Bit o' Pychology

[beanersmysav]

I'm taking Psychology this year as I find it interesting myself. However this isnt the first time I've read about people having the biggest fear of snakes. The James Lange Theory is supported by this statment, "We see a snake, our bodies respond, and only then do we feel an emotion because the body is so keyed up" another man stated, "We see a snake, our bodies respond and then we run"

I know most of you are like uh huh whatever, but I find it funny how this isn't the first time I've run across the theory of the average person being afraid of snakes. Just makes me smirk is all I know it's just a figurative way of speaking they could have used spiders, bees but I never see anything but snakes in this book and in people theories.'

Speaking of which does any one else take Psychology or have you taken it? What'd you think? And did it lead you anywhere good in your life? Or do you plan on it leading you to something good? Psychologist etc

[Lioness]

i havent taken psychology or anything..but i find those quotes amusing as well.
i guess it goes hand in hand with the many stereotypes snakes are damned with..and well human nature..
we tend to fear what we cannot control or understand..so the only "logical" thing to do would be to fear it.
i was too, afraid of snakes at some point..but instead of living in ignorace..i decided to do some research..and interact with reptiles..and so on.
and now i find myself to be obsessed almost, with them..the thing that used to scare me (not understanding/being able to control them)..now intrigues me.
very interesting stuff Beaner.. i hope to get into psych. more and more as i start my college classes..maybe in a year or so.
thanks for sharing!

[Neo]

I think that humans tend to fear snakes, insects, and other smaller animals because they tend to base their actions on instinct. Because we have risen beyond instinct, we cannot comprehend or find reason in instinct so we cannot predict or understand snakes/insects. When a human encounters a bear they can play dead, turn around and walk away, not make eye contact. When a human encounters a snake, we can't predict when it will strike as easily or what will set it off. The same is true for insects. When a spider walks around on someone they just hope it doesn't randomly bite them.

[CDN-Cresties]

Im a third year psych major. Humans fear of snakes is due to our evolutionary past. It was in our ancestors best interest to avoid snakes. Primates in general have a fear of snakes as well.

[Removed_2815]

Originally posted by CDN-Cresties
Primates in general have a fear of snakes as well.

I thought that, though fear of snakes in primates has an evolutionary basis, this fear only comes about through selective learning.

I recall in one of my psychology courses a study by Mineka. It was observed that there were significant differences in the prevalence of snake phobia in wild monkeys versus captive reared monkeys. Something like 11 genera of wild monkeys showed fear-related responses when confronted with a large snake. For studies of captive primates however, there was no consistent evidence for snake fear.

When lab-reared monkeys were given the opportunity to observe wild-reared monkeys displaying fear of live and toy snakes, they were quickly conditioned to fear snakes. This fear response was learned even when the captive monkey was shown a video-tape of a wild-reared monkey reacting to a snake. However, it's interesting to note that the researchers also spliced images of rabbits, crocodiles, and flowers into the videos of monkeys displaying fear responses and the lab-reared monkeys showed substantial fear conditioning to toy snakes and crocodiles, but not to flowers or toy rabbits

This all shows that there might be an evolutionary basis and genetic predisposition to fearing reptiles, however, the fear doesn't develop until there is an observation of another individual expressing fear responses.

Cheers,
Ryan

[chas*e]

I have shown my snakes to a group of 10yr old and they were interested and having fun with them,touching and laughing....I showed the snakes to the same group 2 yrs later and all the girls screamed,fearfully, and most of the boys were not interested and showed fear...so it always seemed to me to be a "learned fear"...that's just my conclusion
Just a thought...my dogs(3) do not ever go into my snake room...take a sniff and then back away fearfully....something in their hardwiring

[JimmyDavid]

I have heard that the first mamals lived in a world dominated by creatures with scales. They learned to run from those on sight, and somewhere within our genes there's a bit of that still.
Pretty much what CDN posted.

[Removed_2815]

Originally posted by JimmyDavid
I have heard that the first mamals lived in a world dominated by creatures with scales. They learned to run from those on sight, and somewhere within our genes there's a bit of that still.

That's pretty much the gist of it yeah, but the fear is latent and is only induced through vicarious observations of others, so it doesn't appear to be as innate as one might think...
Ryan

[sneaky_boa]

The fear of snakes thing is analagous to some current research on 'disgust' reactions. Like CDN-Cresties mentiones, there is a link to our evolutionary history. We are repulsed by things which, at one point in our evolutionary past, have caused us grave illness (such as worms, maggots, rotting flesh etc.). All of these things are associated with disease vectors and things which can lead to major illness. Same goes for snakes, in our history, snakes were very dangerous and may have often led to death. Hence the in-grained, deep-seated, fear many humans have of snakes.

[Removed_2815]

It's interesting to note that it's not just snakes, but it appears to be all reptiles. Which is what JimmyDavid was alluding to (creatures with scales).

In the famous experiment by Mineka in the late 80s/early 90s, the monkeys also expressed conditioned fear responses to crocodiles, but not rabbits or flowers (even though the same fear responses were being observed with these objects - the video was edited). Thus the conditioned response is not based entirely on the object that the other monkey appears to be fearful of, and this is what hints at the evolutionary predisposition to reptilian fear.

However, it should be stressed that monkeys and human babies are not born with this fear, just a propensity to exhibit this fear after observing a conspecific's reaction. So it is both innate and learned (conditioned) and that's why it's so fascinating and that's why some people aren't afraid of snakes (though genetic variability does appear to play a role as well).
Ryan

[CDN-Cresties]

Hey Ryan, I believe I read that study earlier on in the year but I forgot the details of it. But you've refreshed my memory on it

[Removed_2815]

I had to unearth my first-year psych text for the details, as my memory was a little cloudy as well - I took that class 4 years ago...
Ryan

[beanersmysav]

All this stuff interests me and kinda of makes me want to take some more of the classes. I've only gone through a full symester thus far, and it's really not what I want to do in life but it's amazing to me so I think I might just keep on going with it as an extra class basicly, and who knows what could come of it. Would the scaled creatures that once ruled the earth you guys speak of be dinosaurs? Or is it something else? I notice everyone in my family has no fear of snakes, however my grandma (which is acctually my step grandma but I don't view her that way) has a deadly fear of snakes. And I grew up around her, could this be a trait that is passed on and not inherited?

[Lioness]

those are awesome points ryan..very grounded.
im definitely gunna read up on the study by Mineka...
i cant wait 'til im in college so i can actually start taking some psych. courses..until then i gotta do my own research and reading.

great topic beaner! love convos like this

[beanersmysav]

Are you still in high school? If so you can still take Psych. classes in most high schools. If you're just taking some time off untill college there's definatly alot of books etc that can show you some of the things in which psychology has to offer on many levels.