Do spiders ‘get under your skin’? Do you faint at the sight of a needle? Do dentists give you the creeps? Most humans have certain things that we are afraid of; these fears can be based on real dangers or even imagined dangers.
Image description: an infographic from Statista which shows fears from 1000+ American adults in 2021.
While some fears can help keep us safe (more on this to come), many fears can have possible negative impacts on our lives. For example, Agoraphobia (fear of unfamiliar people/public spaces) can keep people from trying new things, trypanophobia (fear of needles) can make someone unlikely to seek medical help, etc. As we continue our discussion on the Salem Witch Trials, we will learn that fear can sometimes have deadly consequences, especially in the cases of mass hysteria. Think your brain is above persuasion or panic? Check out the video below to learn more about mass hysteria examples through history!