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Sex Differences in the Subjective Experience of Fear

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Sex Differences in Fear Response

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Anthropology ((HBBE))

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Abstract

While the evolutionary significance and source of consciousness remains controversial, fear is a state that is experienced consciously, and women’s experience of fear might be more accessible to awareness than men’s. This might be significant only in the extent to which it reflects a stronger response in the underlying fear system (see Chap. 4, Strength, below) or it might be significant because the conscious experience of fear feeds into decision-making (Loewenstein, Weber, Hsee, & Welch, 2001). Many studies have examined sex differences in the experience of fear using self-report methods: such studies might simply ask a large number of men and women to report how frequently and how intensely they experience fear. National and international surveys of this type show that women report more intense and long-lasting fear than men (Brebner, 2003; Brody & Hall, 1993; Crawford, Kippax, Onyx, Gault, & Benton, 1992; Fischer, 1993; Fischer & Manstead, 2000; Fischer, Mosquera, van Vianen, & Manstead, 2004; Gullone, 2000; McLean & Anderson, 2009). Simple surveys such as this allow data to be gathered from large samples, but the use of single-item measures can often lead to questions around validity (i.e. how well they actually reflect the real subjective experience of fear). Questionnaire measures are most effective when they are composed of multiple items that have been previously empirically validated (see Rust & Golombok, 2014 for how this can be achieved empirically).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. (1951–2017), Professor Anne Campbell wrote this book while at Durham University, Durham, UK

    Anne Campbell

  2. Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK

    Lee T Copping

  3. University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK

    Catharine P Cross

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  1. Anne Campbell
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  2. Lee T Copping
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  3. Catharine P Cross
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Campbell, A., Copping, L.T., Cross, C.P. (2021). Sex Differences in the Subjective Experience of Fear. In: Sex Differences in Fear Response. SpringerBriefs in Anthropology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65280-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65280-7_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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