I am a pedestrian in a city where there is a lot of traffic. Everytime, without fail, when a car doesn’t stop at the stop sign and I’m walking across the street, I instantly freeze. I’m literally paralyzed. I understand that this what some people refer to as “deer in the headlights” syndrome but that doesn’t answer my question: why do I do this?
Wouldn’t it be, from an biological or perhaps an evolutionary perspective, for me to be more reactionary than complacent?
I hope I’m explaining this in a manner that is understandable!
Predators respond to motion. So, your lizard brain, not having had a few million years to evolve in response to the automobile, interprets an approaching car as a predator, freezes and sez “don’t notice me, don’t notice me, don’t notice me.”
I’m afraid I don’t have any answers, but I wanted to respond to Finagle. I do a lot of walking and I freeze in those situations, too. But what’s going through my mind is that I’m waiting for them to notice me. For some reason, I think standing perfectly still, sometimes while in the way, is the best way to do it. I find I try to look into the driver’s face and wait for eye contact.
That might mean nothing–what flashes through my mind is not necessarily related to biology.
I did the same thing the first couple times this happened to me. Then the thinking part of my brain realized that a much better strategy for getting them to notice me is stepping onto their bumper and pounding on their hood.
I think physiologically it is the same response but much like Finagle says you have no immediate response and are frozen between both fight and flight. Even when “something goes bump in the night” you can feel your body tense with the “fight or flight” response but you just stand still and think “What was that?” while you agonise about whether to go look or just run away and hide.