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 language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 381-393 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Cognition |
Volume | 107 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 1 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |
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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.
In: Cognition, Vol. 107, No. 1, 01.04.2008, p. 381-393.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Do infants possess an evolved spider-detection mechanism?
AU - Rakison, David H.
AU - Derringer, Jaime
PY - 2008/4/1
Y1 - 2008/4/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Adaptations
KW - Cognition
KW - Evolution
KW - Fear
KW - Infancy
KW - Perception
KW - Spiders
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=40649112099&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=40649112099&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cognition.2007.07.022
DO - 10.1016/j.cognition.2007.07.022
M3 - Article
C2 - 17825812
AN - SCOPUS:40649112099
VL - 107
SP - 381
EP - 393
JO - Cognition
JF - Cognition
SN - 0010-0277
IS - 1
ER -