I was nearing the top of the cliff, take a step up the ladder, move the two carabiner clips, repeat, repeat, repeat. My hands were shaking and I was sweating way too profusely for a rather cool 64° afternoon despite climbing the cliff. “You sure this is safe?” I asked my guide knowing the rungs were drilled a foot or more into solid stone. He said that I was safe about ten times already and I believed him, so why was I still so scared? It was because of my fear of heights, or acrophobia.
There have been many studies conducted about whether a fear of heights is something you’re born with (innate) or it’s something that you learn. But one type of experiment stands out as the one to test this question, The Visual Cliff Experiment. This experiment …show more content…
Gibson & Richard D. Walk at Cornell University on 36 infants ranging from 6 to 14 months of age. Of the 27 infants who moved off the board towards the edge of the cliff only three purposely crept off the cliff onto the clear plexiglass towards their mother. Many of the 27 infants backed away from the cliff or cried because they couldn’t reach their mother even though some of them even felt with their own hands that the plexiglass with no cloth was solid enough to crawl across. But many infants still accidentally backed onto the clear plexiglass while adjusting themselves on the board, meaning their depth awareness had surpassed their locomotor skills, so no matter how well infants can tell depth they should not be left near any …show more content…
The primary reason I believe this is because all people have at least some level of a fear of heights, but that level varies greatly from individual to individual. Also, I don’t believe it is possible to 100% rid your mind of a fear of heights (although you can get extremely close). Another indicator of this is that within 24 hours of being born and with no experience regarding heights a chick will not go off the visual cliff, meaning it is not taught by the parents or learned via experience
There have been many studies conducted about whether a fear of heights is something you’re born with (innate) or it’s something that you learn. But one type of experiment stands out as the one to test this question, The Visual Cliff Experiment. This experiment …show more content…
Gibson & Richard D. Walk at Cornell University on 36 infants ranging from 6 to 14 months of age. Of the 27 infants who moved off the board towards the edge of the cliff only three purposely crept off the cliff onto the clear plexiglass towards their mother. Many of the 27 infants backed away from the cliff or cried because they couldn’t reach their mother even though some of them even felt with their own hands that the plexiglass with no cloth was solid enough to crawl across. But many infants still accidentally backed onto the clear plexiglass while adjusting themselves on the board, meaning their depth awareness had surpassed their locomotor skills, so no matter how well infants can tell depth they should not be left near any …show more content…
The primary reason I believe this is because all people have at least some level of a fear of heights, but that level varies greatly from individual to individual. Also, I don’t believe it is possible to 100% rid your mind of a fear of heights (although you can get extremely close). Another indicator of this is that within 24 hours of being born and with no experience regarding heights a chick will not go off the visual cliff, meaning it is not taught by the parents or learned via experience