Speaking up against wrongdoing can be difficult, but researchers say practicing ethical stances can make it easier. Psychologist Lynne Henderson teaches 'social fitness training,' where people rehearse morally challenging conversations in mock situations. This helps them identify their fears, challenge their assumptions about potential consequences, and build confidence to intervene in real life.
Practicing taking a stand makes it easier to do in real life.Speaking up in the face of wrongdoing can be a Sisyphean task, especially when others go silent or look the other way. Most of us tend to think of ourselves as, but when push comes to shove—when a supervisor orders you to let an interloper into secure accounts, or threatens you with demotion if you blow the whistle—it’s all too When people capitulate in situations like these, the issue isn’t usually that they have rotten values.
It’s that they’ve had little practice standing up for those values in real life. Just as someone with noexperience is more likely to freeze at the mic, someone who’s never resisted immoral demands may crumble when called on to do so. The good news, researchers say, is that taking an ethical stand becomes easier with practice. Psychologist Lynne Henderson teaches this art through an approach she calls “social fitness training.” Under Henderson’s guidance, people train for morally fraught moments by asserting themselves in mock situations like those they might face in real life. In social fitness workshops, people identify thoughts that hold them back from acting—“I might get fired if I out Clyde for his sketchy bookkeeping” or “If I call Lisa out fortack, Henderson encourages them to turn an impartial lens on these feared outcomes. What are the chances, she asks them, that the worst-case scenario will actually come to pass? And if the worst does happen, would speaking up still be worth it? Henderson’s goal isn’t to offer people rose-colored glasses, but to nudge them closer to reality. In questioning, she often finds people have overestimated the possible fallout of taking a moral stand. Once they realize this and start thinking through more likely scenarios, they feel more ready to intervene. Next, usually with a partner, participants rehearse the tough conversation they need to have. One person describes the ethical problem, another person might play the role of the intimidating boss or shady coworker, and they have several rounds of back-and-forth. This rehearsal helps people feel more confident about intervening in real life. “We did an intervention,” Henderson says, “where people were telling us by the end of the day, ‘I did it on the spot.’” You can do this kind of social fitness rehearsal as well—either in conversation with a friend or by writing out a dialogue where you play both the intervener and the person you’re confronting. The more you practice, the more bravery enters the realm of possibility. What’s more, taking a moral standThere’s been a fundamental shift in how we define adulthood—and at what pace it occurs. PT’s authors consider how a once iron-clad construct is now up for grabs—and what it means for young people’s mental health today.
Ethics ETHICS SOCIAL FITNESS RESILIENCE COMMUNICATION MORAL STAND
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