| Philosophers have explored the concept of courage for centuries; however, empirical evidence is limited especially from a developmental perspective. The existing research focuses on understanding individuals' conceptualizations of a courageous action (e.g., fear, risk, worthiness) and examines characteristics of a courageous actor (e.g., sensation seeking, empathy, anxiety). This research is primarily carried out with adult participants; however, a few studies have explored these questions with children. The current study took a developmental approach investigating age-related differences in 92 school-age children's conceptions of courage, with a focus on the role of worthiness. In addition, relationships between self-reported dispositional courage and trait anxiety and sensation seeking tendencies were examined. Results revealed children's conceptions of courage, based on participant definitions, included components that paralleled those found in the adult research (i.e., action, overcoming fear, worthiness). Notably, children rated scenarios depicting action as well as those depicting worthiness as more courageous than scenarios revealing no action or an unworthy cause. Finally, self-reported thrill seeking behaviors significantly predicted dispositional courage. No age-related differences emerged from this study, despite previous findings by other researchers. Future research should examine direct and indirect socialization of courage across the lifespan. Research findings may contribute to the investigation of injury related risk-taking as well as character education programs. |
