Editing Hero (section)

== Psychology ==
[[Social psychology]] has begun paying attention to heroes and heroism.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Rusch | first1 = H. | year = 2022 | title = Heroic behavior: A review of the literature on high-stakes altruism in the wild | journal = Current Opinion in Psychology | volume = 43 | pages = 238–243 | doi=10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.07.024| pmid = 34454246 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Zeno Franco and [[Philip Zimbardo]] point out differences between heroism and altruism, and they offer evidence that observer perceptions of unjustified risk play a role above and beyond risk type in determining the ascription of heroic status.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Franco | first1 = Z. | last2 = Blau | first2 = K. | last3 = Zimbardo | first3 = P. | year = 2011 | title = Heroism: A conceptual analysis and differentiation between heroic action and altruism | journal = Review of General Psychology | volume = 5 | issue = 2| pages = 99–113 | doi=10.1037/a0022672| citeseerx = 10.1.1.366.8315| s2cid = 16085963 }}</ref>

Psychologists have also identified the traits of heroes. Elaine Kinsella and her colleagues<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Kinsella | first1 = E. | last2 = Ritchie | first2 = T. | last3 = Igou | first3 = E. | year = 2015 | title = Zeroing in on Heroes: A prototype analysis of hero features | journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume = 108 | issue = 1| pages = 114–127 | doi=10.1037/a0038463| pmid = 25603370 | hdl = 10344/5515 | url = https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/19829134 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> have identified 12 central traits of heroism, which consist of brave, moral integrity, conviction, courageous, [[self-sacrifice]], protecting, honest, selfless, determined, saves others, inspiring, and helpful. Scott Allison and George Goethals<ref>{{Cite book | last1 = Allison | first1 = S. T. | last2 = Goethals | first2 = G. R. | title = Heroes: What They Do & Why We Need Them | year = 2011 | publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 9780199739745 }}</ref> uncovered evidence for "the great eight traits" of heroes consisting of wise, strong, resilient, reliable, charismatic, caring, selfless, and inspiring. These researchers have also identified four primary functions of heroism.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Allison | first1 = S. T. | last2 = Goethals | first2 = G. R. | year = 2015 | title = Hero worship: The elevation of the human spirit | journal = Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour | volume = 46 | issue = 2| pages = 187–210 | doi=10.1111/jtsb.12094}}</ref> Heroes give us wisdom; they enhance us; they provide moral modeling; and they offer protection.

An [[evolutionary psychology]] explanation for heroic risk-taking is that it is a [[Handicap principle|costly signal]] demonstrating the ability of the hero. It may be seen as one form of [[altruism]] for which there are several other evolutionary explanations as well.<ref name=AEP1>Pat Barcaly. The evolution of charitable behaviour and the power of reputation. In {{Cite book | last1 = Roberts | first1 = S. C. | editor1-last = Roberts | doi = 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199586073.001.0001 | editor1-first = S. Craig | title = Applied Evolutionary Psychology | year = 2011 | publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 9780199586073 }}</ref><ref name=EEPS1>Hannes Rusch. High-cost altruistic helping. In {{Cite book | editor1-last = Shackelford | editor2-last = Weekes-Shackelford | doi = 10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1556-1 | editor1-first = T. K. | editor2-first = V. A. | title = Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science | year = 2016 | publisher = Springer| isbn = 9783319196510 }}</ref>

Roma Chatterji has suggested that the hero or more generally protagonist is first and foremost a symbolic representation of the person who is experiencing the story while reading, listening, or watching;<ref name=Chatterji>{{Cite journal|last=Chatterji|first=Roma|date=January 1986|title=The Voyage of the Hero: The Self and the Other in One Narrative Tradition of Purulia|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|issue=19|pages=95–114|doi=10.1177/006996685019001007|volume=19|s2cid=170436735}}</ref> thus the relevance of the hero to the individual relies a great deal on how much similarity there is between them and the character. Chatterji suggested that one reason for the hero-as-self interpretation of stories and myths is the human inability to view the world from any perspective but a personal one.

In the [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning book, ''[[The Denial of Death]]'', [[Ernest Becker]] argues that human civilization is ultimately an elaborate, symbolic defense mechanism against the knowledge of our mortality, which in turn acts as the emotional and intellectual response to our basic [[Anti-predator adaptation|survival mechanism]]. Becker explains that a basic duality in human life exists between the physical world of objects and a symbolic world of human meaning. Thus, since humanity has a dualistic nature consisting of a physical self and a symbolic self, he asserts that humans are able to transcend the [[dilemma]] of mortality through heroism, by focusing attention mainly on the symbolic self. This symbolic self-focus takes the form of an individual's "[[immortality]] project" (or "''[[causa sui]]'' project"), which is essentially a symbolic belief-system that ensures that one is believed superior to physical reality. By successfully living under the terms of the immortality project, people feel they can become heroic and, henceforth, part of something eternal; something that will never die as compared to their physical body. This he asserts, in turn, gives people the feeling that their lives have meaning, a purpose, and are significant in the grand scheme of things. Another theme running throughout the book is that humanity's traditional "hero-systems", such as [[religion]], are no longer convincing in the [[Age of Enlightenment|age of reason]]. Science attempts to serve as an immortality project, something that Becker believes it can never do, because it is unable to provide agreeable, absolute meanings to human life. The book states that we need new convincing "illusions" that enable people to feel heroic in ways that are agreeable. Becker, however, does not provide any definitive answer, mainly because he believes that there is no perfect solution. Instead, he hopes that gradual realization of humanity's innate motivations, namely death, may help to bring about a better world. [[Terror management theory|Terror Management Theory]] (TMT) has generated evidence supporting this perspective.