How Does Fear Affect Humans?

Fear is a common human emotion, but the way some people react is different than others. Although, it is harder on some humans unlike other people. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,” Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” I think that means that fear harms more people than anything else does in the whole world. Also that people can scare themselves way easier than normal and it’s not healthy.

Sue Miley once said, “When we combine choices with fear, we suddenly become overwhelmed and paralyzed” (Miley). Fear is a powerful emotion that can heavily impact one’s decision whether it be for the good or bad. In The Crucible, many important decisions are made and fear is heavily involved in many of those decisions. A research question to be examined is, to what degree can we attribute the events of the Salem Witch Trials as illustrated in The Crucible to fear?

What is fear? Fear is a particular state of mind than can be originated from a realistic circumstance or a sense

What is fear? Fear is that pit in the back of your stomach, your anticipation to do something, overwhelming yourself for no reason or a nightmare you might have. Most of the time people blame their fear on other people. This is inaccurate; a person only controls there own fears. A person's brain can

There’s always a danger that the Witch trials will repeat itself again.(Patrick)  However, it’s not as common and severe as it was in 1692. An example would be Hitler and the Nazi Party, who used fear to lead their people during the holocaust. They had no choice but to comply.(Fear) Fear can cause violent behavior; it can change the way people think and the way they live. Hitler killed millions of people to show the others what he is capable of. Hitler was ruthless, he didn’t care about anyone else’s feelings or thoughts; if you were a jew, you were to be killed or sent to concentration camps. The way Hitler used his power relates to the Salem Witch trials.

Fear is something that large amounts of people have encountered at least once at some point in their lives. It has been said to have caused a variety of outcomes, many of them being largely negative. Therefore, it is a common human response to react to fear by counteracting it with positivity and/or success. The idea people have of what fear is depends on the person. In the article “How Fear Works”, for example, fear is defined as a “chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals” (Layton 1). The website “Psychology Today” defines fear another way, calling it “a vital response to physical and emotional danger” ("Fear Paranoia”). There are several other definitions people have on the

Fear is a negative word when it comes to mind and an unwanted feeling. It is something that is dangerous, painful, and threatening to us. A lot of people do not think of it as a motivator. In fact, it is the most potent motivator according to Robert Evans Wilson Jr., author of The Most Powerful Motivator. Fear is what keeps us from injuries, alive, provoke fights, and prevent us from making mistakes (Wilson, 2009).

Between today’s society, not all people, situations, beliefs, and practices are as black and white as portrayed in years past. There are many elements involved with individuals today that people often don’t take the time out to explore and try to understand. Why? it is mainly because of accumulated fear from the portrayal of certain groups of people on television, newspapers, social media, etc. But what exactly is fear?

Fear is a powerful emotion. Fear causes society to do unthinkable things. It can cause people to think and act irrationally, as well as bring about panic and induce terror in society. When we think of fear, we think of something that scares us in response to an event that has taken place. According to Psychology Today, “Fear is an emotional response induced by a perceived threat, which causes a change in brain and organ function, as well as in behavior”. Although fear is an awful thing to experience and it can bring about negative changes, it can also have a positive effect on society. 9/11 and the Charlottesville massacre both were terrorist attacks that created a sense of fear in America. These attacks led the public to search for a way to

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” (FDR). President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said this during his inaugural address to the American people. He said this during the Great Depression, which was a dismal time in America’s history. People were poor, hungry, and most of all afraid. During that dark time some people acted on their fears, and these people committed heinous acts they never would commit if they were not afraid.

Throughout history, fear has been used to control and influence the way people act toward one another. Widespread fear, the use of terror and suspicion to turn a population against a large group of people, has led to the unlawful conviction of innocent people through the means of false and fabricated evidence in an attempt to be sure that those in question under the law are convicted—whatever that conviction may be. Those that are responsible for this widespread fear are those that have power within the community; a political leader, a well-respected citizen, or even those without such authority that have the ability to spread false, prejudice, or fabricated information throughout the community.

Fear is something every single human being has at some point in their life. When you are in dangerous, threatening, or scary situations, fear is what your body will feel. It is the ability to identify danger and make a choice to either confront that fear or flee from the situation like for example, if you were to break a vase, you would hide from your parents. That choice is completely up to the victim, and depends on the person. Although fear is handled differently by every person, it is a common emotion that everyone feels. Some seek out to overcome their fears, and seek the feeling of adrenaline they get from overcoming. Others flee the situation and don't think twice about trying to overcome their fear. In worst case scenarios people freeze

Fear is a feeling induced by experience, perceived danger, or watching a frightening traumatic accident. The fear responses arise from the perception of danger and ultimately a change in behaviour, such as fleeing, or hiding or from perceived traumatic events. Every person has fears and different fears may be different adaptations that have been useful in our evolutionary past. I have fears too, and sometime, I feel embarrassed to intersperse my fear with others.

Fear is a feeling created in a response to a perceived danger. Fear can produce pleasure, heighten awareness, be in the form of phobia, a fear of the unknown and an instinctual response to danger.

Fear plays such an important role in your life that observing its effects will be crucial in helping you to understand and dismantle your false layers and beliefs. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at how human behaviour is influenced by fear, and examine some of the behaviours that humans have developed to deal with that fear.