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Allison EB, Taylor EN, Graham ZA, Amarello M, Smith JJ, Loughman ZJ. Effects of relational and instrumental messaging on human perception of rattlesnakes. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0298737. [PMID: 38630660 PMCID: PMC11023442 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
We tested the effects of relational and instrumental message strategies on US residents' perception of rattlesnakes-animals that tend to generate feelings of fear, disgust, or hatred but are nevertheless key members of healthy ecosystems. We deployed an online survey to social media users (n = 1,182) to describe perceptions of rattlesnakes and assess the change after viewing a randomly selected relational or instrumental video message. An 8-item, pre-and post-Rattlesnake Perception Test (RPT) evaluated perception variables along emotional, knowledge, and behavioral gradients on a 5-point Likert scale; the eight responses were combined to produce an Aggregate Rattlesnake Perception (ARP) score for each participant. We found that people from Abrahamic religions (i.e., Christianity, Judaism, Islam) and those identifying as female were associated with low initial perceptions of rattlesnakes, whereas agnostics and individuals residing in the Midwest region and in rural residential areas had relatively favorable perceptions. Overall, both videos produced positive changes in rattlesnake perception, although the instrumental video message led to a greater increase in ARP than the relational message. The relational message was associated with significant increases in ARP only among females, agnostics, Baby Boomers (age 57-75), and Generation-Z (age 18-25 to exclude minors). The instrumental video message was associated with significant increases in ARP, and this result varied by religious group. ARP changed less in those reporting prior experience with a venomous snake bite (to them, a friend, or a pet) than in those with no such experience. Our data suggest that relational and instrumental message strategies can improve people's perceptions of unpopular and potentially dangerous wildlife, but their effectiveness may vary by gender, age, religious beliefs, and experience. These results can be used to hone and personalize communication strategies to improve perceptions of unpopular wildlife species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin B. Allison
- Dept of Organismal Biology, Ecology, and Zoo Science, West Liberty University, West Liberty, WV, United States of America
| | - Emily N. Taylor
- Biological Sciences Dept, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, United States of America
| | - Zackary A. Graham
- Dept of Organismal Biology, Ecology, and Zoo Science, West Liberty University, West Liberty, WV, United States of America
| | - Melissa Amarello
- Advocates for Snake Preservation, Silver City, NM, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey J. Smith
- Advocates for Snake Preservation, Silver City, NM, United States of America
- The Nature Conservancy, Willcox, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Zachary J. Loughman
- Dept of Organismal Biology, Ecology, and Zoo Science, West Liberty University, West Liberty, WV, United States of America
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Zsido AN, Hout MC, Hernandez M, White B, Polák J, Kiss BL, Godwin HJ. No evidence of attentional prioritization for threatening targets in visual search. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5651. [PMID: 38454142 PMCID: PMC10920919 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56265-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Throughout human evolutionary history, snakes have been associated with danger and threat. Research has shown that snakes are prioritized by our attentional system, despite many of us rarely encountering them in our daily lives. We conducted two high-powered, pre-registered experiments (total N = 224) manipulating target prevalence to understand this heightened prioritization of threatening targets. Target prevalence refers to the proportion of trials wherein a target is presented; reductions in prevalence consistently reduce the likelihood that targets will be found. We reasoned that snake targets in visual search should experience weaker effects of low target prevalence compared to non-threatening targets (rabbits) because they should be prioritized by searchers despite appearing rarely. In both experiments, we found evidence of classic prevalence effects but (contrasting prior work) we also found that search for threatening targets was slower and less accurate than for nonthreatening targets. This surprising result is possibly due to methodological issues common in prior studies, including comparatively smaller sample sizes, fewer trials, and a tendency to exclusively examine conditions of relatively high prevalence. Our findings call into question accounts of threat prioritization and suggest that prior attention findings may be constrained to a narrow range of circumstances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andras N Zsido
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, 6 Ifjusag Street, Pécs, 7624, Baranya, Hungary.
- Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
| | - Michael C Hout
- Department of Psychology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, USA
| | - Marko Hernandez
- Department of Psychology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, USA
| | - Bryan White
- Department of Psychology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, USA
| | - Jakub Polák
- Department of Economy and Management, Ambis University, Prague, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Botond L Kiss
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, 6 Ifjusag Street, Pécs, 7624, Baranya, Hungary
| | - Hayward J Godwin
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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Gomes N, Benrós MF, Semin GR. Validation of the open biological negative image set for a Portuguese population: Comparing Japanese and Portuguese samples and an exploration of low-order visual properties of the stimuli. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:860-880. [PMID: 36882667 PMCID: PMC10830772 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02090-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Recently, Shirai and Watanabe Royal Society Open Science, 9(1), 211128 (2022) developed OBNIS (Open Biological Negative Image Set), a comprehensive database containing images (primarily animals but also fruits, mushrooms, and vegetables) that visually elicit disgust, fear, or neither. OBNIS was initially validated for a Japanese population. In this article, we validated the color version of OBNIS for a Portuguese population. In study 1, the methodology of the original article was used. This allowed direct comparisons between the Portuguese and Japanese populations. Aside from a few emotional classification mismatches between disgust, fear, or neither-related images, we found that arousal and valence relate distinctively in both populations. In contrast to the Japanese sample, the Portuguese reported increased arousal for more positive valenced stimuli, suggesting that OBNIS images elicit positive emotions in the Portuguese population. These results showed important cross-cultural differences regarding OBNIS. In study 2, a methodological change was introduced: instead of the three classification options used originally (fear, disgust, or neither), six basic emotions were used (fear, disgust, sadness, surprise, anger, happiness), and a "neither" option, to confirm whether some of the originally "neither-related" images are associated with positive emotions (happiness). Additionally, the low-order visual properties of images (luminosity, contrast, chromatic complexity, and spatial frequency distribution) were explored due to their important role in emotion-related research. A fourth image group associated with happiness was found in the Portuguese sample. Moreover, image groups present differences regarding the low-order visual characteristics, which are correlated with arousal and valence ratings, highlighting the importance of controlling such characteristics in emotion-related research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuno Gomes
- William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Miguel F Benrós
- William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Gün R Semin
- William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal
- Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Peléšková Š, Polák J, Janovcová M, Chomik A, Sedláčková K, Frynta D, Landová E. Human emotional evaluation of ancestral and modern threats: fear, disgust, and anger. Front Psychol 2024; 14:1321053. [PMID: 38239483 PMCID: PMC10794497 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1321053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Animal and human ancestors developed complex physiological and behavioral response systems to cope with two types of threats: immediate physical harm from predators or conspecifics, triggering fear, and the risk of infections from parasites and pathogens leading to the evolution of the behavioral immune system with disgust as the key emotion. Integration of the evolutionary concepts of the fear module and behavioral immune systems has been infrequent, despite the significant survival advantages of disgust in various contexts. Studies comparing attention to ancestral and modern threats accompanied by fear have yielded ambiguous results and what qualifies as salient modern disgusting stimuli remains unclear. We do not know whether disgust or the behavioral immune system, as inherent aspects of human psychology, have adapted to safeguard us from pandemic risks or poisoning by modern toxic substances. Methods To test these effects, we have developed a survey comprised of 60 short vignettes describing threats evoking fear and disgust belonging to one of the three main categories of threats: (1) ancestral (phylogenetic), (2) modern (ontogenetic), and (3) pandemics of airborne disease. Each vignette was evaluated on a 7-point Likert scale based on fear, disgust, and anger. In total, 660 respondents completed the survey. The data were analysed using a factor analysis and general linear model with the respondent as a random factor. Results The results show that the strongest fear is triggered by modern threats (electricity, car accidents), while the highest disgust is evoked by ancient threats (body waste products, worms, etc.). Interestingly, disgust does not respond to modern threat stimuli such as toxic substances or radioactivity as these evoke mainly fear and anger. Finally, a distinct response pattern was found for pandemic threats, in which both fear (e.g., of disease and death) and disgust (e.g., of used face masks) are employed. Discussion Our study offers valuable insights into the emotional responses to ancestral and modern threats and their adaptation to pandemic challenges. Ancestral threats are not always more powerful stimuli than adequate threats of the modern type, but they function specifically. Thus, snakes and heights as fear-inducing ancestral threats form separate factors in a multivariate analysis, whereas all ancestral disgust stimuli group together. The threat of a pandemic forms a specific category and people process it emotionally and cognitively. These insights contribute to our understanding of human psychology and behavior in an ever-changing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Šárka Peléšková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jakub Polák
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Department of Economy and Management, Ambis University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Aleksandra Chomik
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | | | - Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
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Júnior DST. High risk of bat bites in an indigenous village in Brazil: Warning of the re-emergence of rabies among the Maxakali People. Acta Trop 2024; 249:107073. [PMID: 37956818 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.107073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Bat-mediated human rabies is a viral zoonotic disease that poses a serious threat to the public health of traditional peoples, especially indigenous populations that maintain primitive cultural and social habits, such as the Maxakali ethnic group, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. The sociocultural habit of this population led to the emergence between April and May 2022 of the viral spillover of rabies transmitted by bats, which decimated the lives of four children from this population who maintained contact with this animal as a recreational practice. Because the vampire bats Desmodus rotundus have exceptional ecology and social characteristics that can have important effects on the dynamics of viral dispersion in this indigenous population, I present the dynamics of contact between native children and the bat and the meaning of this relationship, which involves ritualistic and recreational significance. As important as knowing the reasons for this practice is discussing some intrinsic and extrinsic factors that imply risks that intensify the vulnerability of this population to the transmission of the rabies virus at any time. In view of this, I warn of the need to adopt efficient strategies to mitigate the risks of a new emergency in this region. Although emergency containment measures were carried out during the critical period of the outbreak, such animal and environmental control actions must become routine programmatic and structuring interventions. Essential for rabies surveillance in this population is to develop culturally adapted interethnic health education campaigns to guarantee the accessibility of the Maxakali indigenous people to the content taught, so that any attempt at domestication, captivity and recreational practices with bats of any species is discouraged, thus avoiding a possible re-emergence of this anthropozoonosis that has impacted not only the epidemiological scenario in this region, but throughout Brazil, and also throughout Latin America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dilceu Silveira Tolentino Júnior
- Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys, Postgraduate Program in Tecnhology, Environment and Society, Teófilo Otoni, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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Landová E, Štolhoferová I, Vobrubová B, Polák J, Sedláčková K, Janovcová M, Rádlová S, Frynta D. Attentional, emotional, and behavioral response toward spiders, scorpions, crabs, and snakes provides no evidence for generalized fear between spiders and scorpions. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20972. [PMID: 38017048 PMCID: PMC10684562 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48229-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Spiders are among the animals evoking the highest fear and disgust and such a complex response might have been formed throughout human evolution. Ironically, most spiders do not present a serious threat, so the evolutionary explanation remains questionable. We suggest that other chelicerates, such as scorpions, have been potentially important in the formation and fixation of the spider-like category. In this eye-tracking study, we focused on the attentional, behavioral, and emotional response to images of spiders, scorpions, snakes, and crabs used as task-irrelevant distractors. Results show that spider-fearful subjects were selectively distracted by images of spiders and crabs. Interestingly, these stimuli were not rated as eliciting high fear contrary to the other animals. We hypothesize that spider-fearful participants might have mistaken crabs for spiders based on their shared physical characteristics. In contrast, subjects with no fear of spiders were the most distracted by snakes and scorpions which supports the view that scorpions as well as snakes are prioritized evolutionary relevant stimuli. We also found that the reaction time increased systematically with increasing subjective fear of spiders only when using spiders (and crabs to some extent) but not snakes and scorpions as distractors. The maximal pupil response covered not only the attentional and cognitive response but was also tightly correlated with the fear ratings of the picture stimuli. However, participants' fear of spiders did not affect individual reactions to scorpions measured by the maximal pupil response. We conclude that scorpions are evolutionary fear-relevant stimuli, however, the generalization between scorpions and spiders was not supported in spider-fearful participants. This result might be important for a better understanding of the evolution of spider phobia.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
| | - I Štolhoferová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - B Vobrubová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - J Polák
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - K Sedláčková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - M Janovcová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - S Rádlová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - D Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Sporrer JK, Brookes J, Hall S, Zabbah S, Serratos Hernandez UD, Bach DR. Functional sophistication in human escape. iScience 2023; 26:108240. [PMID: 38026199 PMCID: PMC10654542 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals including humans must cope with immediate threat and make rapid decisions to survive. Without much leeway for cognitive or motor errors, this poses a formidable computational problem. Utilizing fully immersive virtual reality with 13 natural threats, we examined escape decisions in N = 59 humans. We show that escape goals are dynamically updated according to environmental changes. The decision whether and when to escape depends on time-to-impact, threat identity and predicted trajectory, and stable personal characteristics. Its implementation appears to integrate secondary goals such as behavioral affordances. Perturbance experiments show that the underlying decision algorithm exhibits planning properties and can integrate novel actions. In contrast, rapid information-seeking and foraging-suppression are only partly devaluation-sensitive. Instead of being instinctive or hardwired stimulus-response patterns, human escape decisions integrate multiple variables in a flexible computational architecture. Taken together, we provide steps toward a computational model of how the human brain rapidly solves survival challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana K. Sporrer
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research and Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Jack Brookes
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research and Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Samson Hall
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research and Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Sajjad Zabbah
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research and Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Ulises Daniel Serratos Hernandez
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research and Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Dominik R. Bach
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research and Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1B 5EH, UK
- University of Bonn, Transdisciplinary Research Area “Life and Health”, Hertz Chair for Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, 53121 Bonn, Germany
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Obukhov A, Krasnyanskiy M, Volkov A, Nazarova A, Teselkin D, Patutin K, Zajceva D. Method for Assessing the Influence of Phobic Stimuli in Virtual Simulators. J Imaging 2023; 9:195. [PMID: 37888302 PMCID: PMC10607658 DOI: 10.3390/jimaging9100195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
In the organizing of professional training, the assessment of the trainee's reaction and state in stressful situations is of great importance. Phobic reactions are a specific type of stress reaction that, however, is rarely taken into account when developing virtual simulators, and are a risk factor in the workplace. A method for evaluating the impact of various phobic stimuli on the quality of training is considered, which takes into account the time, accuracy, and speed of performing professional tasks, as well as the characteristics of electroencephalograms (the amplitude, power, coherence, Hurst exponent, and degree of interhemispheric asymmetry). To evaluate the impact of phobias during experimental research, participants in the experimental group performed exercises in different environments: under normal conditions and under the influence of acrophobic and arachnophobic stimuli. The participants were divided into subgroups using clustering algorithms and an expert neurologist. After that, a comparison of the subgroup metrics was carried out. The research conducted makes it possible to partially confirm our hypotheses about the negative impact of phobic effects on some participants in the experimental group. The relationship between the reaction to a phobia and the characteristics of brain activity was revealed, and the characteristics of the electroencephalogram signal were considered as the metrics for detecting a phobic reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Artem Obukhov
- The Laboratory of Medical VR Simulator Systems for Training, Diagnostics and Rehabilitation, Tambov State Technical University, Tambov 392000, Russia; (M.K.); (A.V.); (A.N.); (D.T.); (K.P.); (D.Z.)
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9
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Abado E, Aue T, Okon-Singer H. Spider vs. guns: expectancy and attention biases to phylogenetic threat do not extend to ontogenetic threat. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1232985. [PMID: 37711323 PMCID: PMC10498540 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1232985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Attention bias plays an important role in specific fears and phobias. Previous studies revealed that a-priori expectancies affect attention toward neutral stimuli but not threatening stimuli. The aim of the current study was to test whether this selective influence of expectancies on attention is specific to phylogenetic threat (i.e., spiders) or whether it can be generalized to ontogenetic threat (i.e., guns). Correspondingly, we directly compared expectancy effects on attentional allocation to phylogenetically vs. ontogenetically threatening stimuli. Method Expectancies were manipulated by presenting a cue indicating the likelihood of the appearance of a deviant picture in a visual search array. The array included eight distractors and one neutral (phone/bird) or threatening (gun/spider) deviant picture. In a comprehensive design, we examined the effects of stimulus type (phylogenetic/ontogenetic) and visual background (white and sterile/complex and ecological). Individual differences such as intolerance of uncertainty and spider fear were also measured. Results Results showed that attention bias toward spiders does not extend to threatening ontogenetic stimuli (i.e., guns). Our previous findings on attention bias toward spiders were replicated and a small to medium positive correlation was found between reaction time to bird targets and pre-existing fear of spider levels. Cues were used to detect threatening as well as neutral targets on both background types, except for spider targets on a complex background, replicating previous results. A small to medium positive correlation was also found between fear of spiders and intolerance of uncertainty. Discussion Together, these results suggest that expectancy and attentional processes may differ between ontogenetic and phylogenetic threat. Importantly, the effects of expectancy on attentional allocation depend on an interaction between the type of threat (ontogenetic/phylogenetic), visual factors, and individual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elinor Abado
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tatjana Aue
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hadas Okon-Singer
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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Frynta D, Elmi HSA, Rexová K, Janovcová M, Rudolfová V, Štolhoferová I, Král D, Sommer D, Berti DA, Frýdlová P. Animals evoking fear in the Cradle of Humankind: snakes, scorpions, and large carnivores. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2023; 110:33. [PMID: 37405495 PMCID: PMC10322782 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-023-01859-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
Theories explain the presence of fears and specific phobias elicited by animals in contemporary WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) populations by their evolutionary past in Africa. Nevertheless, empirical data about fears of animals in the Cradle of Humankind are still fragmentary. To fill this gap, we examined which local animals are perceived as the most frightening by Somali people, who inhabit a markedly similar environment and the region where humans have evolved. We asked 236 raters to rank 42 stimuli according to their elicited fear. The stimuli were standardized pictures of species representing the local fauna. The results showed that the most frightening animals were snakes, scorpions, the centipede, and large carnivores (cheetahs and hyenas). These were followed up by lizards and spiders. Unlike in Europe, spiders represent less salient stimuli than scorpions for Somali respondents in this study. This conforms to the hypothesis suggesting that fear of spiders was extended or redirected from other chelicerates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Hassan Sh Abdirahman Elmi
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
- Amoud University, Borama, Somaliland
| | - Kateřina Rexová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Rudolfová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Iveta Štolhoferová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - David Král
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - David Sommer
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Alex Berti
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Frýdlová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
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11
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Mouth proximity influences perceived disgust of visual stimuli. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2023.112146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
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12
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Coelho CM, Araújo AS, Suttiwan P, Zsido AN. An ethologically based view into human fear. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 145:105017. [PMID: 36566802 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The quality of the defensive response to a threat depends on the elements that trigger the fear response. The current classification system of phobias does not account for this. Here, we analyze the fear-eliciting elements and discern the different types of fears that originate from them. We propose Pain, Disgust, Vasovagal response, Visual-vestibular and postural interactions, Movement and Speed, Distance and Size, Low and mid-level visual features, Smell, and Territory and social status. We subdivide phobias according to the fear-eliciting elements most frequently triggered by them and their impact on behavior. We discuss the implications of a clinical conceptualization of phobias in humans by reconsidering the current nosology. This conceptualization will facilitate finding etiological factors in defensive behavior expression, fine-tuning exposure techniques, and challenging preconceived notions of preparedness. This approach to phobias leads to surprising discoveries and shows how specific responses bear little relation to the interpretation we might later give to them. Dividing fears into their potentially fear-eliciting elements can also help in applying the research principles formulated by the Research Domain Criteria initiative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M Coelho
- University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal; Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana S Araújo
- Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
| | - Panrapee Suttiwan
- Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; Life Di Center, Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
| | - Andras N Zsido
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, Pécs 7624, Hungary; Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs 7622, Hungary
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Soga M, Gaston KJ, Fukano Y, Evans MJ. The vicious cycle of biophobia. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:512-520. [PMID: 36707258 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
People can express irrational fears and disgust responses towards certain wild organisms. This so-called 'biophobia' can be useful and indeed necessary in some circumstances. Biophobia can, however, also lead to excessive distress and anxiety which, in turn, can result in people avoiding interactions with nature. Here, we highlight concern that this reduction in interactions with nature might lead to progressive increases in biophobia, entrenching it more in individuals and across society. We propose the 'vicious cycle of biophobia', a concept that encapsulates how excessive aversion towards nature might emerge and grow in society. The vicious cycle of biophobia risks accelerating the extinction of experience, leading to long-term adverse consequences for the conservation of biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masashi Soga
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
| | - Kevin J Gaston
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Yuya Fukano
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
| | - Maldwyn J Evans
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan; Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
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14
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Rudolfová V, Štolhoferová I, Elmi HSA, Rádlová S, Rexová K, Berti DA, Král D, Sommer D, Landová E, Frýdlová P, Frynta D. Do Spiders Ride on the Fear of Scorpions? A Cross-Cultural Eye Tracking Study. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12243466. [PMID: 36552386 PMCID: PMC9774548 DOI: 10.3390/ani12243466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Deep fear of spiders is common in many countries, yet its origin remains unexplained. In this study, we tested a hypothesis based on recent studies suggesting that fear of spiders might stem from a generalized fear of chelicerates or fear of scorpions. To this end, we conducted an eye tracking experiment using a spontaneous gaze preference paradigm, with spiders and scorpions (previously neglected but crucial stimuli) as threatening stimuli and grasshoppers as control stimuli. In total, 67 participants from Somaliland and 67 participants from the Czech Republic were recruited and presented with a sequence of paired images. Both Somali and Czech people looked longer (total duration of the gaze) and more often (number of fixations) on the threatening stimuli (spiders and scorpions) when presented with a control (grasshopper). When both threatening stimuli were presented together, Somali participants focused significantly more on the scorpion, whereas in Czech participants, the effect was less pronounced, and in Czech women it was not significant. This supports the hypothesis that fear of spiders originated as a generalized fear of scorpions. Moreover, the importance of spiders as fear-eliciting stimuli may be enhanced in the absence of scorpions in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Rudolfová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Iveta Štolhoferová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Hassan S. A. Elmi
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Amoud University, Borama, Somaliland
| | - Silvie Rádlová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Rexová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel A. Berti
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - David Král
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - David Sommer
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Frýdlová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
- Correspondence:
| | - Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
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15
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Kiss BL, Birkás B, Zilahi L, Zsidó AN. The role of fear, disgust, and relevant experience in the assessment of stimuli associated with blood-injury-injection phobia. Heliyon 2022; 8:e11839. [DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
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16
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Schmidt F, Schürmann L, Haberkamp A. Animal eMotion, or the emotional evaluation of moving animals. Cogn Emot 2022; 36:1132-1148. [PMID: 35749075 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2022.2087600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Responding adequately to the behaviour of human and non-human animals in our environment has been crucial for our survival. This is also reflected in our exceptional capacity to detect and interpret biological motion signals. However, even though our emotions have specifically emerged as automatic adaptive responses to such vital stimuli, few studies investigated the influence of biological motion on emotional evaluations. Here, we test how the motion of animals affects emotional judgements by contrasting static animal images and videos. We investigated this question (1) in non-fearful observers across many different animals, and (2) in observers afraid of particular animals across four types of animals, including the feared ones. In line with previous studies, we find an idiosyncratic pattern of evoked emotions across different types of animals. These emotions can be explained to different extents by regression models based on relevant predictor variables (e.g. familiarity, dangerousness). Additionally, our findings show a boosting effect of motion on emotional evaluations across all animals, with an additional increase in (negative) emotions for moving feared animals (except snakes). We discuss implications of our results for experimental and clinical research and applications, highlighting the importance of experiments with dynamic and ecologically valid stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filipp Schmidt
- Experimental Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Lisa Schürmann
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Anke Haberkamp
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
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17
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Snakebite Envenomation, Attitudes, and Behavior toward Snakes in Banten, Indonesia. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12162051. [PMID: 36009641 PMCID: PMC9404431 DOI: 10.3390/ani12162051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Globally, snake populations are in decline, with conservation efforts hindered by negative attitudes. Meanwhile, snakebite envenomation has been recognized as a serious public health issue, particularly in rural areas where humans and snakes coexist. This study reports the results of a survey conducted in Banten, Indonesia, with the aim of exploring relationships between respondents’ experiences, attitudes towards snakes, and behaviors towards snake populations. Our results indicate that snakebite envenomation presents a real threat in our study area, and that venomous snakes are regarded as highly dangerous. Individuals who had heard of others experiencing venomous snake bites were more likely to want populations of venomous snakes to decrease, and those with negative attitudes towards snakes were also more likely to engage in anti-conservation (“try to kill”) behavior. Women were more fearful than men, and women and those with lower education levels were more negative toward non-venomous pythons, suggesting that tailoring snake conservation efforts to specific groups based on experiences, education level, and attitudes may increase effectiveness. We propose that greater community knowledge of snakes and increases in local resources and preparedness can also contribute to accomplishing both snake conservation and improved public safety through prevention of snakebite envenomation. Abstract Snakes are commonly associated with feelings of anxiety or disgust, and snake conservation is often hindered by negative attitudes and perceptions. Although global snake populations are generally in decline, snakebite envenomation (SBE) continues to be recognized as a serious public health issue, particularly in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries. Data on SBE, a neglected tropical disease, are lacking, and Indonesia, a hotspot of venomous snake diversity, has no snake bite reporting system. We analyzed 127 survey results in Banten, Indonesia with the aim of documenting SBE and exploring the relationships between respondents’ experiences, attitudes, and behaviors toward snakes. Nine percent of respondents had experienced SBE, and knowledge of SBE incidents was associated with negative attitudes toward snake populations, with negative attitudes toward snakes associated with a higher likelihood of anti-conservation behavior. Women were more fearful than men, and women and those with lower education levels were more negative toward pythons (Malayopython reticulatus), suggesting that increased knowledge may aid in snake conservation efforts. Universally negative risk beliefs and attitudes toward venomous snakes indicate a need to reduce the threat of SBE in our study area.
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18
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Nanni V, Mammola S, Macías-Hernández N, Castrogiovanni A, Salgado AL, Lunghi E, Ficetola GF, Modica C, Alba R, Spiriti MM, Holtze S, de Mello ÉM, De Mori B, Biasetti P, Chamberlain D, Manenti R. Global response of conservationists across mass media likely constrained bat persecution due to COVID-19. BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 2022; 272:109591. [PMID: 35603331 PMCID: PMC9110911 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Most people lack direct experience with wildlife and form their risk perception primarily on information provided by the media. The way the media frames news may substantially shape public risk perception, promoting or discouraging public tolerance towards wildlife. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, bats were suggested as the most plausible reservoir of the virus, and this became a recurrent topic in media reports, potentially strengthening a negative view of this ecologically important group. We investigated how media framed bats and bat-associated diseases before and during the COVID-19 pandemic by assessing the content of 2651 online reports published across 26 countries, to understand how and how quickly worldwide media may have affected the perception of bats. We show that the overabundance of poorly contextualized reports on bat-associated diseases likely increased the persecution towards bats immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the subsequent interventions of different conservation communication initiatives allowed pro-conservation messages to resonate across the global media, likely stemming an increase in bat persecution. Our results highlight the modus operandi of the global media regarding topical biodiversity issues, which has broad implications for species conservation. Knowing how the media acts is pivotal for anticipating the propagation of (mis)information and negative feelings towards wildlife. Working together with journalists by engaging in dialogue and exchanging experiences should be central in future conservation management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Nanni
- School for Advanced Studies IUSS, Science, Technology and Society Department, 25100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Stefano Mammola
- Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe), Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Water Research Institute, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRSA), Largo Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania Pallanza, Italy
| | - Nuria Macías-Hernández
- Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe), Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Animal Biology, Edaphology and Geology, University of Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife 38206, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Alessia Castrogiovanni
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Cleoria, 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Ana L Salgado
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Enrico Lunghi
- Division of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenicka cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Gentile Francesco Ficetola
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Cleoria, 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Corrado Modica
- Faunico office of species protection, Leanderstraße 16, 54295 Trier, Germany
| | - Riccardo Alba
- Dept. of Life Science and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina, 13, 10123 Torino, Italy
| | - Maria Michela Spiriti
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, 35020 Padua, Italy
- Ethics Laboratory for Veterinary Medicine, Conservation and Animal Welfare, University of Padua, 35020 Padua, Italy
| | - Susanne Holtze
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Érica Munhoz de Mello
- Urban Bats Laboratory, Zoonoses Control Center of Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Barbara De Mori
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, 35020 Padua, Italy
| | - Pierfrancesco Biasetti
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dan Chamberlain
- Dept. of Life Science and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina, 13, 10123 Torino, Italy
| | - Raoul Manenti
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Cleoria, 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
- Laboratory of Subterranean Biology "Enrico Pezzoli", Parco Regionale del Monte Barro, 23851 Galbiate, Italy
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Liz Paola NZ, Torgerson PR, Hartnack S. Alternative Paradigms in Animal Health Decisions: A Framework for Treating Animals Not Only as Commodities. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12141845. [PMID: 35883391 PMCID: PMC9311748 DOI: 10.3390/ani12141845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Since zoonotic diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans, more comprehensive measures are needed when preventing and controlling these diseases. Because the value of animals is mainly based on monetary terms, animals are typically treated as commodities, impacting public health decisions. Therefore, a framework is proposed to value the health of animals beyond money for public health decision-making with a “One Health” approach. The aim is to have more comprehensive animal values based on the opinion of societies. However, tackling the dilemmas related to animal diseases, public health, and welfare still represents a challenge and a work in progress. Abstract Zoonoses are diseases transmitted from (vertebrate) animals to humans in the environment. The control and prevention of these diseases require an appropriate way to measure health value for prudent and well-balanced decisions in public health, production costs, and market values. Currently, the impact of diseases and animal disease control measures are typically assessed in monetary values, thus lacking consideration of other values such as emotional, societal, ecological, among others. Therefore, a framework is proposed that aims to explore, understand, and open up a conversation about the non-monetary value of animals through environmental and normative ethics. This method might help us complement the existing metrics in health, which are currently DALY and zDALY, adding more comprehensive values for animal and human health to the “One Health” approach. As an example of this framework application, participants can choose what they are willing to give in exchange for curing an animal in hypothetical scenarios selecting a human health condition to suffer, the amount of money, and lifetime as a tradeoff. Considering animals beyond their monetary value in public health decisions might contribute to a more rigorous assessment of the burden of zoonotic diseases, among other health decisions. This study is structured as follows: after a brief introduction of zoonoses, animal health, and health metrics, briefly, different environmental health perspectives are presented. Based on this, a framework for animal health decisions is proposed. This framework introduces the “anthropozoocentric interface” based on anthropocentrism and zoocentrism perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noguera Z. Liz Paola
- Section of Epidemiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland; (P.R.T.); (S.H.)
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Life Science Zurich Graduate School, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Correspondence: or
| | - Paul R. Torgerson
- Section of Epidemiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland; (P.R.T.); (S.H.)
| | - Sonja Hartnack
- Section of Epidemiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland; (P.R.T.); (S.H.)
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20
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Soga M, Gaston KJ. The dark side of nature experience: Typology, dynamics and implications of negative sensory interactions with nature. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Masashi Soga
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences The University of Tokyo Bunkyo Tokyo Japan
| | - Kevin J. Gaston
- Environment and Sustainability Institute University of Exeter Penryn UK
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21
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Leibovich-Raveh T, Gish M. Does Insect Aversion Lead to Increased Household Pesticide Use? INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13060555. [PMID: 35735892 PMCID: PMC9224736 DOI: 10.3390/insects13060555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
In many human societies, domestic insect pests often evoke feelings of disgust, fear and aversion. These common feelings may translate to increased use of household pesticides. No study has ever explored this possibility and consequently, efforts to mitigate public exposure to domestic pesticides typically focus on addressing knowledge gaps. We tested the hypothesis that negative emotions toward insects may motivate people to use pesticides, by interviewing 70 participants and assessing their insect aversion levels using a computerized test. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found no effect of insect aversion on pesticide use. However, we did find that personal attributes and preferences such as wishing to avoid exposure to toxic chemicals, being vegetarian and taking frequent nature walks reduced pesticide use, in addition to low infestation levels and physical attributes of the housing unit. We emphasize the importance of conducting future studies in various societies, where insect aversion and other factors may have different effects on household pesticide use. Such studies may provide culture-specific insights that could foster the development of next-generation urban IPM (Integrated Pest Management) public education programs, which will address not only knowledge gaps, but also emotional aspects and personal attributes that lead to unnecessary or excessive use of household pesticides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tali Leibovich-Raveh
- Department of Mathematics Education, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel;
| | - Moshe Gish
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +972-4-8288875
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22
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Kostuch L. Fear, disgust, hate: negative emotions evoked by animals in ancient literature. HISTORY OF PSYCHIATRY 2022; 33:127-142. [PMID: 35588217 DOI: 10.1177/0957154x211064954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Ancient literature contains thoughts, observations and opinions about animals causing fear, disgust or hate that can be of great interest to scientists researching the problem of phobias, fears and anxieties in history. So in this article, it is argued that we can go as far back as ancient times in the research on the history of animal phobias (or, speaking more generally, in research on the entire spectrum of negative emotions evoked by animals in individuals or in entire social groups or societies). In that period, the phenomenon was observed and described in an anecdotal form, and attempts to establish the causes of this phenomenon were undertaken. This article discusses these early ideas about phobias, fears and anxieties related to animals.
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23
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Losey JE, Chen C, Davis AE, Deitsch JF, Gertin JG, Gorneau JA, Hallock EM, Jordán JP, Kim ZJ, Kubinski EG, Laurenz N, Li SB, Mullen EK, O’Brien A, Richardson LI, Vincent S, Wang SY, Yarhouse EL, Schydlowsky A, Curtis PD. Insects and Spiders on the Web: Monitoring and Mitigating Online Exploitation of Species and Services. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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24
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Chiacchio M, Pigoni A. Red in tooth and claw: A review of animal antagonistic roles in movies. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michele Chiacchio
- Department of Conservation Biology & Social‐Ecological Systems UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig Germany
- Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig Bonn Germany
- www.salteditions.it
| | - Alessandro Pigoni
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group – MoMiLab IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca Lucca Italy
- www.salteditions.it
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A Randomized and Controlled Research Study Assessing the Emotions and Beliefs of Future Middle School Science Teachers toward Terrestrial Isopods. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13030233. [PMID: 35323531 PMCID: PMC8951326 DOI: 10.3390/insects13030233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Terrestrial isopods are small land-dwelling animals and can be an effective curriculum tool when used in a science classroom. A study was performed where future middle school science teachers participated in activities with living terrestrial isopods. We found that terrestrial isopods are the ideal “model” living arthropod to initially use in middle school science teacher preparation programs and middle school science teacher professional development. Abstract Terrestrial isopods, a diverse group of small crustaceans, are a beneficial component of a healthy ecosystem. Terrestrial isopods are also excellent living animals to have in a middle school science classroom. The current study evaluated if future middle school science teachers would utilize living terrestrial isopods in their classroom, and if they would not, to what extent fear and disgust towards arthropods was a factor that influenced their decision to avoid them. Before the terrestrial isopod activities, the teachers had moderate fear and moderate disgust toward terrestrial isopods and had no desire to teacher their students about terrestrial isopods. After participating in the terrestrial isopod activities, the teachers had no fear and no disgust toward terrestrial isopods and had a strong desire to teach their students about terrestrial isopods. Based on the findings of this study, new discoveries and powerful recommendations are presented that are relevant to those that are involved in the preparation of future middle school science teachers and those that provide professional development for current middle school science teachers.
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26
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Zsido AN, Coelho CM, Polák J. Nature relatedness: A protective factor for snake and spider fears and phobias. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Carlos M. Coelho
- Faculty of Psychology Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thailand
- School of Psychology ISMAI University Institute of Maia Porto Portugal
- Center for Psychology at University of Porto Porto Portugal
| | - Jakub Polák
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts Charles University Klecany Czech Republic
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27
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Polák J, Sedláčková K, Janovcová M, Peléšková Š, Flegr J, Vobrubová B, Frynta D, Landová E. Measuring fear evoked by the scariest animal: Czech versions of the Spider Questionnaire and Spider Phobia Beliefs Questionnaire. BMC Psychiatry 2022; 22:18. [PMID: 34991495 PMCID: PMC8740501 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03672-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although tiny in size and mostly harmless, spiders evoke exceptional fear in a significant part of the population and arachnophobia is one of the most common anxiety disorders with prevalence 2.7-6.1%. Two standard measures have been widely used to reliably assess the emotional and cognitive component of spider fear, the Spider Questionnaire (SPQ) and Spider Phobia Beliefs Questionnaire (SBQ). We aimed to develop and validate their Czech translations, describe distribution of spider fear in the Czech population, and analyse its association with disgust propensity and other sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS In Phase 1, we developed Czech translations of both questionnaires using a back-translation procedure and then tested their psychometric properties against their English versions in a counterbalanced experimental design using the Mann-Whitney U test and two-sided t-test. In Phase 2, we analysed scores on the Czech SPQ and SBQ on a larger sample. We evaluated the effects of age, gender, level of education, biology background, and association with the assessments of snake fear (i.e. the Snake Questionnaire, SNAQ) and disgust propensity (i.e. the Disgust Scale-Revised, DS-R) using a Spearman correlation, redundancy analysis, and general linear models. RESULTS We have demonstrated that the Czech SPQ and SBQ are equivalent to their originals and show excellent test-retest reliability (SPQ: 0.93; SBQ: 0.87-0.90). In total, 398 (10.3%) out of 3863 subjects reached the cut-off point for potential spider phobia. In addition, SPQ and SBQ scores were highly correlated (0.73-0.79), significantly more than with the SNAQ (0.21-0.32) or the DS-R (0.36-0.40). Two multivariate statistical methods revealed a significant association between the gender, age, level of education, biology background, or disgust propensity and the SPQ scores. CONCLUSION The Czech SPQ and SBQ may produce reliable and valid assessments of spider fear, but they must be further psychometrically tested considering the limitation of this study before wider use. We corroborate previous findings that fear of spiders is significantly associated with sociodemographic variables, such as gender, age, or education, as well as with the individual level of disgust propensity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Polák
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Kristýna Sedláčková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jaroslav Flegr
- Department of Philosophy and History of Sciences, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Vobrubová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Frynta
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Landová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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28
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Ngo KM, Hosaka T, Numata S. Attitudes and preferences of wildlife and their relationship with childhood nature experience amongst residents in a tropical urban city. Urban Ecosyst 2022; 25:1939-1948. [PMID: 36159164 PMCID: PMC9483242 DOI: 10.1007/s11252-022-01280-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
How people relate to biodiversity and whether they are supportive of conservation programs and policies has implications on global and local biodiversity conservation efforts. Nature experiences in childhood has been shown to be strongly correlated to positive attitudes towards nature and wildlife in adulthood. In this study, we examined wildlife experience, attitudes and willingness to coexist with 26 vertebrates and invertebrates amongst residents in a highly urbanized tropical city, Singapore. A total of 1004 respondents were surveyed and their childhood nature experience and various socioeconomic variables were obtained. The animals were grouped by their likeability and preferred habitat from the respondents' answers. Three main groups of animals were discerned - unfavorable animals, mammals, and favorable animals. Singapore residents generally had high direct experiences of animals that are common in urban settings, for both favorable and unfavorable animals, such as butterflies, dragonflies, crows and bees, but low direct experiences of forest-dependent wildlife. Animals that were well-liked and acceptable near homes include the common urban ones and some forest-dependent ones, while animals that were disliked included stinging insects (bees and hornets) and reptiles (snakes and water monitors). Structured equation modelling showed that both childhood nature experience and wildlife experience had strong effects on wildlife likeability and habitat preference. The apparent mismatch between greening policies and people's willingness to coexist with wildlife may be problematic as urban development further encroaches on forest habitats, and this study highlights the importance of preserving forest habitats so that young children and adults have opportunities to be exposed to them. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11252-022-01280-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Min Ngo
- Department of Tourism Science, Graduate School of Urban Environmental Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minamiosawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397 Japan
- Present Address: Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798 Singapore
| | - Tetsuro Hosaka
- Department of Tourism Science, Graduate School of Urban Environmental Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minamiosawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397 Japan
- Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University, 1-5-1, Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima, 739-852 Japan
| | - Shinya Numata
- Department of Tourism Science, Graduate School of Urban Environmental Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minamiosawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397 Japan
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29
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Quiamzade A, Lalot F. Animalistic dehumanisation as a social influence strategy. Front Psychol 2022; 13:999959. [PMID: 36710835 PMCID: PMC9875809 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.999959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The phenomenon of animalistic dehumanisation has been extensively studied in social psychology, but mostly as an intergroup relations tool used to justify the mistreatment of an outgroup. Surprisingly, however, dehumanisation has not been approached as an influence strategy to convince the ingroup to mistreat an outgroup. In the present article, we investigate these possible influence effects. We propose that a message depicting an outgroup in negative animalised terms would lead to lasting unfavourable outgroup attitudes because the animal essence conveyed through the message would immunise ingroup members against subsequent counterinfluence attempts. In one experimental study we compared the effect of three influence messages depicting a despised outgroup (Roma beggars) in negative animalised vs. negative humanised vs. positive humanised terms, followed by a counterpropaganda message advocating for Roma beggars' rights. Results show that the animalisation message leads to a lasting animalised perception of the outgroup (eliciting disgust and repugnancy) that resists exposure to the counterpropaganda positive message. In contrast, the negative humanisation message provokes a brief negative perception of the group (pre-counterpropaganda) that disappears after exposure to the counterpropaganda. The animalisation message also leads to more negative attitudes and discriminatory behavioural intentions towards Roma beggars expressed after the counterpropaganda message (i.e., discrimination in the workplace, hiring intentions, and social proximity), whilst the negative humanisation message does not, showing no difference with the positive humanisation message. These results suggest that animalistic dehumanisation indeed acts as an influence strategy, immunising targets against subsequent counterpropaganda attempts. We discuss implications in the light of essentialisation, forms of dehumanisation and group status, and current non-discriminatory norms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alain Quiamzade
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Faculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brig, Switzerland
| | - Fanny Lalot
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.,School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
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30
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Frynta D, Janovcová M, Štolhoferová I, Peléšková Š, Vobrubová B, Frýdlová P, Skalíková H, Šípek P, Landová E. Emotions triggered by live arthropods shed light on spider phobia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22268. [PMID: 34782659 PMCID: PMC8593055 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01325-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Spiders are mostly harmless, yet they often trigger high levels of both fear and disgust, and arachnophobia (the phobia of spiders) ranks among the most common specific animal phobias. To investigate this apparent paradox, we turned to the only close relatives of spiders that pose a real danger to humans: scorpions. We adopted a unique methodology in order to assess authentic emotions elicited by arthropods. Over 300 respondents were asked to rate live specimens of 62 arthropod species (including spiders, scorpions, cockroaches, and other insects) based on perceived fear, disgust, and beauty. We found that species' scores on all three scales depended on the higher taxon as well as on body size. Spiders, scorpions, and other arachnids scored the highest in fear and disgust, while beetles and crabs scored the highest in beauty. Moreover, all chelicerates were perceived as one cohesive group, distinct from other arthropods, such as insects or crabs. Based on these results, we hypothesize that the fear of spiders might be triggered by a generalized fear of chelicerates, with scorpions being the original stimulus that signals danger.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - Iveta Štolhoferová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Vobrubová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Frýdlová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Skalíková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Šípek
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67, Klecany, Czech Republic.
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31
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Coelho CM, Polák J, Suttiwan P, Zsido AN. Fear inoculation among snake experts. BMC Psychiatry 2021; 21:539. [PMID: 34715842 PMCID: PMC8556941 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03553-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fear acquisition of certain stimuli, such as snakes, is thought to be rapid, resistant to extinction, and easily transferable onto other similar objects. It has been hypothesized that due to increased survival chances, preparedness to instantly acquire fear towards evolutionary threats has been hardwired into neural pathways of the primate brain. Here, we compare participants' fear of snakes according to experience; from those who often deal with snakes and even suffer snakebites to those unfamiliar with snakes. METHODS The Snake Questionnaire-12 (SNAQ-12) and Specific Phobia Questionnaire (SPQ) were administered to three groups of participants with a different level of experience with snakes and snakebites: 1) snake experts, 2) firefighters, and 3) college students. RESULTS This study shows that individuals more experienced with snakes demonstrate lower fear. Moreover, participants who have suffered a snakebite (either venomous or not) score lower on fear of snakes (SNAQ-12), but not of all other potentially phobic stimuli (SPQ). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that a harmless benign exposure might immunize people to highly biologically prepared fears of evolutionary threats, such as snakes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M. Coelho
- grid.7922.e0000 0001 0244 7875Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand ,grid.410983.70000 0001 2285 6633University Institute of Maia, Maia, Portugal ,grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Jakub Polák
- grid.447902.cApplied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic ,grid.4491.80000 0004 1937 116XDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Panrapee Suttiwan
- grid.7922.e0000 0001 0244 7875Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand ,grid.7922.e0000 0001 0244 7875Life Di Center, Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Andras N. Zsido
- grid.9679.10000 0001 0663 9479Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
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32
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St Peter KS, Vernon LL, Kersten AW. The influence of movement on negative and positive emotional responses to animals. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:1289-1301. [PMID: 34541952 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211049331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Two studies were conducted to explore whether the addition of animal movement would influence the intensity of emotional reactions towards that animal. Both studies compared self-reported emotional reactions with still images and videos for six animal categories (snakes, spiders, rodents, hoofed animals, animals with flippers, and turtles). In Study 1, participants reported fear and disgust to the animal stimuli, which were averaged into a single negative emotion rating. In Study 2, participants reported either fear and disgust or joy and affection to the animal stimuli, which were averaged into either a single negative or positive emotion rating. Upon combining the reported emotions from the two studies, movement was found to increase negative emotion reported to snakes and spiders and decrease negative emotion reported to rodents, hoofed animals, and animals with flippers. Results from Study 2 indicated that movement increased reported positive emotions to all six animal categories. Our findings suggest that animal movement is an important component of emotional reactions to animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krystal S St Peter
- Department of Addiction Studies, Psychology, and Social Work, Minot State University, Minot, ND, USA
| | - Laura L Vernon
- Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Alan W Kersten
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA
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33
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Landová E, Janovcová M, Štolhoferová I, Rádlová S, Frýdlová P, Sedláčková K, Frynta D. Specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods: Spiders are special, but phobics not so much. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257726. [PMID: 34555103 PMCID: PMC8460016 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To investigate a specificity of spiders as a prototypical fear- and disgust-eliciting stimuli, we conducted an online experiment. The respondents rated images of 25 spiders, 12 non-spider chelicerates, and 10 other arthropods on a fear and disgust 7-point scale. The evaluation of 968 Central European respondents confirmed the specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods and supported the notion of spiders as a cognitive category. We delineated this category as covering extant spider species as well as some other chelicerates bearing a physical resemblance to spiders, mainly whip spiders and camel spiders. We suggested calling this category the spider-like cognitive category. We discussed evolutionary roots of the spider-like category and concluded that its roots should be sought in fear, with disgust being secondary of the two emotions. We suggested other chelicerates, e.g., scorpions, might have been important in formation and fixation of the spider-like category. Further, we investigated an effect of respondent's sensitivity to a specific fear of spiders on evaluation of the stimuli. We found that suspected phobic respondents were in their rating nearly identical to those with only high fear of spiders and similar to those with only moderate fear of spiders. We concluded that results based on healthy respondents with elevated fear should also be considered relevant for arachnophobia research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Landová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
| | - Iveta Štolhoferová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
| | - Silvie Rádlová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
| | - Petra Frýdlová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
| | | | - Daniel Frynta
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
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34
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Zvaríková M, Prokop P, Zvarík M, Ježová Z, Medina-Jerez W, Fedor P. What Makes Spiders Frightening and Disgusting to People? Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.694569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The quality of human-animal interactions may crucially influence conservation efforts. Unfortunately, and despite their important roles in the functioning of the ecosystem, some animals are considered notoriously unpopular. Using the forced-choice paradigm, we investigated which cues humans perceive as frightening and disgusting in spiders, one of the most unpleasant animals in the world. The research was carried out with a representative sample of N = 1,015 Slovak adults. We found that perceived fear and disgust of spiders were triggered predominantly by enlarged chelicerae, enlarged abdomen, and the presence of body hair. Longer legs were associated with perceived fear as well; however, the presence of two eyes did not produce any statistical significance in terms of fear. We hope that further research in this field, where additional cues can be manipulated (e.g., color and number of legs), will improve conservation efforts by using an improved reputation of spiders in the eyes of the general public.
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35
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Wang J, Sun X, Lu J, Dou H, Lei Y. Generalization gradients for fear and disgust in human associative learning. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14210. [PMID: 34244571 PMCID: PMC8270915 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93544-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research indicates that excessive fear is a critical feature in anxiety disorders; however, recent studies suggest that disgust may also contribute to the etiology and maintenance of some anxiety disorders. It remains unclear if differences exist between these two threat-related emotions in conditioning and generalization. Evaluating different patterns of fear and disgust learning would facilitate a deeper understanding of how anxiety disorders develop. In this study, 32 college students completed threat conditioning tasks, including conditioned stimuli paired with frightening or disgusting images. Fear and disgust were divided into two randomly ordered blocks to examine differences by recording subjective US expectancy ratings and eye movements in the conditioning and generalization process. During conditioning, differing US expectancy ratings (fear vs. disgust) were found only on CS-, which may demonstrated that fear is associated with inferior discrimination learning. During the generalization test, participants exhibited greater US expectancy ratings to fear-related GS1 (generalized stimulus) and GS2 relative to disgust GS1 and GS2. Fear led to longer reaction times than disgust in both phases, and the pupil size and fixation duration for fear stimuli were larger than for disgust stimuli, suggesting that disgust generalization has a steeper gradient than fear generalization. These findings provide preliminary evidence for differences between fear- and disgust-related stimuli in conditioning and generalization, and suggest insights into treatment for anxiety and other fear- or disgust-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinxia Wang
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China.,Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Xiaoying Sun
- Ningxia College of Construction, Ningxia, 750021, China
| | - Jiachen Lu
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - HaoRan Dou
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China.,Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Yi Lei
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China. .,Center for Neurogenetics, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, 518057, China.
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36
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Coelho CM, Zsido AN, Suttiwan P, Clasen M. Super-natural fears. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 128:406-414. [PMID: 34186152 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.06.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Supernatural fears, although common, are not as well-understood as natural fears and phobias (e.g., social, blood, and animal phobias) which are prepared by evolution, such that they are easily acquired through direct experience and relatively immune to cognitive mediation. In contrast, supernatural fears do not involve direct experience but seem to be related to sensory or cognitive biases in the interpretation of stimuli as well as culturally driven cognitions and beliefs. In this multidisciplinary synthesis and collaborative review, we claim that supernatural beliefs are "super natural." That is, they occur spontaneously and are easy to acquire, possibly because such beliefs rest on intuitive concepts such as mind-body dualism and animism, and may inspire fear in believers as well as non-believers. As suggested by psychological and neuroscientific evidence, they tap into an evolutionarily prepared fear of potential impending dangers or unknown objects and have their roots in "prepared fears" as well as "cognitively prepared beliefs," making fear of supernatural agents a fruitful research avenue for social, anthropological, and psychological inquires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M Coelho
- Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand; University Institute of Maia, Maia, Portugal; Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Andras N Zsido
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, Pécs, 7622, Hungary
| | - Panrapee Suttiwan
- Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand; Life Di Center, Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
| | - Mathias Clasen
- School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
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37
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Austen GE, Dallimer M, Irvine KN, Maund PR, Fish RD, Davies ZG. Exploring shared public perspectives on biodiversity attributes. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gail E. Austen
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Kent UK
| | - Martin Dallimer
- Sustainability Research Institute School of Earth and Environment University of Leeds Leeds UK
| | - Katherine N. Irvine
- Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Department The James Hutton Institute Aberdeen UK
| | - Phoebe R. Maund
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Kent UK
| | - Robert D. Fish
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Kent UK
| | - Zoe G. Davies
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Kent UK
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38
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Boso À, Álvarez B, Pérez B, Imio JC, Altamirano A, Lisón F. Understanding human attitudes towards bats and the role of information and aesthetics to boost a positive response as a conservation tool. Anim Conserv 2021; 24:937-945. [PMID: 34177353 PMCID: PMC8212112 DOI: 10.1111/acv.12692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
An understanding of human attitudes towards wildlife can be an essential element in the success or failure of a conservation initiative, policy or practice and represents one of the main conservation problems for wildlife species. Despite the ecosystem services bats provide, they often are a socially stigmatized group, misperceived and even hunted. This problem has been on the increase as a result of the Covid‐19 pandemic. We examined how aesthetic appeal and informational factors could influence human attitudes towards bats in a survey of 1966 participants from Spanish‐speaking countries. Gender, educational level, religiousness and previous experiences with bats were relevant variables to understand attitudes towards them. The results indicate that both aesthetic and informational stimuli increase the positive responses, reducing the negatives on the participants' attitudes. Our results show the importance of public attitudes to achieve conservation goals, especially in the context of human‐wildlife conflict. Bats are not charismatic animals and are still surrounded in mystery; however, our findings could benefit bat conservation plans, allowing the development of new communication strategies both locally and nationally and increasing public acceptance that will facilitate bat conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Àlex Boso
- Núcleo Científico Tecnológico en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades Universidad de La Frontera Temuco Chile
| | - Boris Álvarez
- Departamento de Psicología Universidad Católica de Temuco Temuco Chile
| | - Beatriz Pérez
- Núcleo Científico Tecnológico en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades Universidad de La Frontera Temuco Chile
| | - Juan Carlos Imio
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Conservación Departamento de Ciencias Forestales y Medio Ambiente Universidad de La Frontera Temuco Chile
| | - Adison Altamirano
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Conservación Departamento de Ciencias Forestales y Medio Ambiente Universidad de La Frontera Temuco Chile
| | - Fulgencio Lisón
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Conservación Departamento de Ciencias Forestales y Medio Ambiente Universidad de La Frontera Temuco Chile.,Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Lab Departamento de Zoología Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas Universidad de Concepción Concepción Chile
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39
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Cockroaches are scarier than snakes and spiders: Validation of an affective standardized set of animal images (ASSAI). Behav Res Methods 2021; 53:2338-2350. [PMID: 33826093 PMCID: PMC8025455 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01577-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Research on emotional processes has been closely related to the use of emotional stimuli, promoting the development of different standardized sets of images. However, some kinds of images that would be relevant in clinical psychology research are not available, especially for small animal phobias. The aim of the present study is to validate a set of animal images that includes images of cockroaches, which are not present in the current sets of images. Two hundred and forty images depicting five types of animals (cockroaches, spiders, snakes, cats, and butterflies) were collected from online public domains. Four hundred and twenty-four participants (72.9% women) took part in the study rating the images in two affective dimensions (i.e., valence and arousal). Cockroach pictures were rated as significantly more unpleasant than pictures of spiders, snakes, butterflies, and cats. Moreover, results revealed that women rated cockroach, spider, and snake pictures as more negative than men did. Also, women in comparison with men rated cockroach images as more arousing. The results highlight the importance of using images of cockroaches, due to their high negative valence, which even exceeds that of snakes and spiders, the unpleasant animals typically used in phobic research. This set of images can be useful in research on small-animal phobias.
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40
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Rocha R, López-Baucells A, Fernández-Llamazares Á. Ethnobiology of Bats: Exploring Human-Bat Inter-Relationships in a Rapidly Changing World. J ETHNOBIOL 2021. [DOI: 10.2993/0278-0771-41.1.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Rocha
- CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Adrià López-Baucells
- Global Change and Conservation (GCC), Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares
- Global Change and Conservation (GCC), Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
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Staňková H, Janovcová M, Peléšková Š, Sedláčková K, Landová E, Frynta D. The Ultimate List of the Most Frightening and Disgusting Animals: Negative Emotions Elicited by Animals in Central European Respondents. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11030747. [PMID: 33803132 PMCID: PMC7999229 DOI: 10.3390/ani11030747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals have always played an important role in our everyday life. They are given more attention than inanimate objects, which have been adaptive during the evolution of mankind, with some animal species still presenting a real threat to us. In this study, we focused on the species usually evaluated as the scariest and most disgusting in the animal kingdom. We analyzed which characteristics (e.g., weight, potential threat for humans) influence their evaluation in a nonclinical Central European WEIRD population (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic). The tested animals were divided into two separated sets containing 34 standardized photos evoking predominantly one negative emotion, fear or disgust. The pictures were ranked according to their emotional intensity by 160 adult respondents with high inter-rater agreement. The most fear-eliciting species are mostly large vertebrates (e.g., carnivorans, ungulates, sharks, crocodiles), whereas smaller fear-evoking vertebrates are represented by snakes and invertebrates are represented by arachnids. The most disgust-evoking animals are human endo- and ectoparasites or animals visually resembling them. Humans emotionally react to fear-evoking animals that represent a real threat; however, identifying truly dangerous disgust-evoking animals might be harder. The results also support a somewhat special position of snakes and spiders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Staňková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (H.S.); (Š.P.); (K.S.)
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic; (M.J.); (D.F.)
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (H.S.); (Š.P.); (K.S.)
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic; (M.J.); (D.F.)
| | - Kristýna Sedláčková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (H.S.); (Š.P.); (K.S.)
| | - Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (H.S.); (Š.P.); (K.S.)
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic; (M.J.); (D.F.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +420-723-409-406
| | - Daniel Frynta
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic; (M.J.); (D.F.)
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42
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Abado E, Aue T, Okon-Singer H. Cognitive Biases in Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia: A Review. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:678891. [PMID: 34326784 PMCID: PMC8313757 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.678891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia can lead to avoidance of crucial medical procedures and to detrimental health consequences, even among health workers. Yet unlike other specific phobias, BII phobia has been understudied. Specifically, while cognitive biases have been extensively investigated in other anxiety disorders, little is known about the same biases in BII phobia. The current article reviews cognitive biases in BII phobia and suggest future directions for further study and treatment. The reviewed biases include attention, expectancy, memory, perception, and interpretation biases. The investigation of these biases is highly relevant, as cognitive biases have been found to interact with anxiety symptoms. Results showed that attention, expectancy, and memory biases are involved in BII phobia, while no studies were found on interpretation nor perception biases. Mixed results were found for attention bias, as different studies found different components of attention bias, while others found no attention bias at all. Similarly, some studies found a-priori/a-posteriori expectancy biases, while other studies found only one type of bias. A better understanding of the cognitive particularities of BII phobia may lead to better treatments and ultimately reduce avoidance of needles and blood-related situations, thereby enabling individuals with BII phobia to undergo potentially life-saving medical procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elinor Abado
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.,The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tatjana Aue
- Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hadas Okon-Singer
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.,The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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Abado E, Aue T, Okon-Singer H. The Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: A Review on the Interactive Nature of A-Priori Expectancies and Attention Bias toward Threat. Brain Sci 2020; 10:E745. [PMID: 33080803 PMCID: PMC7602966 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10100745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of attention bias in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders has been studied extensively over decades. Attention bias reflects maladaptation in cognitive processing, as perceived threatening stimuli receive prioritized processing even when they are task-irrelevant or factually unthreatening. Recently, there has been some interest in the role of a-priori expectancies in attention bias toward threat. The current review article will present recent studies as examples that emphasize the need for more comprehensive research about the interactive effects of various factors that affect the relationship between expectancies and attention bias toward threatening stimuli in anxiety. The current review article suggests a holistic view, which advocates for more integrative research, as a dynamic network could underlie changes in attention bias. The study of the interaction between such factors, with a focus on expectancy, can lead to more ecological and clinically important results, and thus to more informed and fine-tuned treatments that are based on manipulation of expectancies. Such methods, in turn, can also help in shedding light on the research of attention bias, in a mutual relationship between research and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elinor Abado
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, 3498838 Haifa, Israel;
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBR), University of Haifa, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
| | - Tatjana Aue
- Department of Psychology, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Hadas Okon-Singer
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, 3498838 Haifa, Israel;
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBR), University of Haifa, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
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44
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Sinclair JS, Brown JA, Lockwood JL. Reciprocal human-natural system feedback loops within the invasion process. NEOBIOTA 2020. [DOI: 10.3897/neobiota.62.52664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Biological invasions are inextricably linked to how people collect, move, interact with and perceive non-native species. However, invasion frameworks generally do not consider reciprocal interactions between non-native species and people. Non-native species can shape human actions via beneficial or detrimental ecological and socioeconomic effects and people, in turn, shape invasions through their movements, behaviour and how they respond to the collection, transport, introduction and spread of non-natives. The feedbacks that stem from this ‘coupled human and natural system’ (CHANS) could therefore play a key role in mitigating (i.e. negative feedback loops) or exacerbating (i.e. positive feedback loops) ongoing and future invasions. We posit that the invasion process could be subdivided into three CHANS that span from the source region from which non-natives originate to the recipient region in which they establish and spread. We also provide specific examples of feedback loops that occur within each CHANS that have either reduced or facilitated new introductions and spread of established non-native species. In so doing, we add to exisiting invasion frameworks to generate new hypotheses about human-based drivers of biological invasions and further efforts to determine how ecological outcomes feed back into human actions.
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45
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Landová E, Peléšková Š, Sedláčková K, Janovcová M, Polák J, Rádlová S, Vobrubová B, Frynta D. Venomous snakes elicit stronger fear than nonvenomous ones: Psychophysiological response to snake images. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0236999. [PMID: 32813734 PMCID: PMC7437868 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Snakes have been important ambush predators of both primates and human hunter-gatherers throughout their co-evolutionary history. Viperid snakes in particular are responsible for most fatal venomous snakebites worldwide and thus represent a strong selective pressure. They elicit intense fear in humans and are easily recognizable thanks to their distinctive morphotype. In this study, we measured skin resistance (SR) and heart rate (HR) in human subjects exposed to snake pictures eliciting either high fear (10 venomous viperid species) or disgust (10 nonvenomous fossorial species). Venomous snakes subjectively evaluated as frightening trigger a stronger physiological response (higher SR amplitude) than repulsive non-venomous snakes. However, stimuli presented in a block (more intense stimulation) do not trigger a stronger emotional response compared to sequentially presented stimuli (less intense stimulation). There are significant interindividual differences as subjects with high fear of snakes confronted with images of viperid snakes show stronger, longer-lasting, and more frequent changes in SR and higher HR compared to low-fear subjects. Thus, we show that humans demonstrate a remarkable ability to discriminate between dangerous viperids and harmless fossorial snakes, which is also reflected in distinct autonomous body responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Landová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Kristýna Sedláčková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Polák
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Silvie Rádlová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Vobrubová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Frynta
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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46
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Coelho CM, Gonçalves-Bradley D, Zsido AN. Who worries about specific phobias? - A population-based study of risk factors. J Psychiatr Res 2020; 126:67-72. [PMID: 32417598 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Although specific phobia is one of the most prevalent lifetime anxiety disorders, little is known about the particular risk factors related to its development. The underlying goal of this study was to analyse the risk factors associated with worrying about specific phobias (SP) in a representative sample of community dwelling adults. The sample was composed of 8461 participants (mean age 47.68 years, range 18-85, 54.60% female), from the Australian National Mental Health Survey. A total of 188 participants (2.22%) reported worrying about SPs. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that female sex (odds ratio (OR) = 1.98, p < 0.0001) and a comorbid diagnosis of lifetime major depression disorder (OR = 2.80, p < 0.0001) were the factors most strongly associated with worrying about SPs. Having experienced traumatic experiences involving significant others (OR = 1.18, p = 0.02), the number of chronic diseases (OR = 1.21, p < 0.01), and a comorbid diagnosis of substance use (OR = 2.80, p = 0.02) were also associated. Our results are in line with previous studies focusing on other anxiety disorders. We provide further evidence that substance dependence appears to serve as a unique risk factor for the subsequent onset of SP. Further empirical and clinical implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M Coelho
- School of Psychology, ISMAI University Institute of Maia, Portugal; School of Health of Porto Polytechnic, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Lab, Center for Rehabilitation Research, Porto, Portugal; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Andras N Zsido
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
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Castillo-Huitrón NM, Naranjo EJ, Santos-Fita D, Estrada-Lugo E. The Importance of Human Emotions for Wildlife Conservation. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1277. [PMID: 32670150 PMCID: PMC7326805 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals have always been important for human life due to the ecological, cultural, and economic functions that they represent. This has allowed building several kinds of relationships that have promoted different emotions in human societies. The objective of this review was to identify the main emotions that humans show toward wildlife species and the impact of such emotions on animal population management. We reviewed academic databases to identify previous studies on this topic worldwide. An analysis of the emotions on wildlife and factors causing them is described in this study. We identified a controversy about these emotions. Large predators such as wolves, coyotes, bears, big felids, and reptiles, such as snakes and geckos, promote mainly anger, fear, and disgust. This is likely due to the perceptions, beliefs, and experiences that societies have historically built around them. However, in some social groups these animals have promoted emotions such as happiness due to their values for people. Likewise, sadness is an emotion expressed for the threatening situations that animals are currently facing. Furthermore, we associated the conservation status of wildlife species identified in the study with human emotions to discuss their relevance for emerging conservation strategies, particularly focused on endangered species promoting ambiguous emotions in different social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eduardo J Naranjo
- El Colegio de la Frontera Sur - Unidad San Cristóbal, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico
| | - Dídac Santos-Fita
- Instituto Amazônico de Agriculturas Familiares, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil
| | - Erin Estrada-Lugo
- El Colegio de la Frontera Sur - Unidad San Cristóbal, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico
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48
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Faster detection of snake and spider phobia: revisited. Heliyon 2020; 6:e03968. [PMID: 32435714 PMCID: PMC7229493 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Snake and spider phobia are one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders, yet quick and reliable measures are rather scarce. Recently, attempts have been made to shorten two widespread measures of snake and spider fear, the Snake Questionnaire (SNAQ) and Spider Questionnaire (SPQ). The new 12-item scales demonstrate very good psychometric qualities in terms of internal consistency and discriminatory power. Using the same approach on a bigger sample from another cultural background, we aimed to verify psychometric properties of the short scales. In total, 2 644 Czechs completed the SNAQ, 1 816 of which also completed the SPQ. The item response theory revealed that nine and seven items on the shorter SNAQ and SPQ, respectively, were identical with the Hungarian study. The 12-item scales show excellent reliability (α = 0.84 and 0.91) and highly correlate with scores on the full versions (r = 0.81 and 0.89) as well as with fear and disgust ratings of snake and spider images. Thus, despite slight discrepancies in the selected items, we confirm that the shorter SNAQ and SPQ keep considerable diagnostic strengths and can be used in the clinical practice as reliable, easy-to- administer, and fast screening tools for snake and spider phobia.
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49
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Rádlová S, Polák J, Janovcová M, Sedláčková K, Peléšková Š, Landová E, Frynta D. Emotional Reaction to Fear- and Disgust-Evoking Snakes: Sensitivity and Propensity in Snake-Fearful Respondents. Front Psychol 2020; 11:31. [PMID: 32047463 PMCID: PMC6997343 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper continues our previous study in which we examined the respondents’ reaction to two morphologically different snake stimuli categories – one evoking exclusively fear and another evoking exclusively disgust. Here we acquired Likert-type scale scores of fear and disgust evoked by the same snake stimuli by a total of 330 respondents. Moreover, we collected data about the respondents’ age, gender, education, snake fear [Snake Questionnaire (SNAQ)], and disgust propensity [Disgust Scale-Revised (DS-R)], and we analyzed the effect of these variables on the emotional scores (with special focus on snake-fearful respondents). In addition, we collected the SNAQ and DS-R scores from the respondents tested in the previous study using the rank-ordering method to directly compare the results of these two approaches. The results showed that non-fearful respondents give high scores of fear to the fear-eliciting snakes and high scores of disgust to the disgust-eliciting snakes, but they give low scores of the other emotional dimension (disgust/fear) to each. In contrast, snake-fearful respondents not only give higher fear and disgust scores to the respective snake stimuli, but they also give high scores of fear to the disgust-eliciting snakes and high scores of disgust to the fear-eliciting snakes. Both Likert-scale scores and rank-ordering data show that the clear border dividing both snake stimuli categories dissolves when evaluated by the snake-fearful respondents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvie Rádlová
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - Jakub Polák
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Kristýna Sedláčková
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Eva Landová
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Daniel Frynta
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
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50
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Sunkar A, Kusrini MD, Ramadhani FS. Role of culture in the emotional response towards komodo dragon in Komodo and Rinca Islands of Komodo National Park. BIO WEB OF CONFERENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.1051/bioconf/20201900021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Human emotions towards wildlife were seldom considered in wildlife conservation. This study seeks to identify, explore and understand the local communities perceptions and interactions with Komodo dragons. Data were collected from February to April 2018 in Komodo Village and Rinca Village of Komodo National Park, using close and semi-open questionnaires, three-scale Likert statements and interviews with 60 respondents. Although 98.5% considered Komodo as a dangerous species, in total, 60.6% of Komodo villagers had positive perceptions of their interactions with Komodo, while 47.6% of Rinca’s had moderate perceptions. Komodo attacks were less reported in Komodo Village despite the more frequent direct encounters. Komodo villagers have learnt how to adjust to the dangers, with 13% showed no actions during an encounter with the dragon, 77% pelt the dragon with rocks and 10% pulled it by the tail. On the contrary, 50% of Rinca Villagers, although showed no actions, but reported the sightings, 20% pelt it with rocks, 27% herd it with sticks and 3% hit it with wood. The different responses correlated with the different cultural beliefs and values towards Komodo. All Rinca villagers were migrants with no cultural attachments to the reptile, while for Komodo villagers, the dragons were perceived to be cousins, hence should not be harmed. Such perceptions have resulted in the approximately 83% of Komodo villagers believed they could co-exist with the dragons, and showed higher supports for its conservation (81.5%) than Rinca villagers (65.3%). This study confirms the importance of integrating local cultural values in building supports for conservation.
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