ABSTRACT
Fear is the natural response to a stimulus which poses a threat to well-being, safety or security. This response includes cognitive, affective, physiological, behavioural and relational aspects (Herbert, 1994; Barrios and Hartman, 1988; Silverman and Kurtines, 1996). At a cognitive level, the stimulus or situation is construed as threatening or dangerous. At an affective level, there are feelings of apprehension, tension and uneasiness. At a physiological level, autonomic arousal occurs so as to prepare the person to neutralise the threat by fighting or fleeing from danger. With respect to behaviour, the individual may either aggressively approach and confront the danger, especially if she is trapped, or apprehensively avoid it. In the face of extreme threat, however, the person may become immobilised. The interpretation of situations as threatening and the patterning of aggressive or avoidant behaviour are both determined by and have an impact on the relational context within which they occur. For children this context usually includes parents, siblings, school teachers and peers. From this analysis, it is apparent that fear is an adaptive response to danger. It is adaptive for the survival of the individual and, from an evolutionary perspective, it is adaptive for the survival of the species.
