Lady with a Cause  – by Marilynne  

 43” by 23” – 3-D assemblage – $ 785

Love, Duty and Instinct
Are you willing to die to safeguard someone you love? Members of the secret service charged with protecting the President pledge themselves to do just that. I doubt if they love the office holder, though they most likely have a sense of duty for their country and in that way justify their self-sacrifice.

How would your react if a car came barreling towards you while your child or grandchild was walking a few yards in front? Would you run to grab the youngster and protect him or her with your body even if it meant you would get hit, or would you move as fast as you can away from the impending impact to save yourself? I like to imagine (one never knows until it happens) that I would protect my child and willingly sacrifice my life for the one I love, but I wonder if I would do the same for a stranger? I do not feel as secure saying that I would act heroically and risk leaving my own children orphaned? However, it might be that in the crisis moment I would instinctually act the same way.

After the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting, psychologists who studied the reaction of theater goers learned that certain people reacted instinctually to protect someone else. Three of the victims died while shielding their girlfriends, and a young woman risked her life by not leaving the side of a friend who was wounded when she heroically stood to warn the audience of danger.

I wonder if these brave heroes responded out of love. Kate Waldman discussed a recent study published in PLOS ONE by Yale researchers who spoke to fifty-one men and woman who had received the Carnegie Hero Medal given to those who risk their lives to save a stranger. All of them claimed that they rescued first and reflected second when faced with their threatening decision. The study goes on to say that when people face a choice that permits time for reflection, they are less likely to be generous with themselves. Though upon consideration the person may eventually decide to act altruistically, unlike the hero, their response is not considered to be innate. After balancing risks and benefits of sacrifice their long-term strategy may not be totally selfless.

At Georgetown University research is currently being conducted around neural regions of the brain. Scientists have discovered a region of activation that processes pleasure when giving to charity. The study suggests that those who donate posses more empathy than those who do not. Researcher Abigail Marsh looked at nineteen people who had donated kidneys to strangers and compared them with twenty individuals who had not. It turned out that the amygdala, an area that monitors emotions, was 8 percent larger in the donor population.

In Altruism and the Holocaust by Jacqueline Macaulay and Leonard Berkowitz published in 1970 about gentiles willing to hide holocaust victims they write that those heroes possessed high self-esteem, a spirit of adventurousness and a willingness to tolerate danger. Their strong sense of community, as shown by frequent interactions with friends and family, led them to action.

There have also been studies demonstrating that in a crowd individuals are less likely to step forward to aide a stranger. I experienced this situation while wandering the floor of a New York trade show. At one booth I stopped to talk to a vendor and noticed his eyes suddenly turn up while his body slumped forward in slow motion. His skin paled and as he slipped to the floor he stopped breathing. A crowd quickly surrounded us. Not being trained in CPR, I shouted to the onlookers, seeking help from someone experienced. Though I asked several times, no-one came forward. Given the type of conference it was, I am sure that there were people in the audience who had been trained in CPR.

I had to act quickly and though uncomfortable with proceeding, I thought it was better to try to do something than just allow the man to die, so I started pumping his chest in a rhythmic way and hoped for the best. After about three minutes (feeling like an interminable 180 seconds), I perceived a violent thump in my hands as his heart restarted. By the time paramedics arrived his complexion had returned to normal and I knew he would live, so I walked away. I am not sure what made me act as I did, except for the fact that I was the one who happened to be talking to the man when he collapsed. If I had been in the crowd of bystanders, I probably would not have stepped forward.

What I have surmised is that heroes tend to be confident individuals who are not adverse to taking risks. Their response is instinctual and done without thought of recompense or material gain. They also have a great deal of empathy and compassion for those in need. Heroes usually are in good physical shape, and trust themselves to succeed, as in the case of a man who pulled a person back from a moving train. Altruists, in contrast, take time to analyze situations, weighing pros and cons before putting their lives on the line.

With training, people can learn to improve their reaction time and mind set to act heroically in emergencies. Navy Seals are an extreme example of men who have learned to respond quickly in dangerous situations. Physical and moral training from childhood on can increase the likelihood of creating a future hero.

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Interested in learning more about heroic actions? References follow:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/10/psychology_of_heroism_and_altruism_what_makes_people_do_good_deeds.html – Heroism vs. altruism. study by Yale researchers.

http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/a/the-psychology-of-heroism.htm- About traits of heroes.

http://psychology.about.com/od/the-psychology-of/a/characteristics-of-heroism.htm – traits of heroes.

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/01/everyday-heroes.aspx – Am. Psychological Journal article about heroism.

Jacqueline Macaulay; Leonard Berkowitz – Altruism and the HolocaustPublisher: New York, Academic Press, 1970 about holocaust heroism.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-the-garden-good-and-evil/201203/moral-courage-heroism-and-heroic-rescue – what it takes to do heroic acts.