Some phobias actually make sense, like the fear of heights, because falling would actually hurt you. But I know that most spiders cannnot hurt humans, yet they terrify me... they are so creepy, I just can't describe why. I am not afraid of other animals, including bugs, snakes, and rodents, or even those that really would hurt me. Why such a common fear in people?
2007-02-14 17:37:53 · 6 answers · asked by rebecca h 2 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
Whats funny about the fear of spiders is that is is believed to be evolutionarily inherited.
Bear with me.............. Our ancestors "chimp-like" were located in some of the more tropical countries, in Africa, which is one of the hot-spots for spiders. Many of these spiders are quite large and can deliver a painful bite if threatened or mishandled. So it is believed that since these spiders were so dangerous, a trait that natural selection selected for was an innate fear of spiders, because those that were not afraid of spiders were often bitten or possibly even killed. So natural selection dictated that those individually who were instinctively scared of spiders were able to go on and reproduce, and because spiders have been around way longer than our earliest ancestor, this innate fear of those "scary" little arachnids stayed buried in our Psyche.
Just as many people are disturbed at the sound of a chalk board being scratched, which has proven to mimic the pitch and frequency of a primate alarm call, that is why we are usually being bothered by the sound.......we were just alerted to danger.....instinctively of course!
2007-02-15 04:09:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
.....generally speaking. Phobias come about from a traumatic event that happened early in childhood. Oftentimes the person with the phobia can't even remember the event, but just knows they don't like "spiders" in this case. You didn't even have to be bitten by one. You could have simply had family members run from one, or act in a drastic manner when they saw one......and this behavior was remember by you as being.."scary". Our minds play tricks on us all the time. I used to like sauerkraut and weiners. I went to a birthday party when i was a kid, was sick, and threw up the sauerkraut all the way home. I linked my sickness with the sauerkraut in my mind.....thus giving me what you call a taste diversion. Now i can't eat sauerkraut......because I thought it made me sick. As a child you don't fear anything, unless something happens to make you fear it. Sometimes seeing other peoples fears transfers to you....so you start fearing it because they did although nothing happened to you directly. Hope this helped a bit.
2007-02-15 02:38:56 · answer #2 · answered by dylancv62 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Simply because they are creepy crawly entities which hide in dark corners and you usually come upon them by surprise and recoil in shock.
Reading Charlotte's Web may help to overcome the fear. I think its in a movie format now.
The book certainly helped my son to overcome his fear. It is a childrens' book but even I enjoyed the story.
2007-02-15 01:47:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dunno. spiders are (to me) cool & facinating. i can't believe that people of afraid of them but, see, there are people that clearly scared of them. why? without knowing you & your past, can't say. by the way, i disagree. most phobias are not clearly delineated. most phobias are without merit. that's why people go to psychologists to clear them of their overt fears. if they could analyze or rationalize the 'whys', phobias would become small-time fears easily overcome. but, see, they're not. fears, by the way, are usually generated by a lack of understanding. do you know why spiders are in the aracnid family? look up the greek legend of spiders & maybe a closer understanding with the critters can exist. it's cool reading & might also get an idea of why spiders do what they do (p.s.: only females spin webs).
2007-02-15 02:17:35 · answer #4 · answered by blackjack432001 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because they are so different than you! i would guess.....i was terrified of spiders and dogs until i got a terrantula and held it, trust me i was screaming the whole time but after i saw that it wasnt that bad i wanted to keep it and hold it again, and when i got a dog now i would never give him up!
2007-02-15 01:43:04 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
because they are creepy looking.
2007-02-15 01:46:21 · answer #6 · answered by karen v 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋