Fear

Synonyms

Alarm response; Anxiety; Defensive state; Panic; Terror; Threat response

Definition and Summary

The term fear is colloquially used to denote the multifaceted experiential, behavioral, and physiological responses of human beings (and sometimes nonhuman animals) to perceived danger. Recently, authors in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Philosophy have argued that fear should be primarily used when referring to the emotional feeling experienced by humans whereas more precise terms such a defensive or aversive response be used for measurable fear responses. In this entry, conceptual issues are discussed in light of recent psychological and neurophysiological studies, and contemporary models of fear and defense are applied to the study of interindividual differences on dimensions of fearfulness and anxiety.

Introduction

When exposed to aversive or dangerous situations, most complex organisms display a cascade of adaptive responses that aim to cope with the perceived challenge and thus...