Here’s the science behind one of the greatest pranks anyone can pull.
Have you seen any of those invisible danger prank videos online?
I came across one the other day and these pranks are hilarious. Essentially, someone (the pranker) would pretend that something scary or dangerous was around them by frantically acting out and thus, making their victim scared as well.
One of the reasons why these are so funny is because of how the person getting pranked reacts. They’re just in a frenzy for no reason.
The other reason is because I do these pranks all of the time to my family and friends. And my main victim as of late has been my niece and nephew (moreso my niece).
We were walking to get lunch and on the way to the fast food restaurant, there’s this corner that leads down an alleyway.
We were just walking and talking as we normally do and as we passed it, I jumped to the side, screamed, and started punching the air as if someone was hiding there, waiting to attack me.
My niece was hit with shock and screamed. However, my nephew didn’t fall for the trick because he somehow sensed I was about to do something and walked far behind us.
Regardless, it was funny how she reacted.
As I watched the Short (and reminisced about my wonderful pranks), my curiosity started to churn and I wondered what the science behind them is. Such as, what makes these pranks so effective and why people get scared when there’s clearly no danger around.
The Science Behind Invisible Danger Pranks
So, I set out to do some research (and by research, I mean I Googled some stuff).
Here’s what I found:
I want to preface this next part by saying you have to take it all with a grain (maybe spoonful) of salt. I am in no way a scientist. I’m just a curious dude who needed content for his blog. Anywhoo…
First off, let’s talk about how fear works.
What is Fear?
Your mind conjures up fear through your senses (sight, touch, auditory, etc.) and once fear is recognized, it triggers your nervous system, which induces a physical reaction, says David Zald, a psychologist at Vanderbilt University and director of the Affective Neuroscience Laboratory.
Via Popular Science:
“The amygdala, a key part of the brain that processes fear, lights up… That same region controls startle responses in your body: jumping, ducking, or making a scared or surprised expression. Once the amygdala is activated, it cues the hypothalamus, the hormone-controlling section of the brain, to release adrenaline and prepare our muscles for action.”
Additionally, there are two main types of fear and the one that applies to the invisible danger pranks is innate fear, where it’s instinctive. It’s hard-wired into our brain and our main reaction when this type of fear arises is to fight-or-flight.
This is why my niece froze and screamed when she was scared.
They’re Just Jump Scares
Second, invisible danger pranks are just jump scares.
So, you know how you get startled in horror movies when there’s a loud sound during a scary or disturbing scene? This is what goes on when you get pranked with an invisible danger.
The prankster always suddenly yells before acting out. When you hear this, the innate fear strikes and your amygdala reacts.
The scream is the igniter of fear because we evolved from species that used these types of sounds to avoid or evade danger.
Via Slate:
“Such sounds—screams, roars—target an ancient defensive mechanism in a fear system that humans share with many other species, and they are incredibly effective in eliciting a powerful startle. They are like echoes from a distant past when a scream or a roar might mean immediate and mortal threat to our evolutionary ancestors.”
Your sight of how the prankster is acting out, however, influences you on how to respond physically, telling you to either run or freeze.
And that’s (probably) how the science behind invisible danger pranks work.
Finals Thoughts
Invisible danger pranks are one of the most fun pranks to do.
Who would’ve thought that this harmless joke had ties to our evolution?