fear

Attention and Performance

What causes us to choke under pressure, especially when we’re playing a sport? Why is it that when we start paying close attention to how we’re performing a motor skill, like running or speaking, we tend to mess it up?

In this edition of Two Guys on Your HeadDr. Art Markaman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the significance of the brain mechanisms that support fluid performance and why it’s important to not think too much about them.

A Toddler’s Nightmares

Bath time, teeth brushing, stories, songs. The little one seems all settled — and then — a scream, a call, a cry. What could possibly be the matter? That was the inspiration of this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

This Is The Scariest Bridge In Texas

There’s more than one Texas bridge that can be especially troubling for those with gephyrophobia – fear of bridges.

The Pecos railroad bridge can certainly give you the willies from the right perspective. The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge can give you pause if you’re hit with the outer bands of a tropical storm when you’re up on top. Some of those five-stack interchanges in Dallas and Houston can cause a palpitation or two. But in my opinion, the scariest bridge in Texas is the Rainbow Bridge between Port Arthur and Orange, on Texas Highway 73.

The bridge offers the triple threat. You can see it coming from a long way off. It has a steep ascent and descent. And it rises frighteningly high over the water. Those are the things gephyrophobics most dread.

The Rainbow Bridge is scary enough today, with two lanes for one-way traffic, but it used to be much worse. When it was completed in 1938, it was the second-tallest bridge in America, second only to the Golden Gate. It was essentially 20 stories tall. For many decades, drivers had to put up with two thin lanes carrying cars and 18-wheelers in both directions.

As you arrived near the top of the bridge, all you could see was sky in the daytime and the stars at night. You just had to have faith that the pavement would be there waiting for you when you passed over the hump. It was enough to make some folks take a 30-mile detour to avoid the stress. Seems odd that a bridge with such a nice name could cause such fear.

Local driver’s education teachers often made students drive over that bridge on their first day of class. They believed that the best way to conquer a fear was to face it – head on – right away.

Originally, it was called the Port Arthur-Orange Bridge. I personally believed that the Rainbow Bridge name came from Norse mythology wherein the Rainbow Bridge connects heaven and earth. But no. In 1957 the North Port Arthur Lion’s Club had a naming contest and 6-year-old Christy McClintock submitted the winning entry – Rainbow Bridge.

She said it looked like a mechanical rainbow. And it does indeed. If you are ever there towards sunset and see it illuminated in those pink hues of the evening, it does look like a steel rainbow. Christy got a $50 savings bond as her prize. Doesn’t sound like much today, but in 1957, you could have bought 200 Whataburgers with it.

Why was the bridge built so tall, 177 feet of vertical clearance, in that delta region? There was an important ship channel there and they wanted the tallest ship in the navy at the time, the USS Patoka, the be able to pass easily beneath it.

The Rainbow Bridge was more than an engineering marvel. It was also a magnet for teenagers in the night. The high school kids in the area used to climb up into the catwalks. One of those students was destined for worldwide fame. It is said that she used to sit up there high above the moonlit waters of the Neches River and sing in her passionately raw style. I’m sure you’ve heard of her. Janis Joplin? Her biographer, Myra Friedman, said that she would sing up there under the great Texas sky and “scorch the stars.” But that’s a whole ‘nother story. I’m just giving you the abridged version. The pun is free.

The tallest ship in the Navy never did cruise beneath the Rainbow Bridge. Seems a shame – somewhat like a bride having planned a perfect wedding, and the groom never showed.

Fear and Motivation

When we are afraid we typically act! We run away, we shout, we lash out, we do. Fear is a great motivator, but as Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about in this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, there is a downside to acting out of fear alone.

V&B – Memories & Perception

In this episode of Views & Brews, KUT’s Rebecca McInroy joins Dr. Laura Colgin, Dr. Jarrod Lewis-Peacock, and Dr. Michael Drew from the University of Texas Neuroscience Department in a discussion about memory, fear, trauma perception and imagination in the shadow of recent tragedies, the importance of how our brains work and how they’re interacting with information in the new media landscape and how we can be aware of our perceptions and actions to change behavior and imagine brighter futures.

 

 

Flexibility

When the unexpected happens, some people shut down, while others are cool as cucumbers. We might think that the people who handle crisis well, are just born that way, perhaps they are just flexible.

However, in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke, talk about how the more you know, and the more experiences you have help you to become a more flexible person, and why it’s important to learn to deal calmly with whatever comes your way.

Xenophobia

In this episode of Two Guys On Your Head Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of xenophobia.

Why We Tell Ghost Stories

In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about how telling ghost stories can be good for us.

Why We Laugh At Fear

Why we respond to uncomfortable situations with humor, in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, with Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke.

Responding To Ebola

In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology behind our response to threats like Ebola.

V&B: The Psychology of Fear

Franz Kafka said, “My ‘fear’ is my substance, and probably the best part of me.” Where as Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” People relate differently to fear across the board. As much as fear can be paralyzing it can also be motivating and mobilizing. So what is fear and what is going on in our brains when we experience fear? Join us as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy hosts Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke to discuss fear and the brain.