The Psychology of Fear

One of the more interesting characters in the Batman mythos (to me at least) is the Scarecrow.

The guy is the epitome of irony. If you didn't know, the Scarecrow's civilian identity is that of Dr. Jonathan Crane with a PhD in psychology. That's right - psychology. The doctor literally uses fear and it's psychological effects on his victims... all for his own research. Often, you'll see Scarecrow using his fear gas on his victims (most notably Batman) and have their greatest fears come to them in the form of hallucinations. For instance, if Batman were sprayed with the fear gas, he would see his parents dying or maybe a bat.

But in any event, the psychology of fear is a very interesting topic. And all these biochemical reactions should sound familiar.

Lisa Fritscher writes about the Psychology of Fear in her article "Understanding the Dynamics of the Fear Response." Usually when we perceive danger, we start to sweat, our heart rates increase and our adrenaline levels shoot up, too. This could be called the "fight or flight" response in which (thanks to years of evolution) our bodies are literally choosing between fighting or running away. And through our physical reactions to stimuli around us, there is a chance we may survive the danger.

So while Batman is tripping out on fear gas and experiencing fear (psychologically and physically), he would probably see a bat, flying straight for him, wings spread like a fallen angel, its mouth gaping open like a furnace to the gates of hell. And if Batman told a psychologist about his fear of bats, the doctor may say Batman has a phobia of bats.

What the hell's a phobia?

A phobia is when a person will fear an object or situation that usually doesn't present any real danger. Thus, most phobias of objects or situations are irrational symbols of danger. Batman may perceive bats as a danger to his well being, but the bat would have to symbolize a greater psychological danger rather than a physical one in order for it to develop into a phobia.

Bruce first feared the bat when he fell into a cave just outside Wayne Manor. From the inky blackness of the cave, a bat was awoken by Bruce's noisy intrusion. The bat flew towards Bruce and the phobia was born. Perhaps the bat represented more than just a scary face in a dark place; perhaps the bat was the unknown, a representation of a place without Bruce's parents protecting him. The bat could've been a reminder of the beyond; death. Falling a few stories worth into a cave could've acted as the unwanted reminder of mortality for Bruce, a spoiled and sheltered child.

In any event, Bruce was able to conquer his fear of the bat (thus his conquering of his own fear of death, mortality, the unknown, his parents death, etc. etc.) through a little thing called systematic desensitization. With this procedure, a patient is able to gradually overcome his or her fear of the object or situation. First, a patient will be given increasing levels of the object or situation in question - for instance, for Bruce, he'd be introduced to a few bats to show that they are not harmful. Next, more bats would be introduced. After that, more and more bats would be introduced to Bruce until he realizes that there is nothing to fear.

There is also a technique called Flooding and Bruce definitely experienced this technique. In the film Batman Begins, Bruce returns to the cave to create his own base of operations and is surrounded by a black cloud of bats. Bruce stands up and invites the bats to surround his body, overcoming his fear. This is an example of flooding; where a patient will be introduced to an excessive amount of the object or situation and will overcome their phobia.

So that was a quick look into phobias, fear and how to overcome phobias. Check out the article here and see you around.