Does The Thought of Marriage Make You Back Off?

In college, when you had an exam coming, did you back away?

Or how about when you were about to get married, did you feel the need to move off?

According to scientists, these are very natural reactions, at least, initially.  Newswise.com reports that whenever we see something coming that feels threatening, even if just for a moment, we tend to, well, back away.

"In our long struggle for survival, we humans learned that something approaching us is far more of a threat than something that is moving away," the Web site explains. This makes sense, since a tiger bounding toward a person is certainly more of a threat than one that is walking away.

Though we modern humans don't really consider such fear, it turns out that it still plays a big part in our day-to-day lives.

"In order to survive, humans have developed a tendency to guard against animals, people and objects that come near them," newswise.com quotes University of Chicago Booth School of Business Professor Christopher K. Hsee. "This is true for things that are physically coming closer, but also for events that are approaching in time or increasing in likelihood."

 His recent study suggests that this fear, or as they call it "approach avoidance," is actually an innate tendency.

 "Approach avoidance is a general tendency, humans don't seem to adequately distinguish between times they should use it and when they should not," Hsee adds. "They tend to fear approaching things and looming events even if objectively they need not fear."


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