<p>Can information in the media increase fear of something?
Yes of course, let's see what these learning processes are.</p>

<p>Common processes employed by psychology in order to explain the development of anxiety, fear and phobias are the <strong>vicarious learning processes (modeling, observational learning and social learning)</strong>.</p>

<p>Vicarious learning, although the terms observational learning and social learning are more commonly used:</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicarious" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicarious</a></p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observational_learning" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observational_learning</a></p>

<p>These processes of learning have been well developed (<strong>Albert Bandura</strong>, a Canadian psychologist, is recognized as the professional who most impulse these learning processes, his investigations are often misinterpreted since one of the most famous ones also dealt with violence, his investigations are also misinterpreted in their objectives, it must be said that their research always had clinical objectives) and are commonly used for different purposes in learning, here we refer specifically to learning processes developed by a third person (such as a person who sees something on TV ) about situations and events that happen to other people.</p>

<p>In relation to frequency these learning processes are developed as commonly as classical conditioning or instrumental learning and are commonly employed in explanations of phobias, since many people with significant clinical problems with phobias have never experienced a situation (a person can develop a phobia to fly without having ever experienced any negative experience, or related incident, aboard an airplane), that is, these learning processes are based on information that the person has obtained from the story of other people's experiences.</p>

<p>Of course the increase or development of anxiety or fear (and others) is mediated by contructs or common causes in the study of psychology: estimates of possibility and frequency, locus of control, expectations (very specifically in phobia expectations about the control of object or phobic situation), and many others.</p>

<p>When searching databases, it may be more productive to use the term phobia than fear:</p>

<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=vicarious+phobia&amp;cmd=DetailsSearch" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=vicarious+phobia&amp;cmd=DetailsSearch</a></p>

<p>About possible neuroanatomic related structures:</p>

<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2555428/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2555428/</a></p>

<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4907690/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4907690/</a></p>

<p>You may also be interested in social hypotheses and theories related to the media:</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivation_theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivation_theory</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-04T18:11:35.417Z
2017-08-06T16:33:24.757Z
2017-08-06T16:33:24.757Z
hexadecimal
<p>I'm working on an essay trying to link an increased fear of something with information received from the media about it and I'm trying to find out if there are any studies on the matter.</p>

<p>Let me give an example:</p>

<pre><code>An african-american sees news about cops shooting other black men in the US. 
Is he now more afraid of running into police?
</code></pre>

<p>Another:</p>

<pre><code>A person sees news about a friend being arrested for his political opinions
Is she now more afraid of expressing her opinions?
</code></pre>

<p>To me it seems that both are true, but I'm looking for studies that could confirm it or deny it.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-26T18:05:31.567Z
Hi Carlos, welcome at CogSci, and interesting question! Have you done any initial research yourself that you are willing to share with us?
Robin Kramer-ten Have
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-26T20:40:26.860Z
Robin, I've found some papers in JSTOR regarding fear of crime, but nothing directly addressing fear of crime and the media.
Carlos G.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-28T23:41:06.700Z
I think most regard "fear" as lacking in information on something ... in other words in information being withheld....the antithesis of what the media in fact does whether consciously or not. So my answer to this is no. This is especially true with the rise of "info-tainment" where people are exposed to information that while not eliminating fear which is a natural thing can allow for actionable "intelligence" on ways of dealing with some unforseen circumstance.
Doctor Zhivago
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-14T08:01:08.993Z
Any studies manipulating fear of crime by trying to convince the test subjects via forms of media?
Seanny123
<fear>
Can information in the media increase fear of something?
Carlos G.
# Can information in the media increase fear of something?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-10-26)

I'm working on an essay trying to link an increased fear of something with information received from the media about it and I'm trying to find out if there are any studies on the matter.
Let me give an example:
An african-american sees news about cops shooting other black men in the US. 
Is he now more afraid of running into police?

Another:
A person sees news about a friend being arrested for his political opinions
Is she now more afraid of expressing her opinions?

To me it seems that both are true, but I'm looking for studies that could confirm it or deny it.

**Tags:** fear

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi Carlos, welcome at CogSci, and interesting question! Have you done any initial research yourself that you are willing to share with us?  
> **username_0**: Robin, I've found some papers in JSTOR regarding fear of crime, but nothing directly addressing fear of crime and the media.  
> **username_2**: I think most regard "fear" as lacking in information on something ... in other words in information being withheld....the antithesis of what the media in fact does whether consciously or not. So my answer to this is no. This is especially true with the rise of "info-tainment" where people are exposed to information that while not eliminating fear which is a natural thing can allow for actionable "intelligence" on ways of dealing with some unforseen circumstance.  
> **username_3**: Any studies manipulating fear of crime by trying to convince the test subjects via forms of media?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-08-04. Score: 3

Can information in the media increase fear of something?
Yes of course, let's see what these learning processes are.

Common processes employed by psychology in order to explain the development of anxiety, fear and phobias are the **vicarious learning processes (modeling, observational learning and social learning)**.

Vicarious learning, although the terms observational learning and social learning are more commonly used:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicarious>

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observational_learning>

These processes of learning have been well developed (**Albert Bandura**, a Canadian psychologist, is recognized as the professional who most impulse these learning processes, his investigations are often misinterpreted since one of the most famous ones also dealt with violence, his investigations are also misinterpreted in their objectives, it must be said that their research always had clinical objectives) and are commonly used for different purposes in learning, here we refer specifically to learning processes developed by a third person (such as a person who sees something on TV ) about situations and events that happen to other people.

In relation to frequency these learning processes are developed as commonly as classical conditioning or instrumental learning and are commonly employed in explanations of phobias, since many people with significant clinical problems with phobias have never experienced a situation (a person can develop a phobia to fly without having ever experienced any negative experience, or related incident, aboard an airplane), that is, these learning processes are based on information that the person has obtained from the story of other people's experiences.

Of course the increase or development of anxiety or fear (and others) is mediated by contructs or common causes in the study of psychology: estimates of possibility and frequency, locus of control, expectations (very specifically in phobia expectations about the control of object or phobic situation), and many others.

When searching databases, it may be more productive to use the term phobia than fear:

<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=vicarious+phobia&cmd=DetailsSearch>

About possible neuroanatomic related structures:

<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2555428/>

<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4907690/>

You may also be interested in social hypotheses and theories related to the media:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivation_theory>


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