Research provides evidence for the preparedness model by showing that conditioned fears are acquired more easily in response to stimuli that were historically dangerous. For instance, people develop conditioned fears more readily to images of snakes and spiders (fear-relevant stimuli) than to images of flowers and berries (fear-irrelevant stimuli).

Experimental Evidence for Prepared Learning in Humans

Studies with monkeys also support the concept of prepared learning. In one experiment, monkeys that observed videos of other monkeys reacting fearfully to toy snakes or crocodiles developed a fear of these fear-relevant stimuli. However, they did not develop a fear of fear-irrelevant stimuli, such as flowers or a toy rabbit, after observing the same fearful reactions.

Experimental Evidence for Prepared Learning in Monkeys

The preparedness model is an evolutionary theory suggesting that the human brain is predisposed to more readily associate certain stimuli with fear. This theory explains why phobias of ancestral dangers, such as snakes, spiders, and heights, are more common than phobias related to modern dangers like motorcycles or weapons, despite the latter posing a greater objective threat. It argues that over the course of evolutionary history, the mind adapted to quickly and easily develop fears of these historically threatening stimuli.

University of Virginia, Charlottesville

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Listed are five theories of the cause of specific phobias in human behavior:
- The Classical, Vicarious, and Informative Pathways for Fear Acquisition
- The Preparedness Model
- The Nonassociative Theory
- The Fear Module Theory
- Cognitive Models

Theories of Specific Phobia's Origins

Coelho, C. M., & Purkis, H. (2009). The Origins of Specific Phobias: Influential Theories and Current Perspectives. Review of General Psychology, 13(4), 335–348. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017759

The Origins of Specific Phobias: Influential Theories and Current Perspectives, 2009

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Ohman, A., & Mineka, S. (2001). Fears, phobias, and preparedness: toward an evolved module of fear and fear learning. Psychological review, 108(3), 483–522. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.108.3.483

Fears, phobias, and preparedness: toward an evolved module of fear and fear learning, 2001

According to cognitive models of specific phobias, a fear response is due to attributions regarding safety and danger of the stimulus, the individual's perceived control over the stimulus, and the attribution made toward the biological response to the stimulus. Studies on young animals show that growing up being used to mastery and control of an environment provided quicker habituation to frightening stimuli. Therefore, this model suggests that being accustomed to control over one's environment allows the individual to see a situation in which a stimulus can be overcome more easily, and vice versa. Biases such as covariation bias and expectancy bias also play a role in the cognitive models of phobias. 

Cognitive Models of Specific Phobias

This model theorizes that each species might have a tendency towards a phobia regarding certain stimuli, with or without exposure to said stimuli. Therefore, a majority of a species would show fear to a certain stimuli on the first exposure. The first studies supporting this model had to do with a phobia of water in human children. 

The Nonassociative Model of the Origin of Specific Phobias

The fear module provides another evolutionary explanation of phobias. According to this theory, a "fear module" in the human brain is set off in aversive contexts by stimuli that would have potentially caused a life-threatening instance in early humanity. This activation is automatic, beyond cognitive control, and occurs in a dedicated neural network. This theory accounts for the emotional level of fear, outside of learned associations.

The Fear Module Theory of Specific Phobias

Psychologist Rachman proposed in 1977 that fears and phobias can be learned through three main pathways. The first is classical conditioning, where a neutral object or situation becomes associated with a frightening event. The other two pathways are vicarious learning (observing others' fear) and informative transmission (being told about a danger), which build upon the principles of learned association.

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