Monkey fear not fear itself When isolated, young rhesus macaque monkeys make a cooing sound to attract their mothers. When a person is present, but not staring at the monkey, they tend to freeze in place and look around warily. Posted 30 Apr 1998.
Few behaviors are more hard-wired into the human psyche than fear.
And it's a good thing, too. Fear of outsiders keeps members of animal troops safe from rivals. Fear of predators protects against crushing canines and masticating molars. But the paralyzing fear some kids feel when they start school, or the cold sweat that prevents some people from flying can be undesirable and inappropriate. For 20 years, Ned Kalin, a psychiatrist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has studied fear in people and monkeys.