Acceso usuarios
Cynthia L.S. Pury, Charles B. Starkey, Renee E. Kulik, Karen L. Skjerning, Emily A. Sullivan
Is it always good to be courageous? We have proposed elsewhere that the subjective nature of judging the worth of a goal may on occasion lead to bad courage: When an actor voluntarily assumes personal risk for a goal he or she believes is noble but society views as a wrong. Twenty publicly available first person written statements or transcripts made before or during a suicide attempt (n = 12) or a terrorist action or spree killing (n = 8) were coded for the presence or absence of key defining features of courage (Volition, Risk, and Value of the Goal). Volition was found in 75% of the narratives, Risk in 50%, and Value of the Goal in 80%. All three types of statements were present in 40% of narratives, providing evidence that bad courage can and does occur. Implications for courage interventions are discussed
