What Is Fear? Fear is an emotion caused when one feels threatened or unsafe. Behavior and actions such as running away, hiding, crying, and even paralysis are commonly caused by fear. This emotion can be caused from something in the present future or past. When one experiences fear, it is usually because of something they learned or discovered that is new to them. This is called a rational fear. An irrational fear is called a phobia. Fear is quite similar to another emotion called anxiety, which is caused when the threat is thought to be unstoppable or unpreventable. Fear is necessary though, as it causes the one experiencing it to learn from it and act differently the next time the threat occurs, thus serving as a must-have for survival.
Why Do We Experience Fear?
Ryan P.
The enemy is
fear. We think it is
hate; but, it is
fear. -Ghandi
The amygdala are the parts of the brain that produces fear. They take in anything perceived as a threat, and send out the appropriate response. It takes in threats through inputs such as touch, sound, taste, sight, and pain. Some people have certain things happen to them, causing them to respond a certain way to threats. This is called fear conditioning. Fear conditioning is when one creates certain fears based on something they learned. For example, a study was put together in 1920 where psychologist John B. Watson called the “Little Albert experiment”. In it a 11 -month-old child with a phobia of dogs was “conditioned” to fear a white rat that was put in the laboratory with him. Over time, his fear grew, and he began to become afraid of other white and furry objects, such as dogs, rabbits, and cotton. Fear can also occur when one experiences a traumatic event, such as almost drowning, thus developing a phobia of water (aquaphobia).A major part of fear is the “fight-or-flight response”. This happens when the brain registers a threat and releases a discharge in the sympathetic nervous system to either fight the threat, or run away from it. The response has been studied in both humans and animals, both results being surprisingly similar.
The Fear System The fear system is what takes in threats and sends out responses. Certain parts of the brain control different parts of the fear system in our bodies. These six main parts are the amygdala, the brain stem, the hippocampus, the hypothalamus, the prefrontal cortex, and the thalamus. The amygdala, as previously mentioned, scans for threats and signals the body to respond. The brain stem triggers a behavior known as the “freeze response”. The “freeze response” is when the prey has almost been caught by the prey, causing the prey freezes up, pretending to be dead. The hippocampus produces the previously mentioned “fightor-flight” response. The hypothalamus tells the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline hormones, causing the body to make almost superhuman behaviors, such as strength and speed. The pre-frontal cortex takes the event happening and compares it to a similar event that happened in the past, possibly causing the person to avoid the threat. Finally, the thalamus takes in threats from all senses and decides whether to send the info to the sensory cortex, which acts as a conscious fear, or the amygdala.
Bibliography
"Fear." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
"Frightened Child Picture." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
"Parts of the Fear System Picture." Edutopia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
Ramirez, Ainissa G. "The Science of Fear." Edutopia. N.p., 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.