Deconstructing the snake: the relative roles of perception, cognition, and emotion on threat detection

Previous research has documented a propensity for rapid detection of various threats like snakes and spiders in human adults, children, and even infants. The current research presents a controlled, systematic investigation of the mechanisms by which humans quickly detect threat. In 3 experiments, we examine the unique and interacting roles of low-level perceptual cues, cognitive factors such as threatening labels, and emotional state to rapid threat detection. Across studies, low-level perceptual features of snakes-namely, curvilinear shapes-consistently elicited rapid detection. Using threatening labels (Experiment 2) facilitated detection marginally more, and a fearful emotional induction (Experiment 3) facilitated detection even further. Collectively the results offer a more complete picture of the mechanisms by which humans quickly perceive threat, suggesting that rapid threat detection can result from several individual and interacting factors, including perceptual, cognitive, and emotional.