Threat Perception Across the Life Span

Abstract

Snakes and spiders are the objects of two of the most common fears and phobias throughout the world. In the lab, researchers have documented two interesting phenomena in adult humans and nonhuman primates: A propensity for the rapid association of snakes and spiders with fear, and a propensity for the rapid detection of these threatening stimuli. Here, we describe these perceptual biases for threat and highlight new work supporting their existence in infants and young children.