Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Fear Incubation Using an Extended Fear-Conditioning Protocol for Rats
Published on: August 22, 2020
Do infants find snakes aversive? Infants' physiological responses to "fear-relevant" stimuli
1Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
Abstract:
In the current research, we sought to measure infants' physiological responses to snakes-one of the world's most widely feared stimuli-to examine whether they find snakes aversive or merely attention grabbing. Using a similar method to DeLoache and LoBue (Developmental Science, 2009, Vol. 12, pp. 201-207), 6- to 9-month-olds watched a series of multimodal (both auditory and visual) stimuli: a video of a snake (fear-relevant) or an elephant (non-fear-relevant) paired with either a fearful or happy auditory track. We measured physiological responses to the pairs of stimuli, including startle magnitude, latency to startle, and heart rate. Results suggest that snakes capture infants' attention; infants showed the fastest startle responses and lowest average heart rate to the snakes, especially when paired with a fearful voice. Unexpectedly, they also showed significantly reduced startle magnitude during this same snake video plus fearful voice combination. The results are discussed with respect to theoretical perspectives on fear acquisition.
Related Concept Videos
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
Exploration...
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Physiological Theories: Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion
Upon perceiving a stimulus, such as a dangerous...
Attachment
Preparedness and Phobias
Facial Feedback Hypothesis

