Background
This emotion is fast, automatic, and kicks in when there is an immediate threat, unlike its longer-lasting, uncertainty-driven counterpart.
Fear
Who is famous for his work with operant condtioning?
B.F. Skinner
Filmmakers use this sudden, unexpected event in horror movies to spike adrenaline and capture attention.
Jump Scare
The fear amongst Salem Village grew rapidly thanks to the impassioned sermons of this man:
Samuel Parris
This part of your brain is the "alarm bell" that reacts to scary messages.
Amygdala
This brain region supports sustained vigilance during unpredictable threat and is especially active when danger is diffuse or uncertain.
Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST)
Main method of operant conditioning utilized in fear marketing. (4 Types)
Negative Reinforcement
This type of horror technique relies on anticipation to prime your attention and emotional networks, signaling possible danger
Suspenseful Sounds
The concept of indulgences hinges on the fear of this doctrine:
Purgatory
A scary story created by politicians to make people feel threatened is called a threat __.
Threat Narrative
According to Hartley & Phelps (2012), anxiety pushes people toward this type of decision-making style, focusing on losses and negative outcomes.
Risk aversion or loss-focused decision-making
Under time pressure we shift from rational thinking to what?
Impulsive decision making
Horror often triggers this combination of chemicals in the brain, producing excitement and a pleasurable “thrill” even while you’re scared. What are these 2 chemicals?
Adrenaline and Dopamine
This is the process in which an individual learns to fear a previously neutral stimulus after witnessing or interacting with someone else who is fearful:
Social Transmission of Fear
The 2022 study found that anxiety was NOT linked to these attitudes towards other races.
Racist attitudes
Gold et al. (2014) proved that your brain doesn’t panic because of the shock — it panics because of this factor that makes the shock impossible to anticipate.
Unpredicability
A psychological bias where an increase in loss is perceived as being larger than an equivalent increase in gain
Loss aversion
When viewers watch scary scenes together, studies show their hearts often beat in sync, reflecting this physiological phenomenon.
Heart rate synchronization
In the case of the Salem Witch Trials, the fear of this fate coerced many women to falsely confess to witchcraft:
Execution
This is the part of your brain you should use to think critically when you see a scary political ad.
Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)
This combination — stronger threat sensitivity and weaker prefrontal regulation — explains why fear-based messaging in politics, media, or marketing works so well.
Fear manipulation
Which industry tends to use fear-based marketing the most due to the nature of their product?
The Insurance industry
This term describes the pleasurable emotional relief people feel after a scary moment ends, making the fear experience enjoyable.
The contrast effect
The statement “When the coin in the coffers ring, a soul from purgatory springs” is ascribed to this time period:
Medieval times (15th-16th century)
The cycle where a politician uses fear to gain power, and then uses that power to create more fear.
The Vicious Cycle/ Cycle of Fear and Power