Bennett-Levy Flashcards
What were the 3 things Bennett-Levy aimed to do?
- Why people fear certain things
- Whether these fears are innate
- Whether its the movement and looks which makes us fear them
How can Bennett-Levy’s study be placed in a social and historical context?
Since Darwin interest in evolutionary psychology and the nature Vs nurture debate. How much fear is due to nature rather than learning has been an important question. Survival of society depends on avoiding harmful things. People who aren’t fearful didn’t survive to pass their genes on. Some fears are adaptive. Bennett-Levy wanted to find out if why we feared snakes was due to their looks and how they felt.
How can Bennett-Levy’s study be placed in an academic context?
Seligman - looked at how many shocks it took for people to have a fear of spiders and snakes. 2-4 shocks for spider, but much larger shocks for a flower phobia. People innately prepared to fear harmful things
What was Bennett-Levy’s research method?
Questionnaire
What type of sampling method did Bennett-Levy use?
Opportunist
How many pps were there altogether?
113
How many pps were there in group 1?
64
- 30 males
- 34 females
How many pps were there in group 2?
49
- 24 males
- 25 females
What was the mean age of the pps?
35
What did group 1’s questionnaire designed to do?
Measure fear and avoidance
- fear on a 3 point scale
- avoidance on a 5 point scale
How many animals were used in the questionnaires?
29
What were the pps told about the animals?
They are harmless
What were the 4 questions in the questionnaire group 2 had to answer?
How ugly they are
How slimy are they
How speedy are they
How suddenly do they move
What was the scale group 2 had to use?
3 point scale
Why did they talk to the pps?
So they knew what they meant by ugly
How did Bennett-Levy address some ethical issues?
He rejected using people with a fear
What did Bennett-Levy find between the fear and the characteristics?
Positive correlation
What was the most feared, ugly and speedy animal?
Rat
What 2 animals were the least feared?
Rabbit
Tortoise
What was the mean fear score for the rat and cat?
2.1 & 1.0
What was the mean score for avoidance for the rat and cat?
3.9 & 1.1
What was the mean score for ugliness for the rat and cat?
2.2 & 1.0
What was the mean score for sliminess for the rat and cat?
1.1 & 1.0
What was the mean score for speediness for the rat and cat?
2.4 & 2.2