Clean Vs Dirty Effect Essay

an imagined fear may seem more prevalent because they are subjected to realistic worries where as a child in the ghettos would have more realistic fears due to everyday problems that are present in their lives. Another factor is the development of fears and phobias is what is called the clean vs. dirty effect. The clean vs. dirty effect relates to if the child feels disgust towards an object or person based on if it is dirty, what color it is, the general lighting, and demeanor of the object. Webb and Davey as cited in Muris, Mayer, Huijding, and Konings (2008) state that disgust is a key element in the severity of a fear and feelings towards particular objects. For example if an animal is a darker color, is covered in a slimey unknown substance, and the lighting is inadequate the animal is more likely to be perceived as scary or dangerous because a child feels a subconscious amount of disgust towards the animal. Due to dark lacking a source of light in many cases there is a sense of disgust towards it. Even in adults this disgust is present. Berk as cited in Levos and Zacchilli (2015) said, “Roughly 40% of Americans
For example children may be naturally inclined to stay away from darkness, sharp objects, or objects that are loud in nature. These are inclinations or fears that are naturally occurring due to human instincts. A learned fear could be a result of conditioning or a traumatic experience (Fields, 2006). One common example of this is Baby Albert learning to fear the white rat due to repeated exposure to a loud noise. Another example of leared fear might be a child being afraid of fire after being burned. One last example of a learned fear could be a parent teaching a child that horrible things happen in the dark and then always leaves the bedroom lights on. As the child grows they can develop a fear of the