What Are The Top Fears of Americans?
What Are The Top Fears of Americans?
Lessons from children on how to harness threatening situations
I didn’t major in Psychology. I started as a Human Service Studies major. A major with such profound uselessness that it no longer exists. My life transitioned upon registering for an undergraduate course in abnormal psychology1 at Cornell University. A charismatic professor lectured to over 600 of us. In a class on disorders, she asked:
Who here is afraid of peanut butter sticking to the roof of their mouth?
Maybe two students acknowledged their ever so odd Arachibutyrophobia.
Who here is afraid of ventriloquist dummies2?
If this resonates with a resounding yes, you’re ready for an Automatonophobia support group
A panoply of fears infect children and adults alike. Fear is interesting. Not just because of the potential pain inflicted but because it is an emotional tool. Without fear, you are rather helpless to prepare for and overcome threats. How to treat this emotion as part of a healthy psychological toolbox is a focal point of my research.3
The Hierarchy of Fears
Let me confidently tell you that the most prevalent fear in America is not Linonophobia (fear of string), Novercaphobia (fear of your stepmother)4, nor Papaphobia (fear of the Pope)5.
In a 2014 poll, Americans bestowed the honor of greatest fear to public speaking. Prevalence rates are sufficiently high that you can comfortably get away with answering “public speaking anxiety” when asked the absurd job interview question “what’s your biggest weakness?” With this answer, you are liable to curry favor with an interviewer who responds with their own woeful tales of muscle spasms, sweaty shirt stains, and constricted throat sounds in front of crowds.
In a 2022 poll, similar findings emerged. A fear of snakes, heights, spiders, and public speaking rounded out the top four. I suspect many readers know the terror of unwanted, directed attention. Social psychologists refer to a related curse called “the spotlight effect.” It is a mental state where we overestimate how many people are looking at us in public, and the degree to which their gaze rests upon us.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the minority, surrounded by characters who don’t look or think like us. The spotlight effect is particularly powerful when a minority member is present when the topic relates to whatever makes them different (race, facial scars, automatonophobia, etc.). An effect that further silences group members who already question whether they fit in. A lack of awareness of this minority spotlight effect accounts for why diversity initiatives often fail (among many explanations). You can bring minority members into a group. But if you don’t offer them a voice and elaborate on their contributions, their uniqueness remains sheltered from the group.
We know the problem. The solutions are more complicated.
Working With Fears
I always walked my three daughters to elementary school. Every day. Today, my 10 year-old Violet and I stumbled into a conversation on public speaking fears.
As we strolled, a neighbor passed by with what looked like a doppelgänger of our own Sagan (half Labrador/half Hound). I made a throwaway joke to point this out. Wearing sunglasses, staring silently at me, the woman offered 1/16 of a barely audible laugh. As soon as the neighbor passed, Violet grabbed my shirt, whispering with glee,
“Dad, that was the fakest laugh I ever heard. I think she hates you. Or at least she hates your humor. Please tell me you noticed?”
It goes without saying that kids relish radical candor, feelings be damned. Yes, Violet I noticed. Yes, I get it. You really, really enjoy it when people balk at my humor. Never wasting an opportunity for creative conversations, I asked Violet,
Imagine this. You’re in a packed room of people. For some reason, you’re on stage with a microphone. You tell what you think is a hilarious story. You expect smiles and laughter. Instead, everyone does exactly what that woman did. Nobody makes a peep for what feels like minutes. And then, a burst of fake laughter. Everyone is fake laughing at the same time. There is no way for you to leave. There are no exit signs. What are you going to do?
Like most kids, Violet rarely thinks before answering. She doesn’t censor herself. She blurts,
If I knew I was going on stage to tell jokes, I would wear a white suit with white pants. I’d be ready.
She stops, as if trained to trigger and hold my curiosity with this perfectly curated teaser. Of course I ask, why the white clothes?
Because if they are going to throw tomatoes at me, I will become a work of art.
She smiles at the image. As do I.
She anticipated pain and designed an alternative. She reached the conclusion of the Ancient Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus:
Circumstances do not rise to meet our expectations. Events happen as they do. People behave as they are. Embrace what you actually get.
There is insufficient space to detail the various ways to overcome fear. We do need strategies because fear is coming, often when least expected. With mental training, we can meet fear with fortitude. Imagining what might happen, simulating different outcomes, and preparing and experimenting accordingly.
For some of the best books on embracing and harnessing fear, get your hands on:
The Anxiety Toolkit (the one I recommend most often)
The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety
Extra Curiosities:
I had the fortune to receive an early copy of A MINOR REVOLUTION: How Prioritizing Kids Benefits Us All. As someone whose primary cause is criminal justice reform, this is the painful, poignant, stimulation I needed to do more for children. We know kids are not alright with the rise of mental health problems, overindulgent parenting, and insufficient resources communities provide compared with past generations. This is not your typical non-fiction book. Expect to feel greatly. Expect to be motivated to make a difference. Author Adam Benforado is such a damn good writer, let's hope he cranks out even more books.
Enjoy a deep conversation on The Best Business Minds Podcast about what activists in the past did well that modern activists can use to increase their persuasive powers. If you want to listen during your workout or commute, click this link.
Please support my work by sharing it. And to manage anxiety during persuasion attempts get a copy of The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively.
And If You Missed the Last Issue…
This is no longer considered a socially acceptable term by the establishment. Don’t ask me who the establishment is in the field of psychology. Clearly I am not a part of it as nobody asked me. What’s strange about treating “abnormal psychology” as an inappropriate term is that it is statistically accurate. A class that teaches students how to be more creative or intelligent would also be about abnormality, as the content centers on deviating from average scores in the population. You might be asking, well, what is the new, socially acceptable term? Answer: psychopathology. The Journal of Abnormal Psychology switched in 2022 to the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. While I applaud anyone who raises questions about long-standing status quo traditions, I still have questions. How is designating someone as pathological better than referring to abnormality? They both sound as if a person has difficulties, which they do. If you know the answer or have thoughts, leave them in the comments. Change is good, when there is a clear understanding and vision of why and whether the alternative has greater benefits and fewer costs. The more behavioral evidence provided to justify change, the more persuasive you become.
If abnormal psychology is an anathema, this has to be on the list of college campus banned words.
Along with a few of my favorite collaborators - Drs. Fallon Goodman, Patrick McKnight, James Doorley, and David Disabato.
Whether you experience disgust is another angle. This topic on the intersection of disgust and fear has excited researchers for decades. If you are so inclined, check out this review article on the topic: click here.
This could be the underlying issue behind the so-called New Atheists and their cult-like followings.