There are books written trying to define this illusive term. The Merriam-Webster™ defines it as an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.
This website does not use that definition. Instead fear is defined as those psychological reactions that alert us to the presence of danger. Those dangers need not be real or true. More often than not, they are not true. If you perceive something to be true, it is considered by you as true. It’s the same exact same neuroelectrical signal. Therefore inside your brain the truth is irrelevant.
The primary causes of fear include:
- prior trauma,
- biology (genetics), [This is broader than you think.]
- environmental factors,
- manipulation, [The elephant in the room.]
- overprotective parenting, and
- social factors.
The biology of fear is far too complex to be discussed in this website. However, the four normal responses to a perceived danger are: attack, run, analyze, and hide. This seems incredibly consistent with the four personality types.
An in-depth study was done by Adolphs, Ralph (2013) The Biology of Fear, Current Biology 23, R79-R93.