Definition
Two competing definitions underlie contemporary courage research. One, influenced by behaviorism and subsequent emotional theory, defines courage as approach despite fear. A second, influenced by philosophical accounts of virtue and implicit theory, defines courage as the voluntary pursuit of a noble goal taken despite risk to the actor.
Introduction
In addition to the two competing definitions of courage, this entry reviews different common subtypes of courage – physical, moral, and vital/psychological courage – as well as a distinction between courage as an accolade and courage as a process.
Definitions of Courage
Two different definitions of courage are common in the psychological literature: courage as approach despite fear and courage as noble action taken voluntarily and despite risk. Each definition and the consequences of it is described below.
Courage as Approach Despite Fear. Behavioral approaches to courage define it as approach despite...
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References
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Pury, C.L.S., Mulkey, A.A. (2016). Courage. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_498-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_498-1
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