Respect and fear: Socialization of children’s fear among the Mapuche people of Chile

Classic theories of emotion describe fear as evolutionary based, rooted in survival needs, and universally experienced. As such, fear has been thought to be less socially constructed than most emotions. It may be, however, that cultural beliefs have more influence than previously considered. To understand cultural beliefs in general, we interviewed 22 of the Mapuche people, one of the native people of southern Chile. Today, despite the War of “pacification” and subsequent Westernized schooling and religion, the Mapuche people maintain cultural knowledge and connection with the land. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 adults (5 elders, 12 mothers) and, using grounded theory practices, coded for themes. We found substantial evidence regarding the cultural causes of fear, perceptions of utility of fear, and the transformation of fear through socialization. We then crosschecked emergent themes, including the importance of respect as a foundational principle and goal, with five new participants. Our findings suggest a deep, abiding respect for the land, spirits of nature, and people; a devaluing of the emotion of fear; a gentle socialization process away from fear; and the transformative role of respect in attenuating fear. Given the novelty of these findings, confirmation of results via additional sampling or triangulating of methodologies is warranted.