Why We Need Heroes

Everybody has a hero.

Even if we may not consciously pick one, on a subconscious level we have all followed role models and behavioural examples set by those whom we admire, whether it’s our parents, a favourite sports or pop star, a fictional character or a historical figure.

In fact, our need for heroes is so intrinsic to our human nature that you could almost say that we could not have survived as a species without role models.

And there’s even a solid biological basis for that. 

Image: Shutterstock

Humans, like most primates, have a tendency to learn by copying: if we see someone doing something and succeeding at it, we will copy the action without testing it beforehand.

Although it may seem simple, this is an advanced evolutionary mechanism of adaptation called “cognitive imitation”, which speeds up our learning by skipping the time-consuming process of trial and error.

But this mechanism also means that, on a psychological level, we need to be given examples in order to advance and evolve in our development. In fact, the human psyche seems to be wired to learn this way.

Our brains are designed to copy what we see around us.

Neuroscientists have found that the human brain presents specialised sensory-motor cells called “mirror neurons” which capture and retain specific physical actions (eg, a smile), and activate when we see these actions performed.

These neurons make possible our ‘imitative behaviour’ and seem to have developed during our evolution as part of our social learning mechanism, being crucial in the development of mother-child bonding, our social adaptation and assimilation within a group and, ultimately, are fundamental to our survival as a species.

On a psychological level, our innate ability to imitate certain behaviours may be due to what psychology researchers Michael Brown and Linda Treviño, from Penn State University, call ‘vicarious reinforcement’, a mental process in which we model our actions on the behaviours that we see rewarded in others.

But, in spite of the subconscious nature of this ability, establishing and retaining the influence of vicarious reinforcement is not so simple.

According to Brown and Treviño, we require good role models in infancy, later on a mentor, and an environment where we can observe these conducts in practice in order to install and enforce a behaviour from infancy to adulthood.

Children who start life having good role models but later on don’t find a mentor, or become inserted in an environment that reward different attitudes, will change their moral set in order to adapt to that environment.

This goes along with the concept of how our mirror neurons work, constantly adapting themselves, copying the actions from our environment that have the highest rate of success for our survival.

Therefore, it’s not only important to have a good role model as a child, but to have sustained models during our development and a supporting environment that may enforce these values.

No matter how independent and self-sufficient we may think we are, we all need someone to look up to, someone to inspire us and lead the way, become a model of behaviour and achievement.

Heroes represent and uphold the values we hold dear and are a beacon of strength in times of doubt. Heroes show us that certain things are possible even when all odds are against us.

However, heroes also go along our collective sense of what should be admired. Thus, people who are considered as role models to follow at a certain time may fall out of favour at a different era.

In fact, few heroes stand the test of time to remain role models generation after generation.

Our heroes may also change through our lives, depending on our needs. Thus, the heroes we followed when we were children will probably not accompany us to the end of our teens, simply because we no longer identify with them.

When we are children, our heroes tend to embody our enthusiastic expectations of what our future will be. However, as we grow older we develop a deeper sense of the challenges that life can pose, and our heroes usually become those who have overcome struggles similar to ours and have thrived in spite of them, or those who have sacrificed themselves for the well-being of others.

Toy manufacturers have long tapped on children’s needs for role models, hitting the market with new options that may represent the approved social paradigm of the moment.

Only in the last decade the options have expanded dramatically for girls, presenting iconic figures of sportswomen, scientists, artists, historical figures, etc.

Sadly, the options for boys still seem to be restricted to military/war heroes, sport stars and pop stars, leaving a vacuum that some may find hard to fill.

It’s important to provide children with a wide range positive role models: characters, both real and imaginary from all walks of life, who represent the best values and human qualities, and that may have the ability to inspire and convince.

Children and teenagers are at the highest risk of copying wrong models or losing the way in their choice of an example to follow because their personalities are still under formation, their brains are still developing, they are still testing themselves and their environments, and their psyches are fragile.

Although teens may be as capable as adults at the cognitive level, their frontal cortex - the one in charge of taking decisions and modulate our responses, keeping ourselves out of trouble- is still developing, making them highly volatile and impressionable.

Thus, it’s no surprise that comic books creators, and film and video game makers have amassed fortunes serving heroes and heroic fantasies to this particular market.

But, if anything, more than cartoon heroes, teens have the greatest need for real, attainable role models, and credible heroes to look up to.

Heroes are not only caped crusaders or mythical swashbucklers who pop up from books and TV screens. A hero may be someone from our own community whom we admire and relate to, someone we can trust with eyes closed, someone who guides us or helps us selflessly. 

Whether real or fictional, from our own community or from far away, alive or already gone, our role models and heroes not only impact how we see ourselves, but also how others perceive us.

We all need heroes in our lives because we all need inspiration and hope.

At their core, our heroes reveal our dreams and expectations, the qualities and values we respect and admire, and the kind of humans we aspire to be.

We all need heroes to know that our aspirations are possible, that are dreams can become true, that what we honour and admire is still alive.

Who’s your hero?

To Learn More...

If you need inspiration to pick a heroine or role model, check out our list of the 20 Most Remarkable Women in History:
Part I: https://acc-2.blogspot.com/2017/04/20-remarkable-women-in-history.html
Part II: https://acc-2.blogspot.com/2017/04/20-remarkable-women-in-history-2.html

If you’re interested in learning more about the science behind role models, you can read the abstract of the excellent paper by Michael Brown and Linda Treviño here:
Brown, M.E., & Trevino, L.K. (2013). Do role models matter? An investigation of role modeling as an antecedent of perceived ethical leadership. Journal of Business Ethics.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-013-1769-0


Sources: New Scientist, Psychology Today, Britannica.com