儿童从成年人的言语中学会蛇的恐惧,而不是本能,学习发现。 Children learn snake fear from adults' words, not instinct, study finds.

对100多名幼儿园适龄儿童进行的一项新研究发现,对蛇的恐惧是学会的,而不是天生的,是由父母和文化影响形成的。 A new study of over 100 kindergarten-aged children finds that fear of snakes is learned, not innate, shaped by parental and cultural influences. 来自俄勒冈州立大学和里贾纳大学的研究人员发现,儿童最初对蛇持中性看法,但在接触到“它”或负面描述等令人反感的语言时,形成了负面看法。 Researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Regina discovered that children initially viewed snakes neutrally, but developed negative perceptions when exposed to objectifying language like “it” or negative descriptions. 使用“她”等个性化语言帮助儿童将蛇视为活生物,从而减少恐惧。 Using personifying language such as “she” helped children see snakes as living beings, reducing fear. 得到加拿大研究赠款支持的研究结果表明,成人谈论蛇可以如何培养更富有同情心的态度,而鉴于五分之一的爬行动物、特别是岛屿物种濒临灭绝的威胁,这一点至关重要。 The findings, supported by a Canadian research grant, suggest simple changes in how adults talk about snakes can foster more compassionate attitudes, which is critical given that one-fifth of reptile species are threatened with extinction, especially island species.