tmazanec1
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Posts: 463
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Post by tmazanec1 on Feb 28, 2008 13:45:22 GMT -5
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Post by pitbulllady on Feb 28, 2008 15:57:41 GMT -5
Being able to PINPOINT a snake out of a series of non-snake-like images, and FEARING a snake, are two different things. There have been studies, using human toddlers and captive-reared chimps, that have shown that unless they've been exposed to fearful and negative reactions towards snakes, human children do not inherently fear them. Chimps, on the other hand, even those reared in sterile lab environments with very limited contact with other chimps, will panic at the sight of a snake, including rubber facsimiles. One of the things I've learned with my many years of working with children is never to underestimate just how much very young children take in, and are influenced by, of their parents' behavior. Toddlers and even babies are highly perceptive of the reactions of adults around them. If a toddler sees his/her mother react negatively to a snake briefly shown on tv, for instance, that child immediately picks up on this, and files it away in his/her subconscious memory. Even before the child learns what that animal is called, he/she perceives that it's "bad", because Mom's body language said so.
If humans really were born with an instinctual fear of snakes, as opposed to a strong ability to LEARN to be afraid of snakes, them people like myself, and the late Steven Irwin, among many others, could not exist. You can un-learn any learned behavior, but overcoming instinct is nearly impossible. Unless someone proves that people like myself, who've refused to believe all the wives' tales and myths, have a specific gene that cancels out this "instinctive" fear, I can't logically buy into humans having a gene that makes them afraid of snakes, and basically, that's what an instinct boils down to-genetics. It's an interesting article, don't get me wrong, but the logic behind it is flawed because it doesn't take into account that huge variable of people who not only DON'T fear snakes, but are very fond of them. I mean, if someone shows ME that same series of images, I'M gonna zero in on the snake, too, though not out of fear, and the article did not specifically state that the children reacted negatively to an image of a snake, only that they "pinpointed" it, which I take to mean that this image got a more noticeable physical reaction of some sort. I also have to wonder what KIND of snake image was used; was it a calm snake, coiled and motionless, or a snake in a defensive posture, standing up, perhaps a Cobra with its hood outstretched? I do know that if you show a young child a photo of a friendly, calm dog, and a snarling, angry dog with its teeth bared, you'll get a very different reaction, even though both images are of dogs, so humans do apparently recognize threat postures and expressions instinctively, possibly because such gestures and postures and expressions in many species are very similar to ours. A toddler knows when Mommy is angry or upset and recognizes the same emotions in different animals, even those he/she has had no contact with.
pitbulllady
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GambleLover
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
I am still alive
Posts: 185
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Post by GambleLover on Mar 30, 2009 5:19:16 GMT -5
I love snakes.
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DinoGirl
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Aladar sure has one sparkling eye!
Posts: 512
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Post by DinoGirl on Mar 30, 2009 12:56:10 GMT -5
I have never, ever had a fear of snakes, and thus I can't really say we're born with it. I love all reptiles. I just find them facinating. At the age of 3 or 4, I held a massive Python (well to me it was big ;D) and never flinched or anything.
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Post by pitbulllady on Mar 30, 2009 18:29:41 GMT -5
You like snakes and guns...I think you and I will get along GREAT! I KNEW there was something I liked about you when you first signed on! pitbulllady |
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Post by RandallBoggs on Mar 30, 2009 19:05:15 GMT -5
*stares at Pitbulllady* I KNEW you had a shotgun in your trailer somewhere ^0^
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Post by pitbulllady on Mar 30, 2009 21:05:24 GMT -5
*stares at Pitbulllady* I KNEW you had a shotgun in your trailer somewhere ^0^ NO, I've got TWO shotguns in the trailer, a .410 Remington and a 12-gauge Mossberg. Plus a .22 semi-automatic Ruger magnum...traded a couple of hog dogs for that one, so THERE ;D pitbulllady |
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Post by RandallBoggs on Mar 30, 2009 21:09:53 GMT -5
Ahh...my psychic powers are still flaunting ^0^
REMINGTON? Ho ho...the original Zombie Killer shotgun ^0^
And a RUGE Magnum? Oh man...unsure if Jeff Foxworthy would put a magnum in "You might be a redneck" ^0^
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GambleLover
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
I am still alive
Posts: 185
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Post by GambleLover on Mar 31, 2009 3:57:31 GMT -5
Ma favorite gun is winchenster 1897 ,navy colt and legendary thompson.
From modern ages i like the good ol´ Kalashnikov AK-47 and L96A1 sniper rifle.Also love cold steel like rapiers and zweihanders.
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Post by pitbulllady on Mar 31, 2009 17:18:56 GMT -5
Ma favorite gun is winchenster 1897 ,navy colt and legendary thompson. From modern ages i like the good ol´ Kalashnikov AK-47 and L96A1 sniper rifle.Also love cold steel like rapiers and zweihanders. You remind me a lot of a dear friend of mine from my college days, who sadly passed away recently from complications of diabetes. He collected military weaponry and memorabilia, including what you fondly refer to as "cold steel". He had a large and impressive collection, which I know included some rare items from WWI and the American Civil War and even a rapier from the Spanish-American War, a little-known conflict. I don't know what his family did with that collection following his death, though. I'm sure many museums would have loved it. pitbulllady |
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GambleLover
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
I am still alive
Posts: 185
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Post by GambleLover on Apr 1, 2009 5:33:59 GMT -5
WWI huh,I got lighter from that time.Got it from uncle in Germany.
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Post by lizardgirl on Apr 7, 2009 14:39:03 GMT -5
We've been learning about phobias in psychology lately, and I agree with what most of the research that we've studied has found- through operant conditioning, kids learn that snakes, for example, are scary and should be avoided. It doesn't seem to be innate as if you give a two year old a snake, they're not going to try and get away from it or scream- IF their parents haven't done so. It's like the Little Albert study, in which a small child was given a white rat to play with- he was happy enough with the rat at first, but then subsequently every time he was given the rat, a loud gong was sounded that frightened and scared him. He soon associated the rat with the loud noise and then became fearful not only of the white rat, but other white fluffy things like tissues and other small rodents and Santa's beard.
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