Conceptualizing courage.

Abstract

C ourage is difficult to operationalize but not hard to find. Acts of courage are often easy to recognize, but exactly what makes an act courageous is less obvious. It can reflect extraordinary acts in extraordinary circumstances (thus rendering it a rare occurrence), or it can occur in more common place situations, reflecting subjective perceptions of risk (Pury, Kowalski, & Spearman, 2007).In Plato's Laches, written more than 2,000 years ago, Socrates discusses the nature of courage with the Athenian generals Nicias and Laches. They consider a range of potentially courageous actions, then focus on intellectual qualities and endurance in their respective views of courage. Likewise, we begin with a discussion of the range of common types of courageous action, then discuss the shared features common among all forms of courage. Finally, we discuss the implications of these distinct and common features for existing and future measures of courage. CASE STUDYFaye is a 34-year-old client from a major metropolitan area. She is in a significant long-term relationship with a live-in boyfriend and has a well-paying career she enjoys. Furthermore, she has an 8-month history with a clinic due to panic attacks; she often has one or two full-blown attacks per day. She also