Fear is an emotional response to tangible and realistic dangers. An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours Fear should be distinguished from anxiety, an emotion that often arises out of proportion to the actual threat or danger involved, and can be subjectively experienced without any specific attention to the threatening object. Anxiety is a physiological and psychological state characterized by Cognitive, Somatic, Emotional and Behavioral components ^[1][2]

Most fear is usually connected to pain (e. g. , some fear heights because if they fall, they may suffer severe injury or even die upon landing). Behavioral theorists, like Watson and Ekman, have suggested that fear is one of several very basic emotions (e. John Broadus Watson ( January 9, 1878 &ndash September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological Paul Ekman (born 1934 is a Psychologist who has been a pioneer in the study of Emotions and their relation to Facial expressions He is considered one of An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours g. , joy and anger). Happiness is an Emotion associated with feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to Bliss and intense Joy. Anger is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage Fear is a survival mechanism, and usually occurs in response to a specific negative stimulus.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Varieties 3 Causes 4 Characteristics 4.1 Behavioral 4.2 Physiological 5 Neurobiology 6 In Religion 6.1 Fear of death 7 Moral and legal issues 8 Death from fear 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

Etymology

The Old English term fǣr meant not the emotion engendered by a calamity or disaster but rather the event itself. The first recorded usage of the term "fear" with the sense of the “emotion of fear” is found in a medieval work written in Middle English and composed around 1290. The most probable explanation for the change in the meaning of the word fear is the existence in Old English of the related verb fǣran, which meant “to terrify, take by surprise. ”^[3]

Varieties

Serious fear is a response to some formidable impending peril, while trifling fear arises from confrontation with inconsequential danger.

Fear can be described by different terms in accordance with its relative degrees. Personal fear varies extremely in degree from mild caution to extreme phobia and paranoia. Phobias Phobias (in the clinical meaning of the term are the most common form of Anxiety disorders An American study by the National Institute of Mental Health Paranoia is a disturbed thought process characterized by excessive Anxiety or Fear, often to the point of Irrationality and Delusion. Fear is related to a number of emotional states including worry, anxiety, terror, fright, paranoia, horror, panic (social and personal), persecution complex and dread. A well accepted theory of anxiety originally posited by Liebert and Morris in 1967 suggests that Anxiety consists of two components worry and emotionality Anxiety is a physiological and psychological state characterized by Cognitive, Somatic, Emotional and Behavioral components Paranoia is a disturbed thought process characterized by excessive Anxiety or Fear, often to the point of Irrationality and Delusion. The distinction between horror and terror is a standard literary and psychological concept applied especially to Gothic literature and film (Radcliffe 1826 Varma 1966 Crawford For psychological condition see Panic attack Panic is a sudden Fear which dominates or replaces thinking and often affects groups of A persecution complex is a term within psychological discourse afforded to an array of complex behaviours that specifically deal with the Perception of being persecuted

Fears may be a factor within a larger social network, wherein personal fears are synergetically compounded as mass hysteria. A social network is a Social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency such as Mass hysteria, also called collective hysteria, mass psychogenic illness, or collective obsessional behavior, is the sociopsychological

• Paranoia is a term used to describe a psychosis of fear, described as a heightened perception of being persecuted, false or otherwise. Paranoia is a disturbed thought process characterized by excessive Anxiety or Fear, often to the point of Irrationality and Delusion. This degree of fear often indicates that one has changed their normal behavior in radical ways, and may have become extremely compulsive. Sometimes, the result of extreme paranoia is a phobia.

• Distrust in the context of interpersonal fear, is sometimes explained as the inward feeling of caution, usually focused towards a person, representing an unwillingness to trust in someone else. Distrust is a Formal way of not trusting any one Party too much in a situation of grave Risk or deep Doubt. Trust is a relationship of reliance A trusted party is presumed to seek to fulfill policies, ethical codes Law and their previous promises Distrust is not a lack of faith or belief in someone, but a feeling of warning towards someone or something questionable or unknown. For example, one may "distrust" a stranger who acts in a way that is perceived as "odd. " Likewise one may "distrust" the safety of a rusty old bridge across a 100 ft drop. Safety is the state of being "safe" (from French sauf) the condition of being protected against physical social spiritual financial political

• Terror refers to a pronounced state of fear - which usually occurs before the state of horror - when someone becomes overwhelmed with a sense of immediate danger. The distinction between horror and terror is a standard literary and psychological concept applied especially to Gothic literature and film (Radcliffe 1826 Varma 1966 Crawford Also, it can be caused by perceiving the (possibly extreme) phobia. As a consequence, terror overwhelms the person to the point of making irrational choices and non-typical behavior.

Fear can also affect the subconscious and unconscious mind, most notably through nightmares. A nightmare is a Dream which causes a strong unpleasant emotional response from the sleeper typically fear or horror being in situations of extreme danger or the sensations

Fear can also be imagined, and the side effects can also be imagined.

Causes

Although fear is an innate response, objects of fear can be learned. This has been studied in psychology as fear conditioning, beginning with Watson's Little Albert experiment in 1920. Fear conditioning is the method by which organisms learn to fear new stimuli The Little Albert experiment was an experiment showing Empirical Evidence of Classical conditioning in humans In this study, an 11-month-old boy was conditioned to fear a white rat in the laboratory. In the real world, fear may also be acquired by a traumatic accident. For example, if a child falls into a well and struggles to get out, he or she may develop a fear of wells, enclosed spaces (claustrophobia) or of water (aquaphobia). Claustrophobia (from Greek κλειστο closed is the fear of enclosed spaces Aquaphobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of water Aquaphobia is a Specific phobia that involves a level of fear that is beyond the patient's control or that may interfere

Researchers have found that certain fears (e. g. animals, heights) are much more common than others (e. g. flowers, clouds). They are also much easier to induce in the laboratory. This phenomenon has been called preparedness. In psychology preparedness is a concept developed by Martin Seligman (1971 to explain why certain associations are learned more readily than others Physiologically, the fear response is linked to activity in the amygdala of the limbic system. The la amygdalae ( Latin, also la corpus amygdaloideum, singular la amygdala, from Greek el αμυγδαλή grc-Latn amygdalē, 'almond' The limbic system, or Paleomammalian brain is a term for a set of brain structures including the Hippocampus and Amygdala and anterior thalamic nuclei and a limbic

The experience of fear may also be influenced by social norms and values. In the early 20th century, many people feared polio, a disease which cripples the body part it affects, leaving the body part immobilized for the rest of one's life. Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral Infectious disease spread from person to person primarily via

Characteristics

Behavioral

In fear, one may go through various emotional stages. The Scream ( Skrik, 1893-1910 is a seminal series of expressionist Paintings by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch Edvard Munch (mʉŋk December 12, 1863 – January 23, 1944) was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, Printmaker A good example of this is the cornered rat, which will try to run away until it is finally cornered by its predator, at which point it will become belligerent and fight back with heavy aggression until it either escapes or is captured. Rats are various medium sized long-tailed Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea

The same goes for most animals. Humans can become very intimidated by fear; causing them to go along with another's wishes without caring about their own input. Intimidation (also called cowing) is intentional behavior "which would cause a person of ordinary sensibilities" fear of Injury or Harm. They can also become equally violent, and can even become deadly; it is an instinctive reaction caused by rising adrenaline levels rather than a consciously thought-out decision. Instinct is the inherent disposition of a living Organism toward a particular Behavior. This is why in many cases the full penalty cannot be made in cases of the court of law. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its

The facial expression of fear includes the following components:

• One's eyes widen (out of anticipation for what will happen next)
• The pupils dilate (to take in more light)
• The upper lip rises
• The brows draw together
• Lips stretch horizontally.

Physiological

The physiological effects of fear can be better understood from the perspective of the sympathetic nervous responses (fight-or-flight), as compared to parasympathetic response, which is a more relaxed state. The fight-or-flight response', also called the fright, fight or flight response, hyperarousal or the acute stress response, was first

• muscles used for physical movement are tightened and primed with oxygen in preparation for a physical fight or flight response.

• perspiration occurs due to blood being shunted from body's viscera to the peripheral parts of the body. In Anatomy, a viscus (ˈvɪskəs ( Plural: viscera /ˈvɪsərə/ is an internal organ of an animal (including humans in particular an internal Blood that is shunted from the viscera to the rest of the body will transfer, along with oxygen and nutrients, heat, prompting perspiration to cool the body.

• when the stimulus is shocking or abrupt, a common reaction is to cover or otherwise protect vulnerable parts of the anatomy, particularly the face and head.

• when a fear stimulus occurs unexpectedly, the victim of the fear response could possibly jump or give a small start.

• the person's heart rate and heartbeat may increase.

Fear is the flip side of anger in the inbuilt human 'fight or flight' response. Many people feel the effects of fear on a day to day basis in the workplace through the stress of a modern working environment. This fear has a direct correlation to one's working efficiency and has been crystallised into a chart through an ongoing linear study in Bristol. The fear-o-meter shows the range of emotions caused by the latent fear that a significant workload and impending deadline can create. Whilst one's ability to work effectively diminishes as the level of fear increases, productivity on the other hand increases exponentially as the impending deadline approaches. For example, a student might fail to start an essay until the level of fear reaches 5 or above, choosing to either go out or perform menial tasks until the fear has increased to the required level.

0. Satisfaction
1. Ennui
2. Despondency
3. Anxiety
4. Fear / Vexed
5. Despair / Anger
6. Apathy / Rage
7. Terror / Apoplectic

Neurobiology

The amygdala is a key brain structure in the neurobiology of fear. The la amygdalae ( Latin, also la corpus amygdaloideum, singular la amygdala, from Greek el αμυγδαλή grc-Latn amygdalē, 'almond' It is involved in the processing of negative emotions such as fear and anger. Researchers have observed hyperactivity in the amygdala when patients who were shown threatening faces or confronted with frightening situations. Patients with more severe social phobia showed a correlation with increased response in the amygdala. ^[4] Studies have also shown that subjects exposed to images of frightened faces or people of another race exhibit increased activity in the amygdala.

The fear response generated by the amygdala can be mitigated by another brain region known at the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, located in the frontal lobe. In a 2006 study by Columbia University, researchers observed that test subjects experienced less activity in the amygdala when they consciously perceived fearful stimuli than when they unconsciounsly perceived fearful stimuli. In the former case, they discovered the rostral anterior cingulate cortex activates to dampen activity in amygdala, granting the subjects a degree of emotional control. ^[5]

Suppression of amygdala activity can also be achieved by pathogens. Rats infected with the toxoplasmosis parasite become less fearful of cats, sometimes even seeking out their urine-marked areas. Toxoplasmosis is a Parasitic disease caused by the Protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. This behavior often leads to them being eaten by cats; the parasite then reproduces within the body of the cat. ^[6] There is evidence that the parasite concentrates itself in the amygdala of infected rats.

In Religion

Fear of death

Some psychologists have addressed the hypotheses that fear of death may motivate one’s basic religious commitment, and on the other hand, may be allayed by some but not all religious orientations due to the religion's assurances about afterlife. ^[7] The empirical experiments have been equivocal: According to Herman Feifel, those with religious beliefs had more fear of death than the nonreligious; Wendell M. Swenson's experiment showed otherwise and Adolph F. Christ found that there is no relation between the two. ^[7] According to Richard D. Kahoe and Rebecca Fox Dunn, John Hinton's finding might resolve the differing results:"The ten per cent of the subjects who were most firm in their faith and attended religious services weekly were the least afraid of dying, but those who held a loose religious faith were the most anxious, with the nonreligious being intermediate in death anxiety". ^[7] Furthermore, a survey made by Richard D. Kahoe and Rebecca Fox Dunn among various Christian denominations showed a positive correlation between fear of death and dogmatic adherence to the religious doctrine. Furthermore, some religious orientations were more effective than others in allaying that fear. ^[7]

Moral and legal issues

Fear may be a consideration in determining the wrongness of acts, in some views. Actions done under stress of fear, unless of course it be so intense as to have dethroned reason, are accounted the legitimate progeny of the human will, or are, as the theologians say, simply voluntary, and therefore imputable. The reason is obvious; such acts lack neither adequate advertence nor sufficient consent, even though the latter be elicited only to avoid a greater evil or one conceived to be greater. Inasmuch, however, as they are accompanied by a more or less vehement repugnance, they are said to be in a limited and partial sense involuntary.

Since fear diminishes freedom of action, contracts entered into through fear may be judged invalid; similarly fear sometimes excuses from the application of the law in a particular case; it also excuses from the penalty attached to an act contrary to the law. The cause of fear is found in oneself or in a natural cause (intrinsic fear) or it is found in another person (extrinsic fear). Fear may be grave, such for instance as would influence a steadfast man, or it may be slight, such as would affect a person of weak will. In order that fear may be considered grave, certain conditions are requisite: the fear must be grave in itself, and not merely in the estimation of the person fearing; it must be based on a reasonable foundation; the threats must be possible of execution; the execution of the threats must be inevitable. Fear, again, is either just or unjust, according to the justness or otherwise of the reasons which lead to the use of fear as a compelling force. Reverential fear is that which may exist between superiors and their subjects. Grave fear diminishes willpower but cannot be said to totally take it away, except in some very exceptional cases. Slight fear (metus levis) is not considered even to diminish the will power, hence the legal expression "Foolish fear is not a just excuse. "

Death from fear

Research conducted at the University of California, San Diego and published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that deaths attributed to heart mortality increase under psychological stress, particularly terror. The University of California San Diego (popularly known as UC San Diego or UCSD) is a public Research university in San Diego, California ^[8] Otherwise healthy people have been known to be "scared to death," that is, to suddenly die under extreme fear or emotional trauma. People of all ages have died from fright brought on by everything from earthquakes to amusement-park rides. ^[9][10]

While the mechanism is not fully understood, it is believed that sudden death can occur from cardiac arrhythmia brought on by a terrifying event. Dysrhythmia redirects here For the American band see Dysrhythmia (band. ^[9] While the otherwise instinctual flight-or-fight response, which prepares the body for impending danger, is countered by the parasympathetic nervous system when the danger has passed, in certain cases an excessive response can damage the heart enough to kill. The fight-or-flight response', also called the fright, fight or flight response, hyperarousal or the acute stress response, was first The parasympathetic Nervous system ( PSNS) is a division of the Autonomic nervous system (ANS along with the Sympathetic nervous system ^[10][9]. A German study has found that fear can make blood clot and increase the risk of thrombosis^[11].

See also

References

Further reading

• Joanna Bourke (2005), Fear: a cultural history, Virago
• Corey Robin (2004), Fear: the history of a political idea, Oxford University Press
• Duenwald, Mary. Joanna Bourke (born 1963 in New Zealand) is a Historian and professor of history at Birkbeck University of London. Corey Robin is an American liberal political theorist Journalist and professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center "The Psychology of . . . Facial Expressions" Discovery Magazine Vol. 26 NO. 1
• Krishnamurti, J. (1995), On Fear, Harper Collins, ISBN 0-06-251014-2

External links

• Freedom from Fear: Taking Back Control of Your Life and Dissolving Depression: a book review. This book is about depression: how to avoid it, how to recover from it and in particular, the role that fear plays in it.
• Quotations on Fear
• The Smell of Fear, a Research Study
• Catholic Encyclopedia "Fear (in Canon Law)"
• Catholic Encyclopedia "Fear (from a Moral Standpoint)"
• How Stuff Works - Fear
• Fearless News - An online community collecting statistics on fear in mass media
• Transcending Fear Organization - educational organization dedicated to fear education
• Neurobiology of Fear

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