An experimental analysis of fearlessness and courage

In an attempt to assess the performance under stress of people who had received awards for gallantry, the subjective, behavioural and psychophysiological reactions of a group of seven decorated bomb-disposal operators were measured during a conflict test. Compared to a group of seven equally experienced and successful, but non-decorated, bomb-disposal operators, the decorated subjects maintained a lower cardiac rate when making difficult discriminations under threat of shock. There were no differences between the groups on subjective reactivity or on their performance under stress. Both groups of bomb-disposal operators reported having experienced fewer fearful reactions than did a small number of comparison subjects. The implications of the results for theories of fear and of courage are considered.