With Halloween days away, we thought we’d take a look at Chapman University’s Survey of American Fears.
The goal of the Chapman University Survey of American Fears is to collect annual data on the fears, worries and concerns of Americans, and how those fears are associated with other attitudes and behaviors. There were 97 topics, ranging from government, health and environmental matters to disaster preparedness, the paranormal and personal anxieties. This year’s survey was conducted by SSRS research online via the SSRS Opinion Panel and invited adults ages 18 and older to participate.
Persistent fear negatively affects individuals’ decision-making abilities and causes anxiety, depression and poor physical health. Further, fear harms communities and society by corroding social trust and civic engagement. Yet politicians often effectively leverage fears to garner votes and companies routinely market unnecessary products that promise protection from imagined or exaggerated harms.
Fear Itself is a novel, wide-ranging study of the social consequences of fear, ultimately suggesting that there is good reason to be afraid of fear itself.