Facing Fear with Courage: Psychometric and Behavioral Evidence of the Courage Measure (CM) in Poland

Abstract

The Courage Measure (CM), developed by Norton and Weiss (2009) has proved to be a significant predictor of a behavioral approach in a fear-eliciting situation. The current research project aimed to replicate this result, using a shortened version of the scale, whose psychometric superiority over the full version has been supported by previous studies. For this purpose, in Study 1 the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the CM (CM-PL) were analyzed; the results supported its unidimensional structure and measurement invariance across gender groups, as well as good internal consistency. Study 1 also provided preliminary evidence of the convergent, concurrent and divergent validity of CM-PL, showing its relation to resilience, grit, risk-taking and the Big Five personality traits. In Study 2, 31 participants with an elevated fear of spiders completed a behavioral approach test in which they moved ever closer to a display of taxidermied spiders. The results showed that the CM-PL significantly moderated the relationship between anxiety/distress and the behavioral approach, confirming its relation to real behavior. Overall, the results confirmed that CM-PL is a valuable measure that can be useful in scientific research and psychological practice (i.e., counseling and psychotherapy).