Fear and Phobia: The Psychology of Halloween
spider phobia - by kevinzim
By Delia Fuhrmann
Why do some people love to be scared?
Fear is anything but simple. It is evoked by a sense of ambiguity, danger or helplessness, and yet it’s not necessarily awful. Just think of masterpieces like the film “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock or books like “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley - picturing threatening events to give people a sense of fear is a whole branch of art. It can even be a business. People running haunted houses or companies offering bungee-jumping for a proper thrill make their living by making you frightened. Or take Halloween - a whole day dedicated to fear. But what makes fear so attractive? What makes us feel fear? And what is fear from the very beginning?
Fear is a short, intense reaction to a frightening event. It can be experienced as exciting, distressing or threatening. The way people perceive fear differs hugely. Whether you have to cover your eyes and ears when watching “Jumanji” or are a regular Crocodile Dundee, experiencing fear is vital. Self-preservation would hardly work without fear. Uncontrolled fear, however, can turn into a thread to mental health. This irrational and excessive sense of endangerment or a fear of harm concerning a special trigger is known as phobia.
A phobia is a mental disorder; in fact phobias are the most common mental disorder in the U.S. People suffering from phobias experience a fear of dying and a sense of unreality when confronted with their specific fear. In some cases the fear increases to a full-scale anxiety attack. You might have heard of Sociophobia (fear of being amongst people), Mysophobia (fear of dirt and germs) and Arachnophobia (fear of spiders). But people can develop phobias against all kinds of things, such as Porphyrophobia (Fear of the color purple) or Ephebiphobia (Fear of teenagers). It may sound absurd, even funny, but it is not hard to imagine how phobias can hinder people from leading a normal life. It is not quite clear how phobias arise. Some psychologists think phobias come from threats to one’s self-esteem, as in the case of inadequate sexual or job performance. Others think phobias arise from a frightening event in real life. The phobia produced becomes attached to the surrounding circumstances associated with that event, until it triggers fear independently of any frightening event.
But what is effectively happening in our brain that lets us feel fear or in some cases, phobia? The reason we can feel fear is rooted deep down in our brain, in a small, almond shaped assembly of neurons in the temporal lobe – the amygdala. The amygdala has various responsibilities such as processing emotional reactions and memory. When a stimulus promoting fear enters our brain, it is processed by various parts of the brain, eventually entering the amygdala which processes it and projects the information to one of the major regulator’s of the brain, the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus promotes the so-called “fight-or-flight” response by activating neuronal systems and ductless glands. The emission of the hormone cortisol promotes stress and adrenalin sets us in a state of alertness and is the source of pleasant feelings one may associate with a thrill. Together both systems lead to common fear reactions such as being startled, pupil dilation or blood pressure elevation.
One neurotransmitter that is thought to be of great importance in fear reactions and phobias is Oxytocin. Oxytocin has a whole range of impacts on humans. It’s thought to promote bonding in partnerships and trust. Administration of Oxytocin has also been found to lower fear reaction in the amygdala and scientists seek to use it in treatments of social phobia.
Amazingly enough we are probably actually able to “smell fear”. Smelling fear-induced sweat, and the pheromones involved, sets us into a state of alertness. Women smelling fear-induced sweat performed better in a word association task according to a study taken in 2009. This evokes some interesting ideas about how scaring your roommate with your sophisticated Halloween costume could help you to perform better in your next exams, doesn’t it?
You might not necessarily want to think about the amygdala activation and Oxytocin levels when you just want to enjoy the latest horror film in the cinema, your Halloween party or a good read but let’s be honest: it’s pretty interesting stuff.
Why do some people love to be scared?
Fear is anything but simple. It is evoked by a sense of ambiguity, danger or helplessness, and yet it’s not necessarily awful. Just think of masterpieces like the film “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock or books like “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley - picturing threatening events to give people a sense of fear is a whole branch of art. It can even be a business. People running haunted houses or companies offering bungee-jumping for a proper thrill make their living by making you frightened. Or take Halloween - a whole day dedicated to fear. But what makes fear so attractive? What makes us feel fear? And what is fear from the very beginning?
Fear is a short, intense reaction to a frightening event. It can be experienced as exciting, distressing or threatening. The way people perceive fear differs hugely. Whether you have to cover your eyes and ears when watching “Jumanji” or are a regular Crocodile Dundee, experiencing fear is vital. Self-preservation would hardly work without fear. Uncontrolled fear, however, can turn into a thread to mental health. This irrational and excessive sense of endangerment or a fear of harm concerning a special trigger is known as phobia.
A phobia is a mental disorder; in fact phobias are the most common mental disorder in the U.S. People suffering from phobias experience a fear of dying and a sense of unreality when confronted with their specific fear. In some cases the fear increases to a full-scale anxiety attack. You might have heard of Sociophobia (fear of being amongst people), Mysophobia (fear of dirt and germs) and Arachnophobia (fear of spiders). But people can develop phobias against all kinds of things, such as Porphyrophobia (Fear of the color purple) or Ephebiphobia (Fear of teenagers). It may sound absurd, even funny, but it is not hard to imagine how phobias can hinder people from leading a normal life. It is not quite clear how phobias arise. Some psychologists think phobias come from threats to one’s self-esteem, as in the case of inadequate sexual or job performance. Others think phobias arise from a frightening event in real life. The phobia produced becomes attached to the surrounding circumstances associated with that event, until it triggers fear independently of any frightening event.
But what is effectively happening in our brain that lets us feel fear or in some cases, phobia? The reason we can feel fear is rooted deep down in our brain, in a small, almond shaped assembly of neurons in the temporal lobe – the amygdala. The amygdala has various responsibilities such as processing emotional reactions and memory. When a stimulus promoting fear enters our brain, it is processed by various parts of the brain, eventually entering the amygdala which processes it and projects the information to one of the major regulator’s of the brain, the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus promotes the so-called “fight-or-flight” response by activating neuronal systems and ductless glands. The emission of the hormone cortisol promotes stress and adrenalin sets us in a state of alertness and is the source of pleasant feelings one may associate with a thrill. Together both systems lead to common fear reactions such as being startled, pupil dilation or blood pressure elevation.
One neurotransmitter that is thought to be of great importance in fear reactions and phobias is Oxytocin. Oxytocin has a whole range of impacts on humans. It’s thought to promote bonding in partnerships and trust. Administration of Oxytocin has also been found to lower fear reaction in the amygdala and scientists seek to use it in treatments of social phobia.
Amazingly enough we are probably actually able to “smell fear”. Smelling fear-induced sweat, and the pheromones involved, sets us into a state of alertness. Women smelling fear-induced sweat performed better in a word association task according to a study taken in 2009. This evokes some interesting ideas about how scaring your roommate with your sophisticated Halloween costume could help you to perform better in your next exams, doesn’t it?
You might not necessarily want to think about the amygdala activation and Oxytocin levels when you just want to enjoy the latest horror film in the cinema, your Halloween party or a good read but let’s be honest: it’s pretty interesting stuff.