Final answer:
Fear cannot be evoked by cognitive processes alone, as emotions like fear require physiological arousal and awareness of such responses, as per the James-Lange theory. The amygdala's role in fear processing is evident from animal studies.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Jaak Panksepp (2004), fear cannot be evoked using cognitive processes alone. The James-Lange theory of emotion supports this idea by suggesting that emotions arise from physiological arousal. If we apply this theory, for one to feel fear, there must be an awareness of the physiological responses associated with danger, such as an increased heart rate or fast breathing.
When encountering a threat, such as a venomous snake, the sympathetic nervous system would trigger these responses. However, without this awareness, one may not experience the feeling of fear. Studies have shown that the amygdala plays a critical role in how we process fear, with experiments on animals illustrating how contextual factors like the presence of a mother can modulate fear responses in rat pups.