“Fear†in Persian Proverbs and Sayings

Abstract

Proverbs and sayings constitute a major portion of a society’s cultural heritage and are considered amongst the oldest literary products of human thought. Persian proverbs are a national treasure and a source of pride of our culture and history which reflect our customs, social life, dreams and thoughts, our culture and our people’s psychological characteristics. Studying these social-cultural signs from a “psychological literature†point of view, will familiarize us with different types of social development and judgment, and also our ancestors’ characteristics. Proverbs provide us with valuable information about learning, social behavior, personality, individual differences, excitation and motivation, humans’ various mechanisms against problems and difficulties. Most of these psychological fields are verifiable with scientific theories today. By studying proverbs, it can be concluded that many of people’s psychological features such as hope, fear, anxiety, caution, are manifested in Persian proverbs.