Nancy Zarse (Author, Narrator), The Great Courses, "Survival Mentality: The Psychology of Staying Alive"

Have you ever wondered how you could possibly survive a physical assault or imagined what you would do if someone followed you in a dark parking lot? Most likely you have - it's human nature to wonder. Most of us never get past those theoretical questions because we just don't want to think about it. But what if we did? In Survival Mentality: The Psychology of Staying Alive, you'll learn how to prepare now to give yourself the very best chance of surviving a life-threatening emergency.

When we hear about someone surviving a great challenge, we often hear that the person "rose to the occasion". But in fact, psychologists find that people do not rise to the occasion. In moments of terror, people revert to their lowest level of training and preparation. Knowing that, the trick is to bring up your "lowest level" by continually improving your training and preparation, practicing for survival now, and building the resilience that will sustain you in times of adversity.

In this course, you'll learn to identify and strengthen specific psychological factors to give yourself the best possible chance of survival, no matter what type of critical incident you face. Among other elements, Professor Zarse discusses the importance of internal locus of control, identifying and acting on instincts, managing emotions, and understanding the power of your capabilities.

In Survival Mentality: The Psychology of Staying Alive, you'll not only explore survival skills and strategies, but you'll also hear the stories of individuals who used those techniques to survive real-world situations. Through the details of their stories, Professor Zarse helps you identify the psychological factors that served them best.

Many of the survivors that are discussed in this course had no specific survival training, but their life experiences had helped them build significant psychological strengths. These survivors had what it took. In this course, you'll learn that you, too, can build what it takes to survive in a crisis.