<\/span><\/h2>\nThe\u00a0researchers\u2019\u00a0first observation is that infants\u00a0do not show\u00a0<\/span>fear<\/span>\u00a0of spiders, snakes, heights and strangers, but\u00a0are\u00a0actually rather interested in them and want to explore them more.<\/span><\/p>\nBabies do show more immediate attention to snakes and spiders, and, if the images are shown at the same time as a soundtrack of fearful voices, their\u00a0attention is even\u00a0greater.\u00a0The infants appear to be particularly interested\u00a0in\u00a0spiders and snakes. They reach out to touch a screen showing\u00a0them. They actually appear to\u00a0<\/span>like<\/span>\u00a0spiders and snakes, spending more time peering into tanks\u00a0containing these creatures, often with faces glued to the glass.<\/span><\/p>\nInfants\u2019 reactions to\u00a0heights\u00a0are similar. When confronted with steep drops, slopes, bridges and gaps,\u00a0they spend\u00a0most of the time peering over the edge and exploring it with hands and feet. And while they do this, their expressions are predominantly positive or neutral. Many appear to be enjoying themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAnd\u00a0babies\u00a0often pay\u00a0increased attention\u00a0to strangers, smiling\u00a0and offering\u00a0toys. In laboratory tests, infants don\u2019t tend to react negatively to the presence of a stranger, even in an unfamiliar environment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe second observation\u00a0about\u00a0existing research\u00a0is that many of the reactions\u00a0that researchers\u00a0interpret as fear cannot really be considered symptoms of fear at all. Rapidly noticing and being interested in spiders and snakes is not the same as fear\u00a0of spiders and snakes. Similarly, avoiding a cliff edge does not equate with fear. As noted above, during all their exploratory probing, checking, testing and attempting, infants rarely display negative emotions. Even a raised heartbeat is not necessarily a sign of fear; the\u00a0infants are\u00a0often smiling when their heartbeat goes up.\u00a0Furthermore, a\u00a0baby does not respond more negatively to an objectively\u00a0more dangerous situation\u2014a\u00a0wider gap to cross,\u00a0say,\u00a0or a longer distance to fall. We do not tend to attribute fear to an animal\u2019s avoidance of a steep drop and, the authors argue, we should see infants in the same way.\u00a0Similarly\u00a0with strangers \u2013\u00a0displaying\u00a0a serious expression or\u00a0ceasing to\u00a0play when a stranger enters is unlikely to denote fear.<\/span><\/p>\nThe third observation is that the infant\u2019s reaction depends on the context in which the encounter is taking place. Children react more positively to strangers when they are at home\u00a0and\/or with a parent. If\u00a0a\u00a0stranger approaches\u00a0rapidly\u00a0and\u00a0then touches or tries to pick up\u00a0an\u00a0infant, the\u00a0child is\u00a0likely to respond more negatively. But even in\u00a0an experiment where infants\u00a0were\u00a0seated alone on the floor and\u00a0were\u00a0picked up by a stranger, 40% carried on smiling or were neutral.<\/span><\/p>\nFinally,\u00a0infants\u2019\u00a0response depends on their own temperament or abilities. Novice crawlers and walkers will walk right over a steep drop, but after\u00a0time and practice, they can tell the difference between a trivial situation and an impossible one (such as a\u00a0drop\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0too\u00a0far or a\u00a0gap\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0too wide). If\u00a0the obstacle is\u00a0impossible, they are likely to start exploring it, for example,\u00a0by\u00a0poking an arm or leg into the precipice or over the gap.\u00a0They\u00a0also\u00a0start looking for alternatives, such as holding a support post,or shifting their posture from upright to prone, sitting and backing positions. If they are wearing a weight on their shoulders, or\u00a0are\u00a0wearing slippery shoes, they become more cautious. In relation to strangers, some infants are temperamentally more fearful than others and tend to react more negatively.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIronically, despite all the attention to the growth of the fear\u00a0of spiders, snakes, heights and strangers, these fears\u00a0are actually not that prevalent at all.\u00a0Fear of spiders, snakes\u00a0and heights is not widely reported in infants or pre-schoolers. Only 5% of adults report a phobia of heights, and 3-6% report a phobia of spiders and snakes.\u00a0Fear of strangers is so rare among adults that it does not even have a name.\u00a0A related problem, social phobia\/anxiety,\u00a0affects about 11% of the population.<\/span><\/p>\n