{"id":2683,"date":"2019-01-15T06:20:30","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T11:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/?p=2683"},"modified":"2022-03-17T16:45:21","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T20:45:21","slug":"the-deal-we-strike-with-our-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/2019\/01\/15\/the-deal-we-strike-with-our-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Deal We Strike With Our Heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The price of greatness is responsibility<\/em>.” – Winston Churchill<\/p>\n

Recently we posted a blog entry<\/a> that posed the question of whether we expect too much from our heroes.\u00a0 With so many heroes falling from grace in the past few years, we suggested the possibility that we hold them to too high a standard.\u00a0 We also offered some reasons why we might expect more virtuous behavior from heroes than we do from the average non-hero.<\/p>\n

One framework for understanding heroism involves looking at heroes and recipients of heroism as though they were two parties honoring a contractual arrangement.\u00a0 This mental contract we have with our heroes outlines an equitable “exchange” between the hero and their beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

Thus, whenever we assign the “hero” label to someone, we mentally enter into an implicit exchange relationship with them.\u00a0 The exchange relationship carries with it an unspoken agreement that we make with heroes, and it goes something like this:\u00a0 We agree to give heroes our adulation and support, but in return they must maintain an idealized image of human greatness.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our bargain with heroes can be described this way:\u00a0 \u201cYou [the hero] reflect what we want to see in ourselves. \u00a0But if you reflect the reality of us as people and a society, then you\u2019re just one \"\"<\/a>of us after all. \u00a0And therefore, you\u2019re no more special than we are and you have to come down from your pedestal and stand in the muck with the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

If a hero misbehaves, we consider it a breech of contract and we withdraw our admiration and support.\u00a0 We may also show considerable anger about the contract violation — witness the outrage directed toward Tiger Woods that still lingers to this day.\u00a0 A broken agreement can turn a hero into a villain rather quickly and easily. Prominent examples, besides Tiger, include Kevin Spacey, Lance Armstrong, and Joe Paterno.<\/p>\n

The idea that we enter into implicit agreements with the successful and powerful is not a new one.\u00a0 In 2005, psychologist David Messick published an article in which he proposed that an implicit contract exists between leaders and followers.\u00a0 The contract states that we\u2019ll let leaders lead us if they provide us with a vision, a sense of pride in the group, and group security and protection.\u00a0 In return, we\u2019ll give leaders our loyalty, effort, and support.<\/p>\n

We may have a similar implied agreement with celebrities and the rich.\u00a0 The terms of the unspoken agreement may be that we\u2019ll let famous celebrities have their fame and \"\"<\/a>wealth, and we may even become their fans, but only as long as they earn their affluence honestly, pay a higher percentage of taxes, behave well, and don\u2019t abuse their privileged status.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s most interesting about these implicit agreements is that highly successful people are either not aware of them, or they find it extremely difficult to honor them.\u00a0 Those of us among the lowly masses seem to be much more sensitized to these informal contracts with heroes.\u00a0 Maybe this is because we\u2019d much rather be a hero than a hero would want to be us.\u00a0 If we\u2019re going to put them up on an enviable pedestal, the least they can do is follow basic rules of common decency.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, after they\u2019ve fallen, former heroes know they violated the contract.\u00a0 Tiger Woods admitted as much.\u00a0 \u201cI knew my actions were wrong but I convinced myself that normal rules did not apply,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI ran straight through the boundaries that a married \"\"<\/a>couple should live by – I thought I could get away with everything I wanted to.\u00a0 I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. \u00a0I felt I was entitled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tiger\u2019s confession is consistent with the results of several psychological studies showing that the more power and success that people enjoy, the more they believe they don\u2019t need to play by the same rules as the rest of us.\u00a0 And yet it is when someone becomes a hero that we most<\/em> expect them to play by those rules.\u00a0 For this reason, maintaining one\u2019s heroic status may be just as challenging as becoming a hero in the first place.\u00a0 Ironically, one of the most common ways to become a villain is to become a hero first.<\/p>\n

All because of the deal we strike with our heroes.<\/p>\n

– – – – – – –<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals “The price of greatness is responsibility.” – Winston Churchill Recently we posted a blog entry that posed the question of whether we expect too much from our heroes.\u00a0 With so many heroes falling from grace in the past few years, we suggested the possibility that we hold … Continue reading The Deal We Strike With Our Heroes<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5444],"tags":[27473,27471,27472],"class_list":["post-2683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary-and-analysis","tag-bargain-with-heroes","tag-fallen-heroes","tag-price-of-greatness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phawtM-Hh","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2683"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5550,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2683\/revisions\/5550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}