Thinky Question

[kerravonsen]

Is fear of the unknown inate, or is it learned?

Comments

[foxfirefey]

I think it can be both and depends on the person. Some people seem to be innately fearful when young, despite all reassurances. Other people go through experiences that reinforce being afraid of things they don't know.

[watervole]

In my experience, it tends to come with stress.

Well...

[ysabetwordsmith]

It can be either, or other. Innate reaction to the unknown can be fear, indifference, or attraction. If one's family finds one's innate reaction unacceptable, they can try to modify it, which may or may not work.

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Now you're making me thinky, too.

I'm sure there's some small part of fear of the unknown which is, in fact, innate, part of our instincts--things like the startle reflex in an infant.

But I also have a feeling that most of it is learned. What I miss most about childhood is the sense that the unknown is going to be an adventure--the constant wonder of new, different, everyday things. It wasn't till I got older that I started assuming that the unknown was likely to be dangerous/harmful.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

Depends on the person. Some babies are more innately "fearful" than others. Others seem to be born not knowing the meaning of the word.

[dawnmist]

My thought is that a LOT of it is a survival reflex/instinctual.

When people feel fear, they get a whole dump of chemicals added to their bloodstream that enhance alertness, prepare the body for flight, etc. The person who runs from an unknown rustle in the bushes and hides...and survives a predator attack as a result, lives to create the next generation.

[temeres.livejournal.com]

Without knowing for certain, I would expect it to be innate but to a variable degree (ie stronger in some individuals than others), tempered by (also innate and variable) primate curiosity and modulated through experience.

To talk of a trait being either innate orlearned is usually inappropriate. Experience operates on traits that are already there, and may dampen them, exaggerate them, perhaps even wholly inhibit them. But normally there has to be something there in the first place to make learning possible. Nature expressed via nurture.