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May have an evolutionary basis
- Arachnophobia may have an evolutionary basis. Multiple research studies have shown that a fear of spiders may be innate, with babies as young as six months old showing stress or fear responses when shown a picture or video of a spider. Humans likely have an inherited stress reaction that helps us to quickly identify spiders as dangerous or creepy.
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Does Arachnophobia have an evolutionary basis?
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Is arachnophobia a specific animal phobia?
Do people with arachnophobia fear spiders?
Do humans learn Arachnophobia from culture?
Why is arachnophobia less common in countries that eat spiders?
Evolutionary. An evolutionary reason for the phobia remains unresolved. One view, especially held in evolutionary psychology, is that the presence of venomous spiders led to the evolution of a fear of spiders, or made the acquisition of a fear of spiders especially easy.
- Overview
- What is arachnophobia?
- Causes
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Summary
Arachnophobia is an extreme fear of spiders and other arachnids. It can cause symptoms such as sweating, dizziness, and nausea. Treatments may include therapies such as exposure therapy.
It is one of the more common types of phobias.
A specific phobia is an irrational fear of something unlikely to cause danger.
Arachnophobia means more than being scared of spiders and other forms of arachnids. It is an intense, paralyzing fear where someone actively avoids contact with spiders. This can impact a person’s day-to-day life as it restricts where they can go and what they can do.
This fear extends beyond meeting an arachnid in real life. Even mentioning or seeing pictures of spiders can trigger a fear response in people with arachnophobia.
Although someone may fear a spider’s appearance, research suggests many people primarily fear how they move.
Evolutionary
Evolutionary theory suggests people develop arachnophobia due to an evolved preparedness in dealing with potential threats. One study tested this to see if arachnophobia is inherent in our nature. Researchers presented a group of 6-month old infants with images of flowers, birds, spiders, and snakes. Upon seeing the pictures of spiders and snakes, the infants’ pupils dilated, which indicated their fear responses had activated.
Social theories
Another theory is that people’s fear of spiders is learned. For example, the media often depicts spiders as scary and potentially dangerous. In addition, if a person grows up in an environment where their parents are scared of spiders, this may become a learned behavior, and the child could also develop the same fear.
Past experience
If a person has a previous unpleasant or traumatic experience with a spider, this may cause arachnophobia to develop.
There are several symptoms that accompany arachnophobia, and they are typically similar to those of a panic attack. Some of the physical signs include:
•dizziness
•nausea
•sweating
•shaking
•increased heart rate
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy involves gradually exposing a person to their phobia. Research continually examines the benefits of this technique for arachnophobia. One study found watching arachnid or insect-themed superhero films can help reduce phobic symptoms. Researchers are also looking into virtual reality to help with arachnophobia. However, more studies are needed to explore the potential benefits this may have. Recent research suggests allowing a person to control when and the amount of exposure to the spider may lead to quicker improvements, instead of not offering them control. A variant of exposure therapy is flooding, which is a more extreme technique. Here, a therapist immediately exposes a person to their phobia until the person’s anxiety decreases. Learn more about exposure therapy here.
Hypnotherapy
Some anecdotal evidence suggests that hypnotism could help people overcome their arachnophobia. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence to support this. Hypnotherapy uses relaxation methods to induce a state of focused attention. The therapist will then use techniques and guided imagery to help reduce the phobia.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
In cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a therapist will work with the person to help them overcome their phobic thoughts. CBT techniques may be some of the most effective treatments for specific phobias, such as arachnophobia. A person may consider CBT weekly, in a group, or one-to-one. Alternatively, they could take an accelerated course, which involves daily sessions. Learn more about CBT here.
Arachnophobia is an intense and irrational fear of spiders or arachnids. People with this condition may show symptoms similar to a panic attack when presented with their fears.
Several theories may explain why someone can develop arachnophobia. This includes evolutionary threat responses, social depictions of spiders, and past trauma.
Oct 23, 2017 · It's long been debated whether arachnophobia is something that's embedded into us as a species – or whether we learn it from culture – so to tease out the answer, scientists recruited the most innocent and neutral of study participants: human babies.
Several theories attempt to explain the origins of arachnophobia. One theory suggests that arachnophobia may have an evolutionary basis. Spiders, particularly nasty ones, posed a threat to early humans, and an innate fear of them could have been advantageous for survival.
Sep 1, 2024 · An evolutionary response: Research suggests that arachnophobia or a general aversion to spiders is hardwired as an ancestral survival technique. Cultural and/or religious beliefs: Some individuals within certain cultural or religious groups tend to have phobias that stem from these influences.
Nov 15, 2021 · The exact aetiology of arachnophobia and spider-related fear is unknown, however, an evolutionary origin offers one of the potential explanations (10, but see also 13,14).
