title: Cognitive vulnerability: a model of the etiology of fear.
abstract: This paper attempts to fill the partial theoretical vacuum surrounding the understanding of fear acquisition. A review of recent and contemporary theories of the etiology of fear is presented, serving as a justification for further theorizing and allowing for greater understanding of those aspects of fear that remain to be adequately explained. A new model of the etiology of specific fears is subsequently put forward and the various aspects and implications of this model are discussed. How an individual perceives a stimulus is proposed as being critical in determining fear in relation to the stimulus. In particular, perceptions of the stimulus as uncontrollable, unpredictable, dangerous and disgusting create a schema of vulnerability. The Cognitive Vulnerability Model integrates much of the extensive body of research on fears and specific phobias into a unifying theory of the etiology of fear. The model offers parsimonious explanations for the various characteristics of specific fears and phobias.
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia. jason.armfield@adelaide.edu.au
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Armfield
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D005239:Fear; D006801:Humans; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011582:Psychological Theory; D020377:Self Efficacy