Very apt, seasonal posting Ishmael. Such thoughts could be balanced against "fear of losing contact with the family". These phenomena may be characteristic of different cultures as much as of individual psychologies.
Whatever the case, increased description and observation of various cases, narratives and perceptions will (I think) reveal blurred categories from the ones we are accustomed. It may be useful at some point to check out the American Psychological Association's defining diagnostic categories. In some cases these have influenced even popular culture use. That is: the use of certain terms have gotten their flavor from these. Also, there may be a useful distinction there between "anxiety" and "fear".
Also, a review of the usages of the word "fear" (historically) might be interesting. I helped a student find the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary in the FPU Library a few days ago. You might want to ferret that out and take a look at the entry for "fear".
Then also, you are in a position to examine the normative uses of the word-concept of fear in different languages associated with different cultures. That can be very revealing about how fear is perceived differently.
I think, all that and more investigated, that in the end since "leadership" is part of the goal in the independent study, fear has to be approached as a social-culturally transacted phenomena. As we wrote at the outset, described solely as a individual, psychological state or condition is not really the point.
As I was writing something else came to mind:
In Weber's ideal type characteristics of "bureaucracies" (which are perhaps the predominant organizational characteristic of modern, institutional life around the globe)... you get a list of characteristics that make the bureaucracy functional (in the ideal). On the ground however, most such organizations are dysfunctional in various ways (at least when compared to the ideals). I wonder how often "fear" is part of the dysfunction? And likewise how it might be related to "transparency" within the organization. If a basic kind of fear is fear of the unknown....then a certain kind of leadership could lead by the degree of disclosure of many things.
I will think more about this....
Fear not that your holidays shall be good ones,
Allan
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