Are Humans NATURALLY Afraid Of Heights?

Summary

In this video, the concept of fear is explored, highlighting its origins in both learned experiences and innate hardwiring. The fear of heights, demonstrated through the visual cliff experiment with babies, shows how an instinctive fear can emerge early in life. A baby is placed on a surface that appears safe but leads to a visual illusion of a dangerous drop. As the baby hesitates before stepping onto the cliff, the video reveals the intriguing nature of early, ingrained fears and how they are part of human development.

Takeaways

• 😀 Fear is a combination of learned experiences and hard-wired instincts.
• 😀 One example of a hard-wired fear is the fear of heights, which emerges early in babies.
• 😀 The 'Visual Cliff Experiment' is a classic psychology test used to study infants' fear of heights.
• 😀 In the Visual Cliff Experiment, a baby is placed on a solid surface that disappears, creating the illusion of a drop.
• 😀 Despite the illusion, the baby is safe, but visually it appears to be a cliff.
• 😀 Babies instinctively show fear when they perceive a drop, even though they are not in danger.
• 😀 The baby pauses when approaching the 'cliff,' showing an innate fear response to heights.
• 😀 The fear of heights observed in infants is fascinating because it seems instinctual rather than learned.
• 😀 This experiment demonstrates that some fears, like the fear of heights, are ingrained and part of our biological makeup.
• 😀 The speaker also mentions being afraid of other things beyond heights, indicating that fear can be complex and multifaceted.

Q & A

What is the origin of our fears?

Our fears come from a combination of learned experiences and hard wiring in our brain, meaning some fears are innate, while others are developed through experience.

What is the visual Cliff experiment?

The visual Cliff experiment is a classic psychology test that examines a baby's fear of heights. A surface is created that visually appears to have a drop, but is actually safe. The baby’s reaction helps researchers understand the development of fear of heights.

How does the visual Cliff experiment work?

In the visual Cliff experiment, a baby is placed on a surface that initially feels solid. However, part of the surface disappears, creating the illusion of a drop. Although the baby is safe, they often stop or hesitate upon seeing the ‘cliff,’ indicating fear of heights.

At what age do babies typically begin to show fear of heights?

Fear of heights appears early in infants, and the visual Cliff experiment helps demonstrate that this fear is ingrained and not solely learned through experience.

What was observed when the baby in the experiment saw the cliff?

The baby paused upon seeing the cliff, which indicates a natural hesitation and fear. Even though the baby could not fall, the visual illusion of a drop caused the baby to instinctively stop.

Is the fear of heights learned or innate?

The fear of heights seems to be a combination of both innate (hard-wired) and learned elements. The visual Cliff experiment shows that infants exhibit an instinctive fear of heights.

Why do babies hesitate at the visual cliff if they are not in danger?

Babies hesitate because their instinctive fear response to heights is triggered by the visual illusion of a dangerous drop, even though they are physically safe.

How do psychologists use the visual Cliff experiment to study fear?

Psychologists use the visual Cliff experiment to observe how babies react to perceived dangers, helping to understand how fear develops and whether some fears are innate.

What does the baby's behavior in the experiment suggest about fear development?

The baby's hesitation suggests that certain fears, like the fear of heights, may be hard-wired into humans and are part of our natural response to perceived dangers.

What other fears, aside from heights, are considered instinctive in humans?

Aside from the fear of heights, many other fears are also believed to be ingrained, such as the fear of loud noises or unfamiliar animals, though the script does not specify further examples.