Fear is an emotion that we all know too well. Nobody likes to be afraid but it is something that happens quite often in our lives. While looking through Psychology Today I came across an article titled "The Most Powerful Motivator." In this article the author Robert Wilson Jr. talks about his experience as a child when his house caught on fire. He goes on to say that Fear is the most powerful motivator. Fear has been present in humans since they dwelt in caves; it is an emotion that helped to keep them away from danger, and ultimately helped humans survive. The author makes a good point that fear is a powerful emotion by showing that humans are afraid of so many different things pain, illness, and failure to name a few. Since fear is such an important emotion humans are instilled with the fight or flight syndrome, which ultimately helps keep us safe. Marketing departments have also figured out that fear is an important emotion that can help sell their product such as a security system for their homes. It also points out however that fear is so powerful that if a person gets too afraid they freeze, and are unable to move.
You can view this article at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-main-ingredient/200909/the-most-powerful-motivator
I do agree that fear can be a great motivator but it has to be in the right context. However, I do not agree that fear is the "most powerful motivator". I do not think that any one motivator can be given that title, a lot of the time there are several motivating factors that influence our decisions. Fear is an important motivator that can be used to influence us from how we act at work (afraid of getting fired) to what we purchase (antibacterial soap).
What is your take do you believe that fear is the most powerful motivator?
Fear might not be the end-all motivator, but I do agree with you that it is an extremely successful one when used cautiously. I think the author was stressing the incredible evolutionary importance of fear and how it has now injected and streamlined itself into the mainstream culture in ways that appear (un)necessary. Market researchers do have the formula correct, though. If a commercial can evoke realistic fear from the audience, which probably occurs quite frequently, then fear has been utilized appropriately. It is important to note the ubiquity of fear inducing tactics, whether it is fear of losing a relationship, not smelling and/or looking good enough for the general public, or as severe as losing your life in an auto collision.
I found this brief article thought-provoking and it encouraged me to think about my fears and what I would consider successful fear inducing techniques used in mainstream cultural advertisements.