Fight psychology – the scream 09:00 08/27/2014 We wrote about the staredown, now it’s time for the scream. Not what you were looking for? Search for other text. Sometimes armwrestlers would stand opposite each other at the table and roar like lions, scream like madmen. Why is that? Is that because of emotions, or in order to frighten an enemy? There are a few reasons. A scream can help generate an energy surge, but also frighten the enemy. Amongst animals we can often observe similar behavior, cats hissing at each other, dogs growling. But how has this come to be between people? Have we borrowed this from animals, is it atavistic? We used to be wild too, after all … According to evolutionary psychology, just like the staredown, the scream is an attempt to frighten the rival. Screams, puffing up of chest and other gestures can be observed when animals fight for a female. It ’ s a show of strength, an attempt to submit the rival. People have more complex ways of fighting for supremacy.