Do infants possess an evolved spider-detection mechanism?

David H. Rakison, Jaime Lane Derringer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

Previous studies with various non-human animals have revealed that they possess an evolved predator recognition mechanism that specifies the appearance of recurring threats. We used the preferential looking and habituation paradigms in three experiments to investigate whether 5-month-old human infants have a perceptual template for spiders that generalizes to real-world images of spiders. A fourth experiment assessed whether 5-month-olds have a perceptual template for a non-threatening biological stimulus (i.e., a flower). The results supported the hypothesis that humans, like other species, may possess a cognitive mechanism for detecting specific animals that were potentially harmful throughout evolutionary history.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)381-393
Number of pages13
JournalCognition
Volume107
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2008
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Spiders
infant
animal
experiment
stimulus
History
threat
paradigm
history
Experiment
Template
Stimulus
Flower
Evolutionary
Real World
Habituation
Threat
Predator
Nonhuman Animals
Paradigm

Keywords

  • Adaptations
  • Cognition
  • Evolution
  • Fear
  • Infancy
  • Perception
  • Spiders

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Language and Linguistics
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Linguistics and Language
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Cite this

Do infants possess an evolved spider-detection mechanism? / Rakison, David H.; Derringer, Jaime Lane.

In: Cognition, Vol. 107, No. 1, 01.04.2008, p. 381-393.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Rakison, DH & Derringer, JL 2008, 'Do infants possess an evolved spider-detection mechanism?', Cognition, vol. 107, no. 1, pp. 381-393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2007.07.022
Rakison DH, Derringer JL. Do infants possess an evolved spider-detection mechanism? Cognition. 2008 Apr 1;107(1):381-393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2007.07.022
Rakison, David H. ; Derringer, Jaime Lane. / Do infants possess an evolved spider-detection mechanism?. In: Cognition. 2008 ; Vol. 107, No. 1. pp. 381-393.
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