Experts Look at What Causes Heroism

Sept. 21, 2001 -- Less than a month ago, a story about heroes appeared on the cover of a major weekly magazine. Its title: "They're Hard to Find." Its message: We are a nation without heroes.

Sept. 11, 2001, proved that story's experts wrong. Firefighters, police officers, rescue workers and ordinary citizens all risked their own lives for others, at times even losing them for the sake of strangers.

But why would someone — often with no training or expertise — re-enter a burning or collapsing building or risk getting buried to help others?

And what leads to such heroism as seems to have happened on United Flight 93, which crashed in rural Pennsylvania after a group of passengers apparently attacked armed terrorists?

Cause for Courage

"It's a very complex question. There is no single answer," says Samuel Oliner, a pre-eminent expert in altruism and professor of sociology at Humboldt State University in California. He says the strongest commonality is "a profound respect for human life."

"Across various heroes, one of the most important factors is empathy," he says.

Oliner says the stuff of heroes can also be compassion, physical and moral courage, self-esteem, confidence in the ability to prevail, impulsive and risk-taking behavior, spirituality and sensation seeking.

While psychologists have begun to seriously explore a biological basis for empathy, most psychologists, including Oliner, believe in a social and cultural explanation.

Ervin Staub, one of the foremost researchers in altruism, says the trait most often comes from early experience.

"If a child is socialized well to care about the welfare of others, treated with warmth and love, a child will feel good about himself and others," he says.

Staub explains that a key element in heroism is a strong role model, one who can "communicate the difference between right and wrong, not just saying what is right and what is wrong but demonstrate it."

Experts also look for a physiological explanation.

"Some of these people just naturally are thrill seekers," says Jennifer Taylor, a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital-Harvard Medical School. According to Taylor, the desire to be at the center of stressful situations is "part of their basic wiring, they get a real thrill or rush out of it."

In the case of those who become heroes, she says, "They just channel it into a way to help others."

In the Family Line

Taylor, whose father was a police officer in Brooklyn, says that for many individuals who choose professions that put their lives at risk for others, it's a family affair.

"Often you see generations of firefighters. There's a sense of responsibility to the public that is learned. … It can be said they never had a choice. Being a hero is just in their blood."

The passengers on Flight 93, whose actions may have saved many lives by preventing the plane from hitting a building, show that heroism obviously does not require a uniform, or even formal training.

"Courage depends very heavily on the situation," says Joseph Scotti, an award-winning professor of psychology at West Virginia University who counsels firefighters.

Scotti says that the acts of heroism on Flight 93 were likely inspired by the fact that the passengers knew they were going to die.

"It's amazing the choices make when people are placed into certain situations," says Scotti. "People don't go into situations thinking they are going to be heroes, they just have to do something."

But would we all act so courageously?

"The fact is," says Taylor, "a lot of people feel they are not equipped to help others." A lack of confidence or self-esteem is what prevents many from taking on danger for the welfare of others, she says.

"Or," says Taylor, "they may feel their own life is on danger."

For those who do react for the greater good, like the people on Flight 93, "It's a fight or flight reaction.

"If a person feels there is something they can fight against, that there's a chance they can help somebody and make a difference," says Taylor, "it's almost automatic. They don't stop to think. They are just impelled to do something."

Most importantly, she adds, they don't think of the act as "somebody else's job."