The Fear Factor: When the Brain Decides It's Time to Scram: Scientific American

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i like this idea of the duality of fear responses. first comes scanning the environment and identifying a potential threat. second comes taking action to avoid it. this fits my own bio-cultural theory of news. first, people continually scan the environment for potential threats, usually via the news. second, they may take action, such as political activism, discussing drugs with their kids or avoiding vacations in locales with lots of crime.

Pamela Shoemaker

Pamela Shoemaker

I'm a Mass Comm Scholar. What about you?

I hold an endowed research chair at Syracuse University and am the John Ben Snow Professor, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse NY, USA, 1-315-443-9255. I teach research methods & theory. I study influences on media content, gatekeeping, cross-cultural news and news values, definitions of newsworthiness, news on multiple platforms.

My recent books include:
-- Gatekeeping Theory (with Tim Vos)
-- News Around the World (with Akiba Cohen)
-- How to Build Social Science Theory (with Jim Tankard and Nick Lasorsa)
-- Mediating the Message (with Steve Reese); 3rd edition under way

please feel free to comment here and to email me at snowshoe@syr.edu. thanks, pam

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