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Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat or danger. It triggers the body's fight-or-flight response, preparing persons to either confront or flee from the threat. Fear can be rational, such as the fear of a dangerous animal, or irrational, such as a phobia of something harmless.

Fear and Greed are often contrasted because they represent opposite emotional drives in the Pico journey:

  • Fear: Motivates avoidance and caution. It can lead to risk aversion and protective behaviors.
  • Greed: Motivates acquisition and desire. It can lead to risk-taking and aggressive pursuit of wealth or power.

Balancing these emotions is crucial for making rational decisions.

In Financial Markets, for example, fear can cause investors to sell assets to avoid losses, while greed can drive them to buy assets in the hope of making profits. The Fear and Greed Index is a way to gauge stock market movements and whether stocks are fairly priced.


In ArchiMate, fear can be represented as a Driver within the Motivation layer. Drivers are elements that represent internal or external conditions motivating an stakeholder (person or firm) to define its goals and implement changes. Fear, as a driver, can influence various aspects of an enterprise's architecture, such as risk management, security measures, and strategic planning.

To represent fear in an ArchiMate model, you can follow these steps:

  • Identify the Stakeholder: Determine who is experiencing the fear. This could be an individual, a team, or the entire organization.
  • Define the Driver: Create a driver element labeled "Fear" or a more specific fear-related term (e.g., "Fear of Data Breach").
  • Link to Goals and Assessments: Connect the fear driver to relevant goals, assessments, and other motivation elements. For example, fear of a data breach might be linked to goals like "Enhance Data Security" and assessments like "Risk Assessment."

Source for the definition and guideline : Copilot, asked on January 24th, 2025. Links to other Societal architecture model elements and some modifications by the editor so as to better illustrate the relevance of the concept in public policy cycles at levels international, federal and national.