ABSTRACT
Hero is a term that often used in Indonesia. Heroes refer to a person because of courage, strength, sacrifice and ability to overcome problems. Some research on heroes in the perspective of psychology has been widely practiced in the West. However, hero in the perspective of psychology in Indonesia is still rarely investigated. This study aims to explore who and what characteristics of heroes by students. Research was using indigenous psychology approach by providing an open ended question. The responses were coded, categorizationed, and analyzed which were using qualitative and quantitative analysis. Participants in the study were 300 students of UIN Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Indonesia. The result shows that participants considered the hero who are parent (64.3%), national leaders/community (17.3%) and teachers (16.7%). The analysis shows there are eight categories of heroes characteristics, which are dominant (24.67%), caring (19%), charismatic (13%), inspiring (11.67%), resilient (9.66%), selfless (9%), teaching (8.67%) and reliable (4.33%). The implications of this research will be discussed in the context of Indonesian culture.