Is fear the emotion most likely to influence one’s behavior?

If we consider behavior from an evolutionary perspective, fear could be said to be at the root of all actions. Anthropologists and many psychologists feel that human behavior has developed as an adaptation to survive in our world. Humans are highly social creatures, so the ways we behave, even when on our own, play a big part in helping us attain our best possible chance at survival. All sentient living things have the base instinct to improve our chances at survival. In some animals, this may be a fairly straightforward process of eat, sleep, hydrate, and breed. For humans, the satisfaction of our needs and improving our chance of survival is a little more complex.

A lot of the behaviors we learn as humans have developed for the purpose of improving or maintaining our social networks. Without social networks, humans could not survive. As infants, we require the care of others, and as adults we must socialize to perform most of our daily functions. While it may not seem so obvious, when we look at the motivations behind behaviors, we may see that they stem from our drive to survive and thrive. We could alternately call this the fear of death.

Let's consider a behavior that seems to have little to do with fear or survival- waving to a friend. What are we doing when we wave to greet our friends or family? The act of waving is a sign of recognition and typically conveys some joy at seeing our friend. Though this is a rather low-contact form of social interaction, waving to each other reaffirms the relationship at work. Having a social network of many relationships not only offers us happiness, but creates a support network for ourselves and any offspring we might have. 

Human behavior is so complex that sometimes it is difficult to say what is really the motivation behind one's actions. There's only so much that is determined by biology. For humans, socialization is one of our biological necessities, along with food, water, shelter, and rest. Culture comes in where biology falls short and serves to shape the ways in which we fulfill these needs.

In sum, I would say that survival is the biggest influence on people's behavior, and what is survival but the fear of death?