Fear distorts the space

Snake crawling on the person can be more than he seems. Fear can distort the perception of approaching objects, making the distance to underestimate the threat. These are the findings of a study published in the journal Current Biology.
"Our results suggest that emotions and perception is not completely separable in the mind - says psychologist at Emory University (Ga.), co-author of the study. - Fear can affect the very basis of how we perceive the world around us. These results are important for understanding the clinical phobias. "
Lorenzo led the research with Matthew Longo, a psychologist from Birkbeck College (University of London).
Usually a person is well developed as understanding when approaching the object will be selected him closely, and the reaction in the form of evasion or block object if necessary. The researchers conducted an experiment to test the effect of fear on the accuracy of these skills.
Participants in the study assessed the time to "touch" them the images on a computer screen. Pictures increased in size during the second, simulating the approach of an object. Each subject had to press a button at a time when it seemed the object could "encounter" with him.
Participants were more likely to underestimate the time to approach frightening objects, such as a snake or a spider. If scary objects, such as the approach of a rabbit or a butterfly, an underestimation was not.
"We have shown that the type of the object affects the perception of his approach. If we fear something, we believe that it will get to us soon" - says Longo.
"The most amazing thing is - adds Lorenzo - that we can predict how the subject closer contact time opredeyaya the level of fear of the object. The more a person is afraid, for example, spiders, the more it" moves "time approach."
While we can not say exactly what the cause of this underestimation. We may think that the terrible object is moving faster than it really is. Perhaps the fear of increasing the size of the "personal space", "which is usually limited to a length of an arm.
"We plan to determine the true cause for further research. This will allow us to shed light on the mechanics of the basic aspects of spatial perception and the processes that underlie specific phobias" - said Lorenzo.