Since ancient times, people have considered courage to be a highly valued virtue. A person shows courage when they stand up for what they believe in. They might also put their own welfare on the line for others. We have talked about oppositional courage, before. This form of courage is especially potent because it requires taking risks and standing against the status quo. When someone takes a risk to stand up for others, it sends the other person a message of value. Mostly, it shows them that they were worth taking that risk. Often, when people demonstrate courage they hope that others will take notice and be empowered to do the same in the future.
But, recent research shows that this may not always be the case. In fact, when someone witnesses a colleague engaging in courageous behavior, they might speak negatively about that person instead. Why might this happen? It has to do with their own confidence. Learn more below.
Witnessing Courage Can Make You Feel Inferior
First, it’s important to discuss how someone might feel when they witness courage. In this study, the authors looked particularly at standing up for social justice. More specifically, they explored reactions to a White person standing up for racial justice. One potential feeling that may be activated when someone sees another person standing up for justice is moral inferiority. When someone stands up for what is right, it usually has to do with a moral or value that they hold. If a person witnesses a colleague courageously standing up for social justice, they might feel badly about themselves for not doing the same. This is called moral inferiority. In other words, the person witnessing the act might wonder why they weren’t moral enough to stand up for their colleague themselves.
In turn, people who feel morally inferior may want to shed these bad feelings quickly. To do so, they might choose to speak poorly about the person who showed courage. While it is counterintutive to think that someone might speak badly about someone who stands up for their colleague, if this act makes a person feel bad about themselves, they might. Making someone else feel bad is one way to make yourself look better in comparison.
Witnessing Courage Can Be Elevating
On the other hand, someone who witnesses courage can become morally elevated. A person is morally elevated when they feel uplifted. In contrast to moral inferiority, moral elevation is sort of a “warm, fuzzy” feeling that people get when they are inspired by others’ actions. In other words, someone might feel morally elevated by their coworkers’ act of courage because they admire that person and are happy to be their colleague. Interestingly, someone can be feel both morally elevated and morally inferior at once when witnessing someone stand up for social justice.
When someone feels morally elevated, they are likely to hype up their colleague and talk positively about them. Because they view their act as inspirational, they want to spread the word about their positive deeds. In this way, showing courage might encourage others to be courageous too!
What makes people feel elevated versus inferior?
This research finds that people who witness courage feel elevated instead of inferior when they have the confidence to display courage themselves. When people lack this confidence, they may feel inferior and have no way of making themselves feel better other than to degrade their courageous colleague. But, when people feel confident that they can display courage also, they may feel more inspired and uplifted by others’ acts.
Organizations can make sure that courage becomes contagious by increasing employees’ confidence to display courage at work. If organizations offer training on what courage is, and how to display it effectively, employees may feel more confident. Letting employees know that standing up for what’s right is expected and supported can also help. Do you have the confidence to show courage? If not, try reading our prior post to learn more about ways to stand up for others at work.
