The Psychology of Fear

Summary

Fear is a widespread emotion found across cultures and is also observed in other animals. The speaker describes it as our interpretation of biological changes—for example, blood being redirected from the digestive system toward parts of the body that support fighting or fleeing. The familiar “butterflies in your stomach” sensation is another part of the experience.

The video distinguishes between two kinds of fear:

• Innate fears are present from birth and commonly shared, such as fear of death and snakes. These are linked to threats people have reason to avoid.
• Acquired fears are learned, even when the feared object does not pose an inherent biological danger.

The speaker cites coulrophobia, or fear of clowns, as an acquired fear that has grown notably in recent years. The film It may have contributed by associating clowns—once viewed as harmless entertainment—with danger.

Fear can also spread through emotional contagion: people imitate others’ reactions and may develop fear by observing it. The speaker connects this idea to the 2016 “clown apocalypse” in the UK. In her research, she says that fear and other emotions appear less likely to spread through imitation among people with autism spectrum disorders than among neurotypical people.

Approaches to Reducing Fears

The video describes two psychological methods:

• Flooding

  • A person is exposed directly to the feared situation, potentially at its most intense.
  • For example, someone afraid of clowns might be placed in a room with many clowns.
  • The aim is for the person to learn that the feared outcome does not occur and for anxiety to subside.
  • The speaker characterizes this as the more extreme method.

• Systematic desensitization

  • A person works with a psychologist to build tolerance gradually.
  • For a fear of spiders, the steps might be:
    1. Read about spiders.
    2. Look at a picture of a spider.
    3. View a spider from a distance or from a place where it cannot reach the person.
    4. Progress toward being able to handle a spider.
  • The goal is to weaken the learned association between the feared object and an expected bad outcome.

Speaker and Research

The video features a psychology expert identified in its metadata as Dr. Donna Berry of Keele University. She also refers to her research on emotional contagion and autism spectrum disorders.