The universal trigger for fear is the threat of harm, real or imagined. This threat can be for our physical, emotional or psychological well-being. While there are certain things that trigger fear in most of us, we can learn to become afraid of nearly anything.
Fear can be learned through direct experience with a threat, but it can also be learned via social means such as verbal warnings or observ-ing others. ... These findings demonstrate that the amygdala is in-volved in learning fear even without direct experience with the aversive event.
