ABSTRACT

The preceding discussion of the false alarm effect and the three systems analysis of fear paves the way to the present attempt to tackle three particularly complex issues. First among them is the suggested distinction between avoidance and protective behavior. It touches upon some central difficulties in a variety of real-life settings, which defy adequate reality testing. The second issue, namely, the distinction between fear of danger and fear of fear, bears directly on some clinical problems pertinent to anxious and phobic patients. Finally, the last section of this chapter attempts to account for the FAE itself by resorting to some of the relevant psychological mechanisms.