Why are children innately scared of monsters?

[jjones]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: Hubris
Your question itself is flawed. Children are not "innately" afraid of monsters. That's a learned response. If you put Freddy Kruger in front of a child that has NEVER been exposed to monsters in any way shape or form, they won't be terrified of him. They'll just think it's a human who looks differently.

Some things are innate in human beings. But monster fear is something which they learn.

Fear of the unknown is innate. The OP is making a general fear into something more specific. All of my kids have been, at one time or another, afraid of Chuch E. Cheese. They love to go to the place, but when Chuck E. comes out, they start running.

Well, in a way, I'd have to agree with both of you. Having watched my daughter grow up, she was not afraid of monsters at all or pretty much anything, she learned to be afraid of them. She did have fears, mostly fears of abandonment (afraid if her mother wasn't in the general vicinity), that later developed into general fears of the unknown, including fear of monsters.

I think fear is innate in that it is a survival instict but certain fears, such as that of monsters, are learned, but it is an inevitable process that develops as the child's mind develops.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

As a general point, children are programmed to be comforted by some things, and frightened by others. If you make a loud bang by a baby, it's going to cry. As children get older they are able to put form to their fears, and humans often choose monsters as the embodiment of those terrors. They are in every culture. It's innate in the species.

The reason that children fear them and adults do not is that developmentally young children cannot clearly distinguish between imagination and reality. You cannot educate them, they must mature and develop the mental machinery to grasp reality in societal norms. As adults we define reality in a certain way, and are usually able to separate the two. Of course that doesn't always apply, since adults can and do make fears into larger than life threats. When that happens it can be nasty. You notice that Saddam is a "monster". Why? Because all "real" monsters must be obliterated. Saddam was a monster hiding under many American beds. We went to war in psychological terms to make our closets safe at night.

 

[skace]

Here would be my guess. As adults we have 3 main things that help us understand reality as it pertains to monsters:

1. We choose to only believe in things if they can be proven / demonstrated / seen / touched on a somewhat reproduceable level. I may have once thought there was a zombie under my bed, but after years of having never seen said zombie under bed (or anywhere else), I now refuse to entertain the thought.

2. All adults have at least a somewhat basic understanding of what is possible or what we percieve as possible. Many monsters thus end up falling under the impossible category based on basic knowledge. Such as a zombie, ghost, or frankenstein.

3. Most adults end up learning that stories of such and such monster are just that, a story. Armed with this knowledge they don't need to believe in it anymore. Also, every time you disprove a possible ghost story, the weight against possible existances gets stronger. IE: Someone claims xyz house is haunted with ghosts. You end up going there and finding out that it is just an old, albeit spooky, house. You could probably throw finding logical explanations into this one also (IE: Finding out that the banging from downstairs is an open window or scary shape in your room is a shadow).

Not to start a flameware, but #1 is often broken down by religions. This may also be why a lot of religious folks don't have any trouble believing/fearing hell and demons. Having said that, a persons ability to utilize #1 would also affect how often they fear things. If you took these 3 things away from an adult, I think you'd end up with someone who would fear everything you told them. I could be wrong.. but I took a shot 🙂

 

[Zanix]

Sunday school.


The devil and his minions = Ghostbusters cartoon baddies. (when I was a kid)