Are snakes remembered better than other animals: an investigation of human recall accuracy for snakes in relation to other living things

Abstract

It is theorized that primates, including humans, developed an automatic visual processing system to detect snakes. Evidence suggests that primates and humans today are able to detect snake stimuli quicker than most other living stimuli. It is also known that snakes are one of the most common animal phobias in humans. Conversely, there is little evidence to bear on human memory for snakes. In theory, with snakes drawing a lot of attention in various studies they should be remembered exceptionally well. In the present study, 80 participants completed an experiment that tested detection speed for snakes and implemented a second task which examined human recall accuracy for snakes compared to other living stimuli. Results did not provide any evidence for better snake detection, nor any evidence that snakes are remembered any better than other living stimuli.