engleski

Snakes and guns: an evolutionary perspective on the potential predetermined factors underlying the fear of snakes

From an evolutionary perspective, fear is central for the evolution of mammals, as survival is a basic precondition for reproduction, and thus biological evolution and gene transfer to the next generation. According to Öhman and Mineka (2001), humans have developed a so-called Fear module - behavioural, cognitive and neural system, created for successfully solving adaptive problems related to dangerous stimuli encountered in the ecology of the first mammals. It is proposed that snakes were the first predators to prey on early mammals and, as a consequence of the evolutionary arms-race, particular features of visual and motor system of our primate ancestors seem to have evolved to help detect and avoid venomous snakes. In a series of three experiments (N=46), we examined two main characteristics of Fear module: selective input and automatic activation. The aim of these studies was to examine perception and reaction time for threat-relevant (snakes, guns) and visually similar threat-irrelevant stimuli (e.g. caterpillars, flashlights) in a visual search task (Experiments 1 and 2) and in a task with a subliminal presentation of the stimuli, using eye-tracking technology (Experiment 3). Our results show that people perceive and react to dangerous stimuli faster than the harmless ones. However, depending on the evolutionary significance of the threat, it seems that humans are predisposed to perceive snakes as prioritized stimuli and to exhibit a fast behavioural response towards them, regardless of having snake phobia or not. Results of the third experiment did not indicate a preconscious sensitivity to snakes. Findings are further discussed in context of clarifying evolutionary mechanisms designed for coping with threatening stimuli.

snake phobia ; evolutionary psychology

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