Season 3 Episode 9: Fear, Anxiety, and Terror

 

We discuss Chapter XII of the text The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. In this chapter Darwin explores the expressions we associate with surprise, fear, terror, horror, and anxiety. The stereotypical expression of fear, as represented by the image above from the 1950's horror film franchises,  has both a physiological function and a signal function. We discuss the various arguments Darwin made about the reason your eyes are opened wide, your mouth held agape, your hands held up. In this chapter Darwin used both photographs from Duchenne and woodcuts from photographs to illustrate the unique expressions humans employ when exhibiting that emotion. 

Fig. 20. Terror. From a photograph by Dr. Duchenne.

We discussed how these expressions often illicit aid from others. In addition to people responding to the visual signal of fear, research has indicated that we also respond to the smell of fear. James discussed a study (Chen, Katdare, & Lucas 2006) where sweat samples generated from individuals who were either neutral or experiencing fear, as induced from watching scary movies, would trigger differences in cognitive abilities in third parties who smelled the sweat and then were tested for word association. 

We had a robust conversation about the apparent gender differences in the expression of anxiety. One of the complexities of this issue is untangling social norms and how they alter anxiety expression from biological differences that may alter anxiety expression.    

The opening and closing theme to Discovering Darwin is "May" by Jared C. Balogh.

Interlude music opening theme to Jaws - John Williams

Chen, Denise, Ameeta Katdare, and Nadia Lucas. "Chemosignals of fear enhance cognitive performance in humans." Chemical senses 31.5 (2006): 415-423. 

McLean, Carmen P., and Emily R. Anderson. "Brave men and timid women? A review of the gender differences in fear and anxiety." Clinical psychology review 29.6 (2009): 496-505.