Snakes on the Brain
Do you avoid the snake exhibit at the zoo? Did you turn away from watching Snakes on a Plane...the trailer?
You may have wondered whether you were being irrational about snakes. (When's the last time you saw a live one, anyway?) Research from the University of Virginia, though, suggests that snake phobia became hardwired in humans thousands of years ago as a survival tool.
A study published in this month's Psychological Science found that its subjects – who included preschool children with no prior experiences with snakes – appear to have a natural ability to quickly detect a snake from other things.
In one experiment, subjects were asked to find the image of a snake on a computer screen cluttered with photos of eight flowers, frogs or caterpillars. Another experiment called on subjects to look for the non-threatening item among a screen full of snake photos.
In each scenario, snakes were ID'd faster, with children picking the reptiles out as rapidly as the adults, despite the difference in age and experiences.
Researchers say this backs evolutionary theories that humans who mastered survival skills were able to reproduce and pass their abilities on in the gene pool.
(A cartoon snake for the ophidiophobes out there)
Posted at 11:30 AM
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Without seeing more of the study, I have questions about the wording here. This article draws a connection between a "natural ability to quickly detect a snake" and a phobia of snakes, without providing statements to support the connection. Does the research show that snake phobia is hardwired? Or just that fast identification is hardwired? Awareness does not equal phobia.
In my experience with my young children and nieces and nephews and their friends, they all can quickly find a snake hidden in a very busy picture. But they all enjoy snakes, too, probably because I do. Perhaps awareness is hardwired, while fear is at least partially a product of societal indoctrination.
I've seen my own cats jump in the air and run from the room when they see a drawing of a snake on the floor. But they're fascinated by the real snakes in their cages. Do they fail to differentiate between a snake and a symbol of a snake, but comprehend the context? (I've also seen dogs frightened of garden hoses.)
For any modern city-dwelling American, I would suggest that a snake phobia is indeed irrational.
Posted by natrix natrix
March 6, 2008 10:57 AM
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