Definition
Real or imagined objects or situations that elicit psychological, physiological, biomedical, and behavioral responses to protect an organism against perceived danger or threat.
Introduction
In Isaac Marks’ 1987 book Fears, Phobias, and Rituals: Panic, Anxiety, and Their Disorders, he described fear as an emotion produced following the perception of present or impending danger that leads an organism to avoid threat, has obvious survival value, and is normal in appropriate situations (Marks 1987). Fear reactions exist in humans and across animal species to protect or defend against present or anticipated threats in the environment. Fear is characterized by a number of psychological and physiological reactions and biomedical changes, occurring simultaneously or sequentially. These include visible behavioral expressions, such as freezing or fleeing, and accompanying psychological and physiological changes, such as feelings of terror,...
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References
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Dalili, M. (2016). Fears. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2988-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2988-1
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