Anxiety, Arousal, and the Self-Concept

Abstract

Too often, theories of emotions in humans are simple extensions of theories of emotions in subhuman animals. Though it is reasonable to extend our knowledge of emotions from lower to higher order animals, there is one major difference between man and other animals that imposes a serious limitation on this procedure. The difference is that man has a highly developed conceptual system that not only structures the content of what he fears, but itself must be defended against threat. Expressed otherwise, fears in animals are primarily a consequence of threats to life and limb, while in humans they are primarily a consequence of threats to ego. There are essentially two basic types of threat to ego, threats to the assimilative capacity of an individual's conceptual system, and threats to his self-esteem.