Cynthia Pury

I'm a Professor of Psychology at Clemson University. I specialize in the psychology of courage, which I define as taking a worthwhile risk. This definition highlights three important features of courageous actions: they are taken voluntarily, for goals that are seen as noble or valuable in some way, and despite a risk to the actor. Since the early 2000s, my research has centered on the ways in which these three features of courage can help people accomplish their goals as well as how individuals and groups view other people's actions as courageous, cowardly, or somewhere in between. My research highlights the individualistic nature of courage and the intersection of the individual and the situation.

I am the Editor in Chief for the forthcoming APA Handbook of Positive Psychology from the American Psychological Association, and an associate editor at the Journal of Positive Psychology.

Outside of work, I am an improviser with Alchemy Comedy in Greenville, South Carolina and am currently serving as our Education Director. In that role, I'm interested in the ways in which comedy intersects with courage and ways in which instructors of any leisure skill can (literally) encourage students.