Participant differentiation of nonclinical fear and anxiety

Abstract

Participants in four studies rated remembered experiences of fear and anxiety on scales reflecting characteristics postulated to distinguish anxiety from fear. Similarities and differences were found in ratings of the two emotion situations. Some obtained rating contrasts might indicate only quantitative differences, but many were consistent with qualitative distinctions in clinical and theoretical literatures and were interpreted as providing consensual validation for them. While both emotions involved pain, threat, uncertainty, and arousal, anxiety entailed greater future orientation, duration, frequency of occurrence, temporal uncertainty, inhibition, and sensitivity of self-concept to evaluation by self and others. A few rating contrasts appeared to contradict theoretical claims: e.g., noxiousness, helplessness, and response unavailability were greater with fear. It was suggested that some qualitative criteria for differentiating the two emotions are context-sensitive and may interact with a quantitative criterion.