Prevalence of Arachnophobia

[Kibosh]

Tarantulas Owned Over Time: 2/19/2021

• Ungoliant
• Feb 19, 2021
• 2
• chart graph

This the chart for global climate change or most of our T collections? Lol

Congrats on your development, both in the hobby and psychologically. I have a degree in psychology and have done work in the field professionally.

Studies have shown that most humans seem to have an genetically ingrained fear of both snakes and spiders. You can show a baby a picture of a wolf or a bear and they don't recognize it. Show them a picture of a snake or a spider of any kind and you get a higher chance of a negative emotional response (very unethical and outdated study I know). They didn't do much follow up research on this data for obvious reasons.

I have my own hypothesis though. Humans evolved in a place where there was a great deal of potentially dangerous spiders and snakes, but even an infant could recognize and crawl away from it. Evolving a danger response from say a big cat or a wild dog would serve no purpose for a baby, as by the time they saw the danger it would be far too late anyway.

Overcoming your fear is something to be proud of and helping the hobby by being a good keeper is something to be commended by others.

Cheers.

 

[8 legged]

This the chart for global climate change or most of our T collections? Lol

Congrats on your development, both in the hobby and psychologically. I have a degree in psychology and have done work in the field professionally.

Studies have shown that most humans seem to have an genetically ingrained fear of both snakes and spiders. You can show a baby a picture of a wolf or a bear and they don't recognize it. Show them a picture of a snake or a spider of any kind and you get a higher chance of a negative emotional response (very unethical and outdated study I know).

Overcoming your fear is something to be proud of and helping the hobby by being a good keeper is something to be commended by others.

Cheers.

Perhaps a fear that has been fed and manifested for decades. I am convinced that Indigo children react differently! The sight of the spider picture would probably stimulate the flow of saliva...

 

[Kibosh]

Perhaps a fear that has been fed and manifested for decades. I am convinced that Indigo children react differently! The sight of the spider picture would probably stimulate the flow of saliva...

Lol I would agree, but the studies I am referencing weren't children. They were babies who lacked the socio-cultural influences of fearing spiders and rather just had a natural response.

 

[8 legged]

It's a very interesting subject. If there is a public technical work, publication here would be very desirable. The findings of such a study could be copied to many other conditions!

 

[RevS]

I think that there's a difference between our fear of snakes and spiders.

As in - our brain is actively on a lookout for snakes - this is why we often have an immediate reaction to a long object on the ground before we get a better look a t it.

Fear of spiders is a bit different and if I recall children under the age of 3 don't react to them at all - meaning that we are not coded to fear them - we learn.

 

[LucN]

I think that there's a difference between our fear of snakes and spiders.

As in - our brain is actively on a lookout for snakes - this is why we often have an immediate reaction to a long object on the ground before we get a better look a t it.

Fear of spiders is a bit different and if I recall children under the age of 3 don't react to them at all - meaning that we are not coded to fear them - we learn.

I think the majority of people simply can't tell the difference between venomous and non-venomous, so they avoid them altogether. A Corn Snake obviously is of no threat, but a similar-sized viper or rattler... the latter is "nice" enough to give us ample warning so we can spot it before a strike happens. As with spiders, I can tell you that younger audiences are definitely more open to these animals than older people. I know many with a true phobia, either obtained through a traumatic experience during childhood or simply taught by their parents that they are deadly... and many never attempted to seek professional help. Their loss.

 

[viper69]

This the chart for global climate change or most of our T collections? Lol

Congrats on your development, both in the hobby and psychologically. I have a degree in psychology and have done work in the field professionally.

Studies have shown that most humans seem to have an genetically ingrained fear of both snakes and spiders. You can show a baby a picture of a wolf or a bear and they don't recognize it. Show them a picture of a snake or a spider of any kind and you get a higher chance of a negative emotional response (very unethical and outdated study I know). They didn't do much follow up research on this data for obvious reasons.

I have my own hypothesis though. Humans evolved in a place where there was a great deal of potentially dangerous spiders and snakes, but even an infant could recognize and crawl away from it. Evolving a danger response from say a big cat or a wild dog would serve no purpose for a baby, as by the time they saw the danger it would be far too late anyway.

Overcoming your fear is something to be proud of and helping the hobby by being a good keeper is something to be commended by others.

Cheers.

There’s a region of the brain that responds to snakes. I wouldn’t call it genetic per se.

 

[Marlana]

I think there’s a big difference between a general fear of spiders and arachnophobia. People really overuse the word arachnophobia. Take me for example, I didn’t like spiders (before the hobby). I didn’t want them in my house. I’d potentially even freak out of one was on me, but it wasn’t a phobia. Phobias are an intense and irrational fear that control your life. Not just not really liking or being afraid of something.

 

[Smotzer]

I think there’s a big difference between a general fear of spiders and arachnophobia.

Yes there is a HUGE difference. My younger sister is a true blue Arachnophobe, if she even looked at a pictue of a spider she will have debilitating anxiety and even panic attacks. With the power outage that we were having here in Texas I almost had to go stay with them, and she said just the thought of me bringing them into their house was making her worry all day about how she would sleep with the thought of a spider loose in the house. She hhas extremely intense emotions over spiders. I would love to have my sister over to my house, but she doesnt even want to come over cause of my arachnids, kinda sad. lol
Once we were driving her home from school and there was a spider in the car, she began to have a panic attack and made us immeditealy pull over and she walked a few miles home instead of driving in thhe car with it.

 

[Marlana]

Yes there is a HUGE difference. My younger sister is a true blue Arachnophobe, if she even looked at a pictue of a spider she will have debilitating anxiety and even panic attacks. With the power outage that we were having here in Texas I almost had to go stay with them, and she said just the thought of me bringing them into their house was making her worry all day about how she would sleep with the thought of a spider loose in the house. She hhas extremely intense emotions over spiders. I would love to have my sister over to my house, but she doesnt even want to come over cause of my arachnids, kinda sad. lol
Once we were driving her home from school and there was a spider in the car, she began to have a panic attack and made us immeditealy pull over and she walked a few miles home instead of driving in thhe car with it.

Exactly! That’s arachnophobia. It’s irrational and controls your life. Walking miles home because there’s a spider in the car. Having people check rooms before you enter them. Having panic attacks over the thought or photos of arachnids. I wish people used the word right, I think it takes away from the completely debilitating fear some people have.

 

[Smotzer]

Exactly! That’s arachnophobia. It’s irrational and controls your life. Walking miles home because there’s a spider in the car. Having people check rooms before you enter them. Having panic attacks over the thought or photos of arachnids. I wish people used the word right, I think it takes away from the completely debilitating fear some people have.

Exactly but there really isnt a good universal word for this lesser fear....

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I use to have a severe high level of arachnophobia. Now I just have a severe fear of marriage, never again.

 

[Marlana]

Exactly but there really isnt a good universal word for this lesser fear....

True but there doesn’t need to be a word. I just say ‘I didn’t like spiders’. So just saying ‘I was afraid of spiders’ would get the point across.

Also more to the point of the post. I’ve always made it a point not to show fear or disgust in front of my daughter. I didn’t want her afraid of every little spider and bug. And she still has certain spiders she thinks are gross like daddy long legs. She just thinks they are creepy even though I’ve talked to her a million times about how awesome they are. We name the ones around the house and leave them be. She just doesn’t like them. But she has no fear of any other spiders, that I’ve noticed. So I do think there is more to our fear/dislike of spiders than just taught fear. Because I have made very sure since she was a baby that we respected all life and realized their role in the ecosystem. In fact I have a video of her crying at 3 years old because I killed a mosquito and ‘that was her friend and favorite bug!’.