Kids knocking on David Zald's door tonight looking for a treat are in for a trick. Zald, a psychology professor at Vanderbilt University, decorates his house with skeletons and creepy fog. As children walk through his haunted house, Zald can see fear in their faces.
"They want the candy, but they're not sure they want to come up," Zald said.
Who would blame them? Especially when he's dressed in white polyester as Disco Stu from the "The Simpsons."
But, by the end of the house tour, kids have lost their fear.
Zald's little tortuous experiment sounds scary to me. But a king-size bag of Peanut M&Ms might get me through the door.
They control their fear to get the reward of candy, Zald said, and they learn a healthy lesson.
You can bet Halloween candy isn't the health kick he's talking about. The holiday give kids a way to experience fear in the safety of Zald's haunted house.
"One of the odder aspects of human nature is our willingness to pay money to actually get scared," Zald said. "Essentially we get off on the excitement. We get a high arousal state and we actually find that appealing."
Via AP
Add a comment