For the present these two closely related emotions should receive brief mention because they always appear in lists of the basic emotions. There has been a proliferation of theories of anxiety and fear, their starting points being very similar to those for general theories of emotion. There have been psychoanalytic, behavioral, physiological, experiential/phenomenological and cognitive perspectives. What is clear from these theories is that anxiety can only be understood by taking into account some of its cognitive aspects, particularly because a basic aspect of anxiety appears to be uncertainty.
Also, it is reasonable to conclude that anxiety can be distinguished from fear in that the object of fear is "real" or "external" or "known" or "objective". The origins of anxiety are unclear or uncertain to the person. However, anxiety can be motivating and appears to be an inevitable part of the human condition. Anxiety and fear are definitely negative emotions and can be very distressing. Inasmuch as specific emotions can be said to exist, the constellation of anxiety and fear has a definite place among them.
