5 minutes
Activity
• Why would it make sense to fear the
following objects or situations?
1.The dark
2.Heights
3.Flying
4.Closed spaces
5.Rats
An Alternative Theory:
Evolutionary Theory
• Evolutionary Theory: Human beings and
animals are governed by nature. It is
natural to want to survive long enough to
pass on your genes.
• ET argues: Fear is instinctive because it
helps us to survive.
• Certain objects are more threatening to
our survival than others – e.g. heights, the
dark, rats.
Evolutionary Approach
• In your groups, read through the questions
in the table.
• Answer each question and explain why
you think that is the answer.
• When you’ve finished, use pages 70 and
71 in your books to write in the correct
answer and the explanation of why.
1. Does the evolutionary theory
explain phobias through nature
or nurture?
It is natural to want to survive long enough
to pass on your genes.
2. Evolution focuses on the need to do
what?
A. Reproduce
B. Survive
C. Pass on genes
D. All of the above
It is natural to want to survive long enough
to pass on your genes.
3. Is fear instinctive or learned
according to the evolutionary
theory?
We want to survive long enough to reproduce
4. Which objects, situations or
animals might be threatening to
our survival?
Limbless animals, animals with many limbs, flying animals.
5. Are these animals more or
less likely to be phobias than
non-threatening objects?
6. Are we more likely to fear
animals that are similar to us in
shape and form or dissimilar to
us?
They are less closely related to us in terms of our genes and
therefore more likely to attack us.
7. Could we be biological
prepared to fear certain
animals? What evolutionary
advantage would this have?
Fear certain objects or situations more than others because
they are a threat to our survival
8. Would we still need a
negative experience with the
phobia to fear it?
A negative experience is still necessary, but if we are
prepared to fear it it will not take much to develop a phobia of
it.
Add to your evaluation of
behaviourist theory
1. How could we use this alternative theory as a criticism?
• Point: it ignores the idea that phobias may be natural.
• For example, it would make sense for us to fear spiders
and snakes as these could possibly harm us and kill us.
• Therefore, it makes sense that we are born with the
instinct to fear animals which may affect our survival.
The behaviourist theory ignore this as it believes all
phobias are learned.
Activity
• Prepare a poster, answering the following
question…
How does the evolutionary theory explain
phobias?
• Include:
1. Nature not nurture
2. Instinctive
3. Animals we may fear and why
4. Fear animals dissimilar to us and why
5. Why are we therefore prepared to fear such
animals?
6. Negative experience still necessary
Mind map – VISUAL
LEARNER
Key concepts:
• 5 common phobias
• Symptoms of
phobias
Core theory:
behaviourist approach:
• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
Atypical
behaviour
Alternative theory:
evolutionary theory
• Biological
preparedness
Weaknesses of core
theory
• Ignores thinking
• Can learn indirectly
• Don’t always have a
negative experience
• Evolutionary explanation
Biological Preparedness
1. We are born to fear certain objects more
than others – because they are a greater
threat to our survival.
2. People who fear animals that could harm
us we more likely to survive as they
would avoid them.
3. Objects that are harmful to us nowadays
but aren’t feared, such as cigarettes were
not around in our ancestors past so we
wouldn’t have an innate fear or them.
Activity
• In pairs, undertake a piece of research:
• Your aim: To see whether the animals
that look most unlike us are the most
feared. This would support the
evolutionary theory.
10 minutes
Your research
1. Make a list of 10 animals which vary in
appearance – height, size, shape, skin, limbs,
face.
2. Find pictures of these animals print them out
3. Ask 10 people to rate each animal in terms of
how much they fear them, using the scale 1 –
5.
You will need to print out 10
result tables
Homework
• Ask 10 people to rate your animals ready
for next lesson.
Results
• Work out the average (mean) score each
animal got.
• Produce a bar chart to display the results.
• Write up your results.
• Write a conclusion: what do your results
show? Do they support the evolutionary
theory? Were the most usual animals the
ones most feared?