Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Preparedness and Phobias01:09

Preparedness and Phobias

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...
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies02:09

Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies

When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and...
Framing Effects03:26

Framing Effects

Information is everywhere and its presentation—such as how and when items are presented—can impact our perceptions and decisions surrounding the info. This broad concept umbrellas framing effects—influences that occur due to the way information is framed in its appearance, whether it’s purely the order or the specific wording of a message. Let’s take a look at numerous ways in which two versions of something can objectively say the same thing, yet we respond in different ways based on the...
Panic Disorder01:27

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and sudden minutes-long episodes of intense fear, known as panic attacks. These attacks may feel like heart attacks and often happen without warning or a specific cause. They can include symptoms such as rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, chest pain, trembling, sweating, dizziness, and a sense of helplessness. During a panic attack, individuals may feel as though they are experiencing a heart attack or are in a...
Anxiety: Overview01:18

Anxiety: Overview

Anxiety is a common mental disorder featuring excessive worry, fear, and apprehension, significantly affecting daily life. People with anxiety disorders experience persistent and intense anxiety, interrupting their everyday functioning.
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.
The Availability Heuristic01:08

The Availability Heuristic

A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The impact of screen use on sleep health across the lifespan: A National Sleep Foundation consensus statement.

Sleep health·2024
Same author

Media use and sleep in twins, an important new dimension of a causal puzzle.

Sleep·2023
Same author

Digital Communications Technology Use and Feelings of Anxiety, Depression, and Loneliness Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society·2023
Same author

Examining understandability, information quality, and presence of misinformation in popular YouTube videos on sleep compared to expert-led videos.

Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine·2023
Same author

Nutri-Score and Nutrition Facts Panel through the Eyes of the Consumer: Correct Healthfulness Estimations Depend on Transparent Labels, Fixation Duration, and Product Equivocality.

Nutrients·2021
Same author

It's not all about the likes: Social media affordances with nighttime, problematic, and adverse use as predictors of adolescent sleep indicators.

Sleep health·2021

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 27, 2026

Human Fear Conditioning Conducted in Full Immersion 3-Dimensional Virtual Reality
10:38

Human Fear Conditioning Conducted in Full Immersion 3-Dimensional Virtual Reality

Published on: August 9, 2010

Fear effects by the media.

Kathleen Custers1, Jan Van den Bulck

  • 1Leuven School for Mass Communication Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Parkstraat 45, Box 3603, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. kathleen.custers@soc.kuleuven.be

European Journal of Pediatrics
|November 30, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Media exposure, including news and entertainment, can cause significant short-term and long-term fear in children. Pediatricians and parents should address media

More Related Videos

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI
12:51

Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI

Published on: October 6, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 27, 2026

Human Fear Conditioning Conducted in Full Immersion 3-Dimensional Virtual Reality
10:38

Human Fear Conditioning Conducted in Full Immersion 3-Dimensional Virtual Reality

Published on: August 9, 2010

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI
12:51

Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI

Published on: October 6, 2011

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Media Studies
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Media, encompassing news and entertainment fiction, can elicit both immediate and lasting fear responses in children.
  • Content designed for children, including television programs and movies, is capable of triggering fear.
  • Different age groups exhibit distinct fear triggers: preoperational children (3-7) fear fantasy and violence, while operational children (8-11) fear abstract risks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the significant impact of media on children's emotional well-being.
  • To inform healthcare professionals about the necessity of inquiring about media exposure during patient history.
  • To emphasize the role of parents and institutions in mitigating negative media effects.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on media's effects on child fear.
  • Analysis of age-specific fear responses to media content.
  • Recommendations for clinical practice and institutional policy.

Main Results:

  • Media-induced fear reactions can be both short-term and enduring.
  • Fear triggers vary significantly between preoperational and operational children.
  • Consequent issues include phobias, sleep disturbances, and behavioral problems.

Conclusions:

  • Media consumption has profound and non-trivial immediate and lasting fear effects on children.
  • Pediatricians should routinely assess media habits and associated fears.
  • Parental mediation and institutional policies are crucial for managing media's impact.