores had a mean

of 82.68, a range of 60 to 102, and a standard

deviation of 8.22. A reliability analysis pro-

duced a coefficient blastoff of 0.683 for the

23-item gear up, indicating moderate internal con-

sistency. This 23-item prepare is presented in the

Appendix.

Discussion

Categorization of Threat

The results of Phase 1 indicate that

many threats can be categorized equally physi-

cal, social, or emotional, with off-white amounts

of understanding. Threats categorized as phys-

ical or social resulted in the highest levels

of understanding, whereas the average level of

understanding was somewhat lower than hy-

pothesized for emotional items, at 71%.

Despite these overall off-white levels of agree-

ment, such basic categorization does not

fully explain the cistron structure that was

found in the Woodard (2004) data set, and

confirmed in the more recently collected

data set. Some of the factors show a ma-

jority of social (Factor 1) or physical (Fac-

tor 2) items, merely others (Factors three and 4) are

a mixture of these uncomplicated and basic catego-

rizations. This mixture would propose that

although nosotros attempted to restrain the defi-

Table 1

Loadings and Threat Type of the 24-Item Solution on Woodard (2004) Willingness to Act Scores

Item Blazon Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor iv

1-Have task despite criticism Due south 0.60

32-Enquire for enhance at work S 0.55

82-Foreign country for job S 0.53

79-Publish work despite criticism Southward 0.53

9-Help grieving family unit Due east 0.45

33-Dental surgery to save molar P 0.45

18-Give life in state of war for country P 0.72

83-Lost in forest at night Due east 0.66

86-Torture for political secrets P 0.62

45-Risk life for globe peace P 0.59

46-Social pressure level/right thing S 0.57

54-Do without for others in need P 0.57

67-Endure pain for organized religion P 0.54

106-Hiding Jews during Holocaust P 0.49

17-Rejection by others for goal S 0.49

60-Confront begetter about corruption E 0.45

77-Act despite bullying equally minority S 0.42

47-Refuse commanding officer P 0.41

103-Burning house for pet P 0.64

102-Work in ER if needed E 0.62

56-Face up abusive parent P 0.48

31-Take part in work conflict Due south 0.42

2-Arbitrate in domestic dispute P 0.40

P ⫽ concrete, S ⫽ social, E ⫽ emotional.

61-Walk beyond high bridge (Did non load ⬎0.40 on any cistron)

Deleted Items:

ten-To help a friend, I would make a fool of myself on live TV.

xvi-I would avoid confronting my own emotional pain even though I could grow every bit a person (reverse scored).

23-If I were in an unfamiliar place, I could brand new friends.

55-I could tell my friends and family unit I was gay, even if I knew it meant rejection.

63-I would concord to go to a challenging academic program, even if it meant leaving my friends and family far

behind.

70-I would take a series of painful inoculations if I knew they would maintain my health.

99-I could endure necessary physical pain, such as giving childbirth without the benefit of medications.

140 Consulting Psychology Periodical: Practice and Research

June 2007

nition of courage to the type of threat

present, focusing only on this chemical element may

be insufficient to make up one's mind what types of

backbone be.

Replication and Caption of Factor

Structure

The factor structure of "willingness to

human activity" responses from the original Woodard

(2004) data were generally like to the

cistron structure of the participant sample

nerveless for the present research project.

Sixty-five percent of the items that loaded

on the factors derived from the current

sample loaded on the same factors as in the

original sample. While far from perfect,

this replication suggests that the WPCS-23

(see Appendix) has a relatively stable fac-

tor construction beyond two different, albeit

similar participant samples. Further, a reli-

ability analysis indicated moderate internal

stability for this measure in its current

course.

A review of the items that loaded on the

iv factors demonstrates that participant's

agreement or "willingness to deed" responses

are dependent on a more complex concep-

tualization of courage. While the bulk

of the items that loaded ⬎0.40 on Factor 1

were categorized as "social," all but one of

the items having to practise with work or em-

ployment loaded on this factor in the

Woodard (2004) sample, and the remaining

piece of work-related item shifted to Cistron 1 for the

second participant sample. It is unclear why

item 83 ("Lost in wood at night"), 77

("Deed despite bullying as minority"),

and 61 ("Walk across a high span")

loaded on this factor in the second partici-

pant sample only not on the first. However,

the compatible inclusion of all work or em-

ployment items strongly suggests that this

is a distinct type of backbone. In dissimilarity,

items on the 2d factor of the original

and more recently collected data set up are

mainly related to the outcome of sustaining

political/patriotic or religious beliefs, or

Table ii

Loadings of the 23-Item Solution on Willingness to Human action Scores

Item Cistron 1 Factor 2 Factor three Factor 4

*

32-Ask for raise at work

0.59

*

77-Act despite bullying as minority

0.56 0.twoscore

*

82-Foreign country for job

0.53

83-Lost in woods at night 0.53

*

ane-Accept job despite criticism

0.49

61-Walk beyond high span 0.46 0.42

*

79-Publish work despite criticism

0.46

31-Take part in work conflict 0.45

*

18-Give life in war for country

0.71

67-Endure pain for religion 0.66

*

86-Torture for political secrets

0.64

*

45-Risk life for earth peace

0.63

*

46-Social force per unit area/right thing

0.58

*

17-Rejection by others for goal

0.52

*

54-Exercise without for others in need

0.47

*

106-Hiding Jews during Holocaust

0.42 0.44

*

47-Refuse commanding officer

0.42

9-Help grieving family 0.63

*

2-Intervene in domestic dispute

0.62

*

103-Burning house for pet

0.47

33-Dental surgery to salve molar (Did not load ⬎0.40 on any factor)

56-Face up abusive parent (Did not load ⬎0.forty on whatsoever factor)

102-Piece of work in ER if needed (Did not load ⬎0.40 on any factor)

*

Loaded ⬎0.xl on the same factor as Woodard (2004).

141 Consulting Psychology Periodical: Practice and Research

June 2007

what might be considered general belief

systems. Additionally, this cistron includes

items where one's life is in danger or dis-

tinct physical hurting is threatened. However,

while all of these items were categorized every bit

"physical" items, other physically danger-

ous items that were categorized equally "physi-

cal" did not necessarily load ⬎0.40 on this

factor. This would suggest that this second

type of courage is not what has been sug-

gested as a pervasive physical courage, but

may include physical dangers incurred as a

part of one's patriotic or religious be-

lief system. These two fairly robust factors

suggest that courage types are more com-

plex than we had anticipated. They announced

to be related to the general life context or

domain (such as work) or take into business relationship

both threat and consequence, rather than being

explained past the about basic categorizations

of threat type.

The third factor that was found in both

the initial and more recently collected data

are remarkably similar, and the items every bit

groupings propose the courage needed to

cope effectively with social–moral pres-

sures (threats and/or outcomes). This and

the categorization of threat in these items

being both "social" and "physical," lends

additional support to the idea that more

complex ideas underlie whether or not par-

ticipants choose to act in certain situations.

The fourth and final gene was the least

consistent, as two of the items that loaded

on this factor in the Woodard (2004) sam-

ple did not load ⬎0.40 on any factor in the

more recently nerveless data set. It is of

interest, still, that these items gener-

marry involve a person interim alone or with-

out the distinct social pressure level of a group.

These results as a grouping lend back up to the

being of social–moral courage beingness

the ability to human activity despite full general social or

cultural force per unit area (Factor 3), and what we

will term independent backbone, or the abil-

ity to act alone (Factor four). The concepts

presented by the item groupings of factors

three and 4 are remarkably like to

Factors 2 and iii identified in Woodard

(2004).

Alternatively, the items that create Fac-

tor ii may represent an private'due south com-

mitment to gild's abstract rules and

principles. In a similar vein, Gene 3 may

be conceived of as societal threats from or

benefits to a specific other person, or con-

crete applications of those same principles.

Taken together, both of these factors announced

to represent courageous actions taken in the

context of society. An additional alternative

estimation is suggested for Factor 4, par-

ticularly in the revised sample. Not simply

could these items be representative of a

person acting lonely, but there is also a

theme of mettlesome actions taken in a

family unit context. When the domains created

by the cistron analysis are understood in this

manner—work, order (full general principles

and specific others), and family—they re-

flect concepts suggested by other research-

ers. Specifically, those domains cited past

developmental psychologists as represent-

ing of import roles that immature adults need

to assume (e.g., McAdams, 2001). Our

findings might represent these developmen-

tal concerns, with alternate findings possi-

ble in older samples.

The various interpretations of these fac-

tors provide empirical support for at least

three and possibly 4 different types of

backbone: (1) piece of work/employment courage,

(2) patriotic, religion, or belief-based phys-

ical courage, (three) social–moral courage, and

(iv) independent backbone, or alternatively,

family unit-based courage. Although this pro-

posed conceptualization of courage types is

certainly limited past the range of situations

posed in the original 31 items, even this

small grouping provided some opportunity

for alternate item sets that would have sup-

ported typologies suggested in other re-

search. For example, full general physical

(threat) backbone could have been supported

past a grouping of items 33, 86, 67, and two, or

vital courage could have been supported by

a grouping of 33, 70, and 99 (in the first

142 Consulting Psychology Journal: Exercise and Research

June 2007

cistron analysis conducted). The factors that

were establish in this research do not back up

these conceptualizations of backbone. How-

always, the factor sets are marked past the

inclusion of some items that do not "fit,"

and the factors did not exactly replicate

from 1 sample to another, demonstrating

but moderate stability. This may, how-

ever, be partially explained by changes in

diction noted in the nowadays text.

The results of our cistron analyses sug-

gest groupings based on contexts or goals,

and threats or outcomes, rather than solely

on the threat. These groupings may be re-

lated to meaningful roles in ones life (piece of work,

lodge, family) and perhaps propose the

way in which courage contributes to hap-

piness. Peterson, Park, and Seligman

(2005) suggest that there are three path-

ways to happiness in life: pleasure, engage-

ment, and significant. All the same, combined

with previous findings, our results suggest

that courageous activity may be related to

only one of them. Taking courageous ac-

tion does not appear to be related to plea-

certain: in fact, simply the opposite has been

found in previous studies (Pury et al., 2007)

in which participants overwhelmingly re-

ported courageous actions were expected to

lead to loftier unpleasantness. As well, the

mettlesome deportment described by our items

do not seem especially engaging; a country in

which time passes quickly and which are

engaged in for their ain sake (Csikszent-

mihalyi, 1990). Introspection suggests that

fourth dimension passes rather slowly at the dentist, and

healthy people do not seek out criticism,

ridicule, or pain. Instead, our items seem

best characterized as a path to the mean-

ingful life. Although the actions themselves

are not pleasant or engaging, the purposes

or goals of courageous actions–doing what

one thinks is right or necessary, existence true

to one's self and i's beliefs, and acting

for the greater good–are all components of

the meaningful life.

Although these results provide informa-

tion every bit to empirically supported types of

courage, is in that location a general backbone that

stands out from more specific types of

courage? Support for a general courage

would exist found in a first factor that ac-

counted for a comparatively big amount

of variance, and one that did not have a

single, clearly identifiable theme, or con-

tained a complex mixture of situations.

Such a factor (using backbone scores that

were the product of "willingness to human action' and

fear ratings) was suggested in Woodard

(2004). In our current sample, notwithstanding, the

first gene only accounts for a slightly

larger portion of the variance as compared

to the other factors (xiv% vs. 8% for Fac-

tors two and 3, and half-dozen% for Gene 4). Also,

although the first gene also contains three

items that are unrelated to the work theme,

the bulk of items were clearly employ-

ment related. Therefore, the testify for a

general courage is not strong, just the inclu-

sion of unrelated items in the first gene

remains difficult to explain.

Conclusions and Future Research

The present research has expanded our

understanding of courage and offers a refined

version of a paper-and-pencil mensurate of this

construct with a replicated, relatively stable

factor structure. In improver to offering em-

pirical back up for four types of courage, re-

sults advise that these types of courage are

circuitous (threat and/or outcome based), life-

domain, or context-oriented conceptualiza-

tions. Support for a general, underlying cour-

age is express. Time to come research could accept

many directions, including expanding upon

these findings by carefully validating the

WPCS-23 with factor-represented groups or

situations, expanding the responses of per-

sons in differing cultures or age groupings, or

altering the fourth dimension frame or other aspects of the

proposed threatening situation. Researchers

may also want to examine the effects of fourth dimension

and experience on a person's willingness to

human activity in threatening all the same important situations, or

mayhap explore the meaning of different

combinations of fear and willingness to act.

143 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

June 2007

For example, do certain participants' re-

sponses by and large fall into one of the iv

quadrants of a fear/willingness to act centrality? Is

in that location fearful courage and fearless backbone?

Or is there even a human relationship between fear

and willingness to act?

Continued research in these areas will foster

a better understanding of this complex virtue.

The value of identifying courage is credible, equally

it has clear application to many areas, including

those familiar to the consulting psychologist. In

a armed services, police, or even a corporate setting for

instance, at that place is a clear advantage to being able

to place people who are willing to act despite

a threat for a worthy consequence. This could aug-

ment option procedures, or identify members

of an arrangement that might be well suited to

certain assignments or tasks. Perhaps this is a

desired virtue to consider in selecting or im-

proving the skills of an effective leader, or an

expanse to be assessed and and then targeted for clients

with executive coaches. Further, on a more per-

sonal or individual level, it may be desirable to

place people who are, or who are condign

courageously engaged simply in living.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to

i's courage."

Anais Nin

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144 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research

June 2007

Appendix

WPCS-23

Developed by C. Woodard, PhD, and C. Pury, PhD

Instructions:

Listed below are some situations for you lot to consider. In one case you have read an item,

please circumvolve a number to signal your level of understanding with that particular (1 ⫽

Strongly Disagree, 2 ⫽ Disagree, 3 ⫽ Neutral, iv ⫽ Agree, 5 ⫽ Strongly Concur).

Next, circumvolve the number to signal the level of fear you would feel in that state of affairs

(1 ⫽ Fiddling Fear, ii ⫽ Mild Fear, iii ⫽ Moderate Fear, four ⫽ Potent Fright, 5 ⫽ Very

Loftier Fear).

Disagree/Agree How much fear?

Strongly

Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly

Concur

Piddling

Fear

Mild

Fright

Moderate

Fear

Strong

Fear

Very

High

Fear

1) I would have an

important project

at my identify of

employment even

though it would

bring intense

public criticism

and publicity. 12345 12345

2) If information technology looked like

someone would

get badly hurt, I

would arbitrate

directly in a

unsafe

domestic dispute. 12345 12345

3) I could approach

someone whose

family members

had just been

killed, knowing

they were feeling

overwhelming

grief. 12345 12345

iv) I would chance

rejection by

important others

for a chance at

achieving my life

goals. 12345 12345

5) If called upon

during times of

national

emergency, I

would give my

life for my

land. 12345 12345

Appendix Continues

145 Consulting Psychology Journal: Do and Research

June 2007

Disagree/Agree How much fearfulness?

Strongly

Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly

Agree

Little

Fear

Mild

Fright

Moderate

Fear

Strong

Fearfulness

Very

High

Fear

6) I am able to

participate in

intense conflict in

a piece of work

surround for

the right crusade. 12345 12345

seven) I would talk to my

supervisor about a

raise if I actually

needed one. 12345 12345

eight) I would get to the

dentist and have

painful surgery if

it meant saving a

tooth. 12345 12345

9) I would risk my

life if information technology meant

lasting world

peace. 12345 12345

10) Intense social

pressure would

not stop me from

doing the right

thing. 12345 12345

11) I would refuse

the lodge of a

commanding

officer if it meant

hurting someone

needlessly. 12345 12345

12) I could do

without the

absolute

necessities of life

if at that place were

others in greater

need. 12345 12345

13) I would confront

a parent abusing

his or her child

in public. 12345 12345

fourteen) I would walk

beyond a

dangerously high

bridge to

continue on an

important

journey. 12345 12345

15) I would suffer

physical hurting for

my religious or

moral beliefs. 12345 12345

146 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Inquiry

June 2007

Disagree/Hold How much fearfulness?

Strongly

Disagree Disagree Neutral Hold

Strongly

Concord

Footling

Fear

Mild

Fear

Moderate

Fear

Strong

Fear

Very

Loftier

Fright

16) I would go where

I wanted to go

and do what I

wanted to practise,

fifty-fifty though I

might be bullied

as an indigenous

minority. 12345 12345

17) I would open

myself to

professional person

criticism past

publishing my

work. 12345 12345

18) I could move to

a foreign country

to take the

perfect job. 12345 12345

xix) I could go along my

wits about me if

I were lost in the

wood at night. 12345 12345

xx) I would undergo

concrete hurting and

torture rather

than tell political

secrets. 12345 12345

21) I could work

under the stress

of an emergency

room if needed. 12345 12345

22) I would return

into a burning

building to relieve

a family pet I

loved dearly. 12345 12345

23) I would take

hidden Jewish

friends during the

time of the

Holocaust. 12345 12345

147 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Enquiry

June 2007

... Furthermore, they volunteered for this written report, which was mettlesome. Courage involves strategies that assistance individuals towards wellbeing (Woodard and Pury, 2007). The philosopher McIntyre (1984) considers courage 'not simply as a quality of individuals, just as the quality necessary to sustain a household and a community' (p. ...

... Uncertainty amongst this group of participants was previously documented (Murphy et al., 2015). We would argue, with reference to Woodard and Pury (2007), that uncertainty is a prerequisite to courage. In a seminal commodity, Shelp (1984) described backbone as a neglected virtue in the patient-physician relationship, compared to moral virtues such as competence, compliance, compassion and gratitude. ...

  • Kristianna Dam Kristianna Dam
  • Elisabeth OC Hall

Background Growing upwardly with a severely mentally ill parent can impact on subsequent adult life, and it can be extra challenging in a lodge with a small population, known as a small-scale gild. Life in a small-scale gild is characterised past multiple close relationships, lack of anonymity and a conservative attitude towards normal behaviour. Aims To look at the impact of growing up with a mentally sick parent on developed life in a minor guild. Methods Data from semistructured interviews with 11 adult children of severely mentally ill parents were reanalysed and subjected to secondary analysis. Results The additional analysis resulted in 4 central themes: 'becoming open and courageous', 'seeking and giving aid', 'feeling uncertain and unlike' and 'beingness resilient and sensitive'. These were conflated into an overarching theme: 'childhood experiences track into machismo for better and worse'. The themes elucidate a various big picture show and encompass positive and challenging features of adult life in a minor-scale society. Conclusions The study ends with recommendations for the early on institution of collaboration and family-focused interventions with mentally ill parents and their children.

... The purpose of the above caption is that each virtue is composed of several character strengths, it is very good for a person's character to have diverse force characters from each virtue. (Woodard and Pury 2007) Iii of the four factors of backbone (perseverance, integrity, and backbone) are ranked which means placing them in the top 5 forces, along with promise, the power of transcendence, and kindness, the strength of humanity. Various strengths are associated with higher public courage (deportment that are dauntless for anyone), lower personal courage (actions that dare only in the context of the life of certain actors), or both. ...

... Physical courage is brave in physical pain, hardship, and the threat of decease. While, Woodard & Pury (2007) says that decent courage is the adequacy to act correctly in the face of common opposition, shame, scandal, and personal loss. These moral virtues are courage, justice, and clemency such as any donation of money, time, goods, and perishables for a charitable purpose (Webber, 2006). ...

  • Nor Asiah Binti Mahmood Nor Asiah Binti Mahmood
  • Lukman Hamzah
  • Ajit Singh
  • Ikmal Ab. Malik

Purpose of the study: This study is to investigate the influence of Core Values (Honor, Loyalty, Courage, Pride) on the employees' chore performance (JP) in the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) at Lumut Naval Base. Methodology: The information was analyzed using SPSS statistical tools. A descriptive-analytical approach; a simple random sampling of 260 employees was used for assay. Employed quantitative analysis, data collected through a shut and open-ended questionnaire with a 5-indicate Likert scale. The respondents represented came from the three branches of the RMN consisting of Seaman, Technical, and Supply branch. Chief Findings: The findings were found that courage has a significant influence on the employees' job functioning. The findings also revealed that honour has positively influenced employees' JP in the RMN Applications of this study: The implications of this report found that the Honor value is the master factor amongst the other variables. Information technology is the most important component in manipulating the Job Performance of the RMN personnel followed by the Courage value. The other ii core values, Pride and Loyalty values did not influence Job Performance as expected. At the beginning of the report, information technology was expected that the Core Values of the RMN would be the elements that would influence the job functioning in the RMN organization since it was launched on 16 Baronial 2011. Novelty/Originality of this written report: Models and theoretical application that tin exist used for hereafter research could also offer a different perspective of understanding and comprehension as opposed to previous study and research, thus this is one of the Novelties in this report.

... Son yıllarda yabancı literatürde, giderek artan bir önemle, cesaret konusunun ele alındığı (Ginevra, Santilli & Camussi, 2019;Kramer & Zinbarg, 2019), ancak yerli literatürde cesaret araştırmaları konusunda önemli bir boşluk olduğu görülmektedir (Mert & Aydemir, 2019). Cesaretin yeterince araştırılamamasına bir neden olarak, açık ve özlü bir tanımlamasının yapılamaması (Woodard & Pury, 2007), dolayısıyla da ölçülebilmesindeki zorluktur (Howard & Alipour, 2014). ...

... The recent literature on courage agrees that at the basis of the construct of courage can be recognized the presence of subjective perception of fear [fourscore]. Therefore, one of the about used definitions of courage derives from Norton and Weiss [81]: Courage involves the ability to persist and perpetuate efforts despite a subjective feeling of fright. ...

College students approaching a university degree tin experience a disquisitional period in their career development path that could touch their well-being. The main aim of this study was to examine the role of courage, career adaptability, and professional readiness as protective factors toward life satisfaction and flourishing during the university-to-piece of work transition. These psychosocial resource could be useful to cope with the recent transformations of the labor market. The study involved 352 Italian university students (M = 100; F = 252), aged from 21 to 29 years (M = 23.57; SD = two.37), attending the final year of their degree course. The results of the mediation analysis showed that backbone plays a mediating role between career transition readiness and career adaptability, on 1 manus, with well-being indicators as outcomes. The results are discussed, providing some suggestions on practical implications for career interventions to support higher students during the academy-to-piece of work transition.

... Backbone is defined as the will to act in club to achieve a goal with or without fear (Woodard & Pury, 2007) and also as the perpetuation of attempt despite the subjective feeling of fright (Norton & Weiss, 2009). According to Charge per unit et al. (2007), there are four primary features of a courageous behavior: (1) intentionality of the action; (2) deliberation; (two) coping with warning, risk, or obstacles; (three) a noble or worthwhile purpose. ...

This study examined the relationships amongst courage, strategies of coping with career indecision, and future orientation in a sample of high school students. A total of 460 Greek adolescents from provincial cities participated in the study. The results indicated that courage indirectly predicted future orientation through productive coping strategies. The main conclusion refers to the fact that specific interventions could promote productive coping strategies and backbone, which in turn, may foster the future orientation of adolescents to construct multiple positive occupational pathways, coping with various career and life decisions and, overall, orient themselves positively toward the future.

... Courage is multifaceted. 180 Courage which is also known as fortitude is a quality that everybody wants, it is an attribute that contributes to skillful character and tends to enhance a person's ability to earn the respect of others. The Free Dictionary defines courage as "The state or quality of heed or spirit that enables i to face danger, fright, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery" 181 • Physical courage. ...

  • Olutayo Kadmiel Osunsan Olutayo Kadmiel Osunsan

"It is of import to sympathise that corruption undermines the legitimacy of any government, it destroys people's lives and practically enslaves even the most talented and gifted". This volume challenges the reader to aspire to exist a solution to the problems in contemporary society. It focuses on the reinvention of the African identity.

The fact that the concept of courage does not find enough importance in the educational sciences literature and that both concepts courage and critical thinking are considered important in grooming teachers constitutes the motivation that reveals this research. In this inquiry, the courage and critical thinking tendencies of pre-school and elementary schoolhouse teachers were examined. Research was a descriptive study designed in relational screening. In this way, it was aimed to reveal the existing situation. The study group of the research were consisted of teacher candidates studying in Dokuz Eylül University Primary School Teacher Training and Pre-School Teacher Training Program in 2015-2016 academic yr. "California Critical Thinking Trends Calibration" translated into Turkish by Kökdemir (2003) and "Sports Courage Scale" adult by Konter and Ng (2012) were used equally data collection tools. According to the findings obtained, a significant relationship was plant between sports courage and critical thinking dispositions; it was concluded that sports courage is a significant predictor of critical thinking disposition and that teacher candidates with high sports courage level have significantly higher critical thinking disposition than those with low sports courage level.

  • Matt Howard Matt Howard

Social courage behaviors are risky actions performed primarily for the benefit of others, and they relate to many beneficial personal (e.1000., well-being) and organizational (e.g., performance) outcomes. Much is unknown virtually social courage antecedents, however, and only initial studies have assessed the ability of relevant theory to explain the dynamics of social backbone. Nosotros address these concerns in two manners. We report the HEXACO dimensions every bit antecedents to social courage behaviors, and we use the arroyo/abstention framework to exam whether approach and avoidance motivations are mediators of these relationships. Our results demonstrate that five of the 6 HEXACO dimensions had either directly or indirect effects on social courage, just honesty-humility surprisingly did non demonstrate meaning direct or indirect effects. Approach just not abstention motivations served every bit a mediator in four of these five significant relationships, in which ii were full mediating effects. These results identify novel antecedents of social courage and back up that the approach/avoidance framework is useful in identifying mediating effects. At the same time, this framework did not fully explain all observed effects, and we provide many recommendations for future inquiry on social courage and the integration of relevant theory – both involving the applied frameworks and beyond.

A conceptual distinction between social and existential backbone is advanced. Social courage is divers as risk-taking in pursuit of socially valued goals. Existential backbone is the learned capacity to brand self-divers appropriate choices, to express self-defined advisable emotions independent of, despite, or in opposition to survival or social cost motivation. Development of a Likert-type scale outlines constituent values of social and existential courage.

  • Salvatore R. Maddi Salvatore R. Maddi

Existential psychologists emphasize the ongoing search for meaning in life that involves us in the ubiquitous controlling process. Regardless of content, each determination involves choosing a hereafter, unfamiliar path, or repeating a past, familiar path. Although choosing the future is most consistent with standing to elaborate life's meaning, information technology also brings ontological anxiety, equally expressed in fright of dubiousness and possible failure. Consequently, existentialists believe that to choose the future regularly requires courage. Without courage, one may choose the by regularly, which stagnates the quest for significant. Hardiness, comprised of the attitudes of delivery (vs. breach), control (vs. powerlessness), and claiming (vs. security) is offered every bit an operationalization of existential courage. Hardiness has been shown in research to heighten performance and health, despite stressful changes, and to increase perceptions and deportment consequent with choosing the hereafter. Hardiness can now be assessed and trained to increase existential courage.

  • Cooper Woodard Cooper Woodard

The purpose of the nowadays study was to develop a measure of courage in social club to examine the human relationship between hardiness and physiological functioning, every bit hardiness has been proposed to buffer the physical furnishings of stress on the body. An empirically derived instrument that measures courage was constructed. A pool of potential scale items was administered to 200 college students and reduced to an optimal group. Iv chief factors were identified. An additional sample of 80 college students was administered the reduced Courage Calibration, the Personal Views Survey (S. Maddi, 1990), the Courage Scale (N. B. Schmidt & M. Koselka, 2000), and the Seriousness of Affliction Survey (A. R. Wyler, M. Masuda, & T. H. Holmes, 1968). Results indicated that there were relationships amongst these various measures. Even so, courage did non add to the corporeality of the variance of physiological health accounted for past hardiness. Possible uses of the Backbone Scale adult in the nowadays study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

  • Lewis R. Goldberg
  • Wayne F Velicer Wayne F Velicer

One goal of scientific discipline is to understand the relations amidst variables, and the object of factor assay is to aid scientists in this quest. Factor analysis can exist thought of as a variable-reduction procedure, in which many variables are replaced by a few factors that summarize the relations among the variables. Consequently, in its broadest sense factor assay is a procedure for identifying summary constructs. If one already has a theory about the structure of a set of variables, ane tin investigate the extent to which that theory accounts for the relations among the variables in a sample of data; "confirmatory" factor procedures are used for this purpose. "Exploratory" factor procedures, the subject of this chapter, are used to discover summary constructs when their nature is still unknown. In this chapter, we will nowadays some of the major features of exploratory factor assay as it is used in the context of personality enquiry. In so doing, we hope to answer some of the questions faced by the user when because the various options commonly available in factor programs, such every bit those constitute in the SPSS, SAS, and SYSTAT statistical packages. As we describe these decisions, we shall comment on the choices faced past the researcher, pointing out the available empirical studies that have evaluated the procedures and our own personal preferences. We accept included a short numerical example to illustrate the procedures that we are describing. This data set is based on a sample of 273 individuals responding to the eight-item short class of the Decisional Balance Inventory (DBI: Velicer, DiClemente, Prochaska, & Brandenberg, 1985), a measure of individuals' decision-making nigh a health-related behavior, in this example smoking cessation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

How courageous is an action? Perhaps it depends on the comparison grouping, with crucial differences between general courage, or actions that would exist courageous for anyone, and personal courage, or actions that are mettlesome simply for the particular actor. To explore these possible distinctions, 250 undergraduates (151 female) wrote about a time they acted courageously, then made multiple ratings of the action including personal and general courageousness. Deportment loftier in general courage were taken with more confidence, less fear, and fewer personal limitations: actions high in personal courage were taken with more fear, despite greater difficulty. Both ratings and narrative data support this primal distinction, which may increase the precision of future courage enquiry and have implications for treatment.

  • Daniel Putman

Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology 4.one (1997) i-eleven The virtue of courage exhibits different forms in man life. Types of backbone can be broadly differentiated in terms of the fright which must be faced and the goal to be attained. Ii forms of courage have been discussed at some length in the history of ethics. "Physical courage" is characterized by overcoming a fright of death or concrete harm. The goals to exist achieved by its exercise are traditionally defined by lodge or past the requirements of survival. The paradigmatic case is Aristotle's (1987) brave soldier who faces death to defend his urban center (1115a25-35). Another example would exist bravely defending self and family against a threat from nature such every bit a overflowing or dangerous carnivore. The 2nd form, "moral courage," as well has some allusions in Aristotle (1115a12-13; 1115b1-2), just Plato's portrayal of Socrates is in many ways the archetype for moral courage in Western philosophy. While Socrates is also said to have displayed concrete courage in defending Athens, it is his fearlessness in defending a deeply held greater moral good against society which has inspired untold numbers of Plato'south readers, from the Stoics to today'south students. In moral backbone the major fearfulness is loss of upstanding integrity or authenticity, but moral courage is besides tied to dealing with social disapproval (Martin 1986, ch. 4; Walton 1986). The person confronting her peer grouping over a racist joke displays moral backbone. In acting courageously the individual maintains moral integrity while at the same time overcoming the fear of being rejected by friends. Other examples abound: the whistle-blower facing ostracism from colleagues for calling attending to injustice in the workplace, or the Quaker or Buddhist protesting against a manufacturer of armaments. Examples of physical and moral courage oft overlap. Gandhi (also as Socrates) exhibited moral backbone while facing death, and a soldier in battle may accept to deal with peer rejection of his heroic deportment. However, the distinction, while imprecise, does speak usefully to quite different forms of courageous experience. In this paper I want to introduce a third form of courage about never discussed in the literature. Best called "psychological courage," it is a course of the virtue which millions of human beings have to possess and exercise on a regular basis. The fearfulness to exist faced is not usually that of concrete impairment, nor is it fear of social ostracism. Nor is loss of moral integrity a major concern. The fearfulness centers around a loss of psychological stability. I speak of the courage it takes to face up our irrational fears and anxieties, those passions which, in Spinoza'due south terms, hold u.s.a. in bondage. These tin range from habits and compulsions to phobias. Aristotle would have classified many of these under lack of temperance. A drinking habit or an irrational fear of open spaces reflects a lack of proper balance regarding the pleasures of life. But facing and working through these habits or anxieties can involve courage for several reasons. Starting time, to acknowledge the problem is to face the possibility of being stigmatized past society. In this sense psychological courage has some similarities to moral courage. Second, a peachy deal of pain, physical and psychological, can be involved in confronting the anxiety or changing the addiction, and the individual knows this beforehand. 3rd, and almost meaning to this grade of courage, the stability of...