Why Do People Experience Fear?

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The question of why humans experience fear has been bothering psychologists for a very long time. The fact that fear is so prevalent in the human species is one of the biggest mysteries in the world. This is because no one can really explain exactly how it works. Fear is known to be associated with a number of different emotions and can also be seen as a mechanism for helping us to survive in certain situations. Nevertheless, its primary function appears to be associated with protecting us from danger.

There have been many theories put forward to explain the origins of fear. Charles Darwin, a naturalist, has postulated that it is the instinctive reaction to dangerous predators that makes some people afraid of them. In addition, some people have proposed that fear is the result of evolved psychological traits that helped our ancestors survive in their environment. Whatever the case may be, scientists are still uncertain as to the exact reasons why some people are afraid of other people or of situations. Fear is a very complicated emotion and there are many different possible underlying causes. The best that science has come up with so far is a theory on the development of fear.

During the course of human evolution, the species developed a set of fear related instincts that served a number of important purposes. For instance, it is likely that some people developed a fear of attack from other members of their tribe since they were not able to protect themselves effectively during their early times. Since they could not display aggression, they had to develop other means to ensure their safety. This theory states that fear was used to ensure the survival of our ancestors by instilling in their minds that other tribes were dangerous and should be avoided. Similarly, some other theories have put forth the idea that fear is a way to ensure that we do not get hurt by the same predators that provoked us into displaying aggression in the first place. In other words, fear serves as a way of immobilizing the prey so that we don’t end up getting hurt.