We have all witnessed heroes saving the day in books, movies and on TV. We know that people who act with courage and conviction, braving sometimes daunting odds and facing significant risk, are true heroes. Could you act the same way? Have you known people who would? Have you seen someone you know take a heroic stand?

At the Heroic Imagination Project, we believe that by understanding and practicing everyday heroic behavior, we increase our chances of acting heroically. So we’ve created a series of 4 lessons that take less than 30 minutes each, called the Hero Challenge.

Each lesson is comprised of provocative video clips and engaging explanations of what social psychology has recently discovered about heroic behavior. After 4 engrossing lessons, you will broaden your understanding of heroism, will have practiced heroic behavior, and will be better prepared to act heroically when the opportunity presents itself.

Today you’ll take the next step on the path toward heroism. You will learn to recognize situational influences which can interfere with your desire to do the right thing. If you understand these forces, you are more likely to be able to devise strategies for avoiding their effects.

Begin by watching Asch Conformity Experiment video below.

Interesting, wasn’t it? As you watched the video, did you have any judgments about the people in it? Now read about our first concept- one very strong situational force called “Fundamental Attribution Error,” illustrated by Solomon Asch in the experiment you just saw.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency for people to explain a person’s behavior because of his or her personal character instead of acknowledging the effect of external influences like the situation and larger system.

This is true even when people are explicitly told that the situation is the major contributing factor to a person’s behavior – they still jump to wrong conclusions. What’s more they usually base their judgment on what another person does in one particular situation.

The fundamental attribution error is called “fundamental” precisely because it’s so pervasive. Sometimes not saying anything seems like the best way to avoid conflict with, or “looking stupid” in front of, another person. Can you think of a time when you wanted to speak up or act, but didn’t? What would you do differently, if given another chance?

Think about this when you make an assumption about a person’s character based on a behavior. It’s a little bit like putting yourself in someone’s shoes, in the same situation. Ask yourself, “Why might a reasonable, rational person do this?”

Conforming to Group Norms

Most of us think that we are independent thinkers and that we will usually step up and speak out if something is clearly wrong. The Asch experiment clearly shows just how powerful the urge to conform really is. Conformity is a change in behavior in the direction of peer pressure – whether conscious or unconscious.

Group Norms are the result of that conformity – and they form quickly, as shown above. They’re important for maintaining social order – so they are not always bad – but are one influence that can lead us astray.

What we may also not realize is that they are at play even when we don’t think we’re in a group.

Watch and witness the power of the situation in the video below:

Bystander Effect

Hard to believe, isn’t it? But this phenomenon is very common in everyday life. It’s called the Bystander Effect.
The Bystander Effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people witnessing an emergency, the less likely it becomes that any of them will help a person in distress. And the longer the period of time during which no one acts, the stronger the pressure to do nothing becomes. A group norm – “do nothing” – quickly develops among those witnessing the event. People observe others not doing anything, so they start to feel that intervening is unnecessary or inappropriate. The failure of anyone to take action becomes the definition of the situation—in this place, at this time, Do Nothing!

Keep these concepts in mind that the next time you see a situation in which any of them applies. You may be the only one armed with the knowledge of Conformity, Group Norms and the Bystander Effect. What will you do?

Call to Action

Take a mental note of 3 situational influences you encounter in your life. How do you want to respond? These don’t have to be extreme situations; the point is to exercise and build your sensitivity and awareness about the power of situational and group forces.

Some examples might be: sitting amongst a group of friends and letting a racist comment go by; your team at work ignoring a risk or an error in order to please the boss or a client; or witnessing an elderly person to whom no one offers a seat on the bus.