Of snakes and faces: an evolutionary perspective on the psychology of fear

Arne Ohman1

  • 1Section of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. arne.ohman@ki.se

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Human fear responses to certain stimuli, such as darkness, heights, deep water, and blood, can often arise despite the absence of direct negative experiences. This phenomenon is rooted in evolutionary psychology, which posits that humans have developed a predisposition to fear stimuli that historically posed significant survival threats. This predisposition, known as preparedness, suggests that early humans who developed a fear of potentially dangerous entities, such as venomous snakes and...
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