“what Makes a King out of a Slave? Courage!”
the Creation of a Social Courage Measure and
implications for Its Use in Organizations
Open Access
Author:
Howard, Matthew Caleb
Graduate Program:
Psychology
Degree:
Master of Arts
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
December 14, 2012
Committee Members:
James Lewis Farr, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Alicia Grandey, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Melvin Michael Mark, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Keywords:
Courage Scale Development Personality
Abstract:
Although courage is a concept with which almost everyone is likely familiar, little research into the construct has been performed, especially in the context of an organizational workplace. One potential reason for this may be the lack of an adequate measurement scale. Following a literature review of the various conceptualizations of courage, a specific dimension of courage which has particular benefits for organizations is identified – social courage. Six studies using multi-source data are presented. These studies create a psychometrically sound measure of social courage, and examine the newly created scale’s convergent, concurrent, and discriminant validity. Insights into future research needs and specific implications of social courage are discussed.
