An ethologically based view into human fear

Coelho, Carlos M.; Araújo, Araujo Ana S; Suttiwan, Panrapee; Zsidó, András N.

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105017

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 191 publications

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“…We also wanted to investigate the unique pattern of risk factors associated with SPs, as there is great variability in prevalence 2 , stimulus element triggering fear 28 , the likelihood of impairment, comorbidity, and personality problems 17 , cognitive ER strategies 25 and brain activation pattern 23,29,30 of SP subtypes. As expected, our results clearly show that each SP subtype has a different pattern of associated factors; further, some factors only appear for one subtype and not for the others.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key factors behind various specific phobia subtypes

Zsido,

Kiss,

Basler

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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While it has been suggested that more than a quarter of the whole population is at risk of developing some form of specific phobia (SP) during their lives, we still know little about the various risk and protective factors and underlying mechanisms. Moreover, although SPs are distinct mental disorder categories, most studies do not distinguish between them, or stress their differences. Thus, our study was manifold. We examined the psychometric properties of the Specific Phobia Questionnaire (SPQ) and assessed whether it can be used for screening in the general population in a large sample (N = 685). Then, using general linear modeling on a second sample (N = 432), we tested how potential socio-demographic, cognitive emotion regulatory, and personality variables were associated with the five SP subtypes. Our results show that the SPQ is a reliable screening tool. More importantly, we identified transdiagnostic (e.g., younger age, female gender, rumination, catastrophizing, positive refocusing) as well as phobia-specific factors that may contribute to the development and maintenance of SPs. Our results support previous claims that phobias are more different than previously thought, and, consequently, should be separately studied, instead of collapsing into one category. Our findings could be pertinent for both prevention and intervention strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key factors behind various specific phobia subtypes

Zsido,

Kiss,

Basler

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…Fear and disgust are the two emotions known to be evoked by animals considered dangerous (Ekman 1999). Feared objects or situations can even elicit a combination of fear and disgust (Coelho et al 2023). While fear is an adaptive response to an imminent threat of injury or even death (LeDoux 2012) or to other elements, such as sensory experiences (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While fear is an adaptive response to an imminent threat of injury or even death (LeDoux 2012) or to other elements, such as sensory experiences (e.g. pain, Coelho et al 2023), disgust is considered part of the behavioural system that protects humans against pathogen transmission or contamination (Matchett and Davey 1991;Curtis et al 2011). As already widespread persecution of bats ) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (Zhao 2019), it is reasonable to hypothesise that biophobia of bats also increased during the pandemic (Soga et al 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond biophobia: positive appraisal of bats among German residents during the COVID-19 pandemic - with consequences for conservation intentions

Straka,

Coleman,

Macdonald

et al. 2024

Biodivers Conserv

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Bats are often considered to be objects of biophobia, i.e., the tendency to respond with a negative emotion, such as fear or disgust, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, existing studies have rarely compared both positive and negative emotions towards bats, leading to a potential negativity bias. This is crucial given the importance of emotions to bat-related human behaviours, such as in bat conservation-related actions. Via two online surveys conducted among German residents, we aimed to (i) assess positive and negative emotions towards bats, (ii) examine emotional shifts during the pandemic and (iii) explore how emotions, along with socio-demographics, predict the intent to perform bat-conservation actions. The first survey was undertaken ten months after the official declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic (December 2020 - January 2021), when bats gained societal attention due to speculation about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the second one ran twelve months later (January 2022). Overall, respondents held higher positive emotions than negative ones towards bats in both surveys, with no significant emotional shift observed. Positive emotions positively correlated with intentions to perform bat-conservation actions, while negative emotions showed no such relationship. Although our findings might be context-specific to populations in Germany or Europe, given European-Union legislation protecting bats and their habitats, they highlight the nuanced and complicated emotions that can be associated with certain species. Understanding these emotions can guide targeted conservation strategies and public outreach. Our results caution against overly generalising discussions of biophobia in conservation.

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“…Much remains unknown about the cognitive mechanisms and information-processing biases involved in threat detection, and the acquisition and maintenance of threat associations. To complicate matters, these mechanisms and biases are likely to vary for different types of threats (see, e.g., Coelho et al, 2023 ), such as those posed by animals, weapons, social situations, or groups. There has been a recent push to identify ways to improve the methods used in research in this area, which has also led to reevaluation of theoretical frameworks (March et al, 2022 ; Landová et al, 2023 ; Zsido et al, 2024 ).…”

Section: Part I - General Introduction and The Importance Of The Rese...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Editorial: Towards an understanding of the cognitive mechanisms involved in threat processing and perception

Zsido,

Hout,

March

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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An ethologically based view into human fear

Cited by 8 publications

References 191 publications

Key factors behind various specific phobia subtypes

Key factors behind various specific phobia subtypes

Beyond biophobia: positive appraisal of bats among German residents during the COVID-19 pandemic - with consequences for conservation intentions

Editorial: Towards an understanding of the cognitive mechanisms involved in threat processing and perception

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