Page Sec1:42 - Labyrint 2013 - English Edition

Your fear reaction ­
is extremely fast
“I am studying how quickly you react to
something that is frightening, and it turns
out that it takes just a tenth of a second
between the time you are exposed to some­
thing that you fear until you react. Our
reaction to fear is almost as fast as a reflex,”
says Ole Åsli, a postdoc in the Department
of Psychology at the University of Tromsø.
Åsli says that as humans, we are predis-
posed to being afraid, and that this reaction
comes from our ancestors. When our
ancestors lived in Africa, it was individuals
who learned to fear danger who survived.
“Being afraid of snakes and spiders used to
be a helpful reaction, but it is not as useful
today. We probably have an overly effective
fear system.
The brain’s fear centre
Department headMagne Arve Flaten says
that fear comes from the part of our brain
that is specialized to express terror.
If you are exposed to something you’re afraid of, such as a spider, you feel
fearful in just a tenth of a second!
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42 ••• Labyrint E/13 – University of Tromsø
Text: Elisabeth Øvreberg
Photo: Andreas Palmén, Silje Kulvedrøsten