Brain Study Shows Fears Learned From Others Same As Fears Experienced Firsthand

The brain uses similar neural processes to learn fears whether through personal experience or social observation, show NYU psychologists.

Subjects in the study watched a video that showed another person receiving electric shocks connected to a colored square. When presented with the colored square, subjects showed "a robust fear response" despite never encountering an electric shock themselves. Brain images showed the amygdala, the part of the brain involved in fear conditioning, responded the same when subjects watched another person get shocked and when they were presented with the colored square.

Researchers suggest the ability to learn fear by watching others may have served an adaptive role in human development, allowing us to pick up cues about dangers without experiencing them firsthand. This response also suggests that some phobias may in fact be "passed down" from parent to child and helps advance the emerging field of social neuroscience.

Read more: NYU Brain Imaging Study Shows Fears Learned Through Observation Similar to Fears From Direct Experience