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.

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

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Shipley NJ, Bixler RD. Beautiful bugs, bothersome bugs, and FUN bugs: Examining human interactions with insects and other arthropods. Anthrozoös. 2017;30:357–372. doi: 10.1080/08927936.2017.1335083. DOI

Polák J, et al. Scary and nasty beasts: Self-reported fear and disgust of common phobic animals. Br. J. Psychol. 2020;111:297–321. doi: 10.1111/bjop.12409. PubMed DOI

Bjerke T, Odegardstuen TS, Kaltenborn BP. Attitudes toward animals among Norwegian children and adolescents: Species preferences. Anthropos. 1998;11:227–235.

Prokop P, Tunnicliffe SD. “Disgusting” animals: Primary school children’s attitudes and myths of bats and spiders. Eurasia J. Math. Sci. Technol. 2008;4:87–97. doi: 10.12973/ejmste/75309. DOI

Gerdes AB, Uhl G, Alpers GW. Spiders are special: Fear and disgust evoked by pictures of arthropods. Evol. Hum. Behav. 2009;30:66–73. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2008.08.005. DOI

Wagler R, Wagler A. Knowledge of arthropod carnivory and herbivory: Factors influencing preservice elementary teacher’s attitudes and beliefs toward arthropods. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Educ. 2013;8:303–318. doi: 10.12973/ijese.2013.209a. DOI

Wagler R, Wagler A. Understanding how preservice teachers' fear, perceived danger and disgust affects the incorporation of arachnid information into the elementary science classroom. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Educ. 2017;12:213–231.

Wagler R, Wagler A. Fear and disgust of spiders: Factors that limit university preservice middle school science teachers. Insects. 2018;9:1. doi: 10.3390/insects9010012. PubMed DOI PMC

Staňková H, et al. The ultimate list of the most frightening and disgusting ani-mals: Negative emotions elicited by animals in Central European respondents. Animals. 2021;11:3. doi: 10.3390/ani11030747. PubMed DOI PMC

Landová E, et al. Specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods: Spiders are special, but phobics not so much. PLoS ONE. 2021;16:e0257726. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257726. PubMed DOI PMC

Fukano Y, Soga M. Why do so many modern people hate insects? The urbanization–disgust hypothesis. Sci. Total Environ. 2021;777:146229. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146229. DOI

Oosterink FM, De Jongh A, Hoogstraten J. Prevalence of dental fear and phobia relative to other fear and phobia subtypes. Eur. J. Oral Sci. 2009;117:135–143. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0722.2008.00602.x. PubMed DOI

Poulton R, Menzies RG. Non-associative fear acquisition: A review of the evidence from retrospective and longitudinal research. Behav. Res. Ther. 2002;40:127–149. doi: 10.1016/s0005-7967(01)00045-6. PubMed DOI

Coelho CM, Purkis H. The origins of specific phobias: Influential theories and current perspectives. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 2009;13:335–348. doi: 10.1037/a0017759. DOI

Seligman ME. Phobias and preparedness. Behav. Ther. 1971;2(3):307–320. doi: 10.1016/S0005-7894(71)80064-3. DOI

Coelho CM, Suttiwan P, Faiz A, Ferreira-Santos F, Zsido AN. Are humans prepared to detect, fear, and avoid snakes? The mismatch between laboratory and ecological evidence. Front. Psychol. 2019;10:2094. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02094. PubMed DOI PMC

Mineka S, Ohman A. Born to fear: Non-associative vs associative factors in the etiology of phobias. Behav. Res. Ther. 2002;40:173–184. doi: 10.1016/s0005-7967(01)00050-x. PubMed DOI

Fernández R, Kallal RJ, Dimitrov D, Ballesteros JA, Arnedo MA, Giribet G, Hormiga G. Phylogenomics, diversification dynamics, and comparative transcriptomics across the spider tree of life. Curr. Biol. 2018;28(9):1489–1497. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.064. PubMed DOI

Rozin P, Haidt J, McCauley CR. Disgust. In: Lewis M, Haviland-Jones JM, Barrett LF, editors. Handbook of Emotions. The Guilford Press; 2008. pp. 757–776.

Curtis V, De Barra M, Aunger R. Disgust as an adaptive system for disease avoidance behaviour. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B. 2011;366:389–401. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0117. PubMed DOI PMC

Davey GCL. The disgusting spider—the role of disease and illness in the perpetuation of fear of spiders. Soc. Anim. 1994;2:17–25. doi: 10.1163/156853094x00045. DOI

Hauke TJ, Herzig V. Dangerous arachnids—Fake news or reality? Toxicon. 2017;138:173–183. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2017.08.024. PubMed DOI

Herman BE, Skokan EG. Bites that poison: A tale of spiders, snakes, and scorpions. Contemp. Pediatr. 1999;16:8.

Nentwig W. Human health impact by alien spiders and scorpions. In: Mazza G, Tricarico E, editors. Invasive Species and Human Health. CABI; 2018. pp. 34–49.

World Spider Catalog. World Spider Catalog. Version 22.5. Natural History Museum Bern. Accessed 29 Sept 2021. http://wsc.nmbe.ch (2021).

Chippaux J-P, Goyffon M. Epidemiology of scorpionism: A global appraisal. Acta Trop. 2008;107:71–79. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2008.05.021. PubMed DOI

Isbister GK, Bawaskar HS. Scorpion envenomation. N. Engl. J. Med. 2014;371:457–463. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1401108. PubMed DOI

Chippaux JP. Emerging options for the management of scorpion stings. Drug Des. Dev. Ther. 2012;6:165. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S24754. PubMed DOI PMC

Celis A, Gaxiola-Robles R, Sevilla-Godinez E, de Orozco Valerio MJ, Armas J. Trends in mortality from scorpion stings in Mexico, 1979–2003. Rev. Panam. Salud Publica. 2007;21:373–380. doi: 10.1590/s1020-49892007000500005. PubMed DOI

Soleimani G, et al. Clinical and laboratory findings and prognosis of snake and scorpion bites in children under 18 years of age in southern Iran in 2018–19. Int. J. Pediatr. 2021;9:12795–12804. doi: 10.22038/ijp.2020.53565.4247. DOI

Ward MJ, Ellsworth SA, Nystrom GS. A global accounting of medically significant scorpions: Epidemiology, major toxins, and comparative resources in harmless counterparts. Toxicon. 2018;151:137–155. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2018.07.007. PubMed DOI

Sanitbanez-Lopez CE, et al. Phylogenomics of scorpions reveal a co-diversification of scorpion mammalian predators and mammal-specific sodium channel toxins. bioRxiv. 2020 doi: 10.1101/2020.11.06.372045. PubMed DOI

Brandão RA, Motta PC. Circumstantial evidences for mimicry of scorpions by the neotropical gecko Coleodactylus brachystoma (Squamata, Gekkonidae) in the Cerrados of central Brazil. Phyllomedusa J. Herpetol. 2005;4:139–145. doi: 10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v4i2p139-145. DOI

Carlberg U. Aspects of defensive behaviour of Eurycantha calcarata Lucas females and the evolution of scorpion mimicry in the Phasmida (Insecta) Biol. Zbl. 1989;108(3):257–262.

Ruxton GD, Allen WL, Sherratt TN, Speed MP. Avoiding Attack: The Evolutionary Ecology of Crypsis, Aposematism, and Mimicry. Oxford University Press; 2019.

Vetter RS, et al. Spider fear versus scorpion fear in undergraduate students at five American Universities. Am. Entomol. 2018;64:79–82. doi: 10.1093/ae/tmy030. DOI

Randler C, Hummel E, Prokop P. Practical work at school reduces disgust and fear of unpopular animals. Soc. Anim. 2012;20:61–74. doi: 10.1163/156853012X614369. DOI

Albo MJ, Montes De Oca L, Estevan I. Fearless and positive children after hands-on educational experience with spiders in South America. J. Biol. Educ. 2019 doi: 10.1080/00219266.2019.1703783. DOI

Tomažič I, Hummel E, Schrenk M, Rupnik T, Randler C. Cognitive and affective outcomes of teaching about poisonous and venomous animals. J. Biol. Educ. 2020;54:63–76. doi: 10.1080/00219266.2018.1546757. DOI

Rivero F, Herrero M, Viña C, Álvarez-Pérez Y, Peñate W. Neuroimaging in cockroach phobia: An experimental study. Int. J. Clin. Health Psychol. 2017;17:207–215. doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.06.002. PubMed DOI PMC

Grimaldos García J, et al. Cockroaches are scarier than snakes and spiders: Validation of an affective standardized set of animal images (ASSAI) Behav. Res. Methods. 2021 doi: 10.3758/s13428-021-01577-7. PubMed DOI PMC

Davis M. Neurobiology of fear responses: The role of the amygdala. J. Neuropsychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 1997;9:382–402. doi: 10.1176/jnp.9.3.382. PubMed DOI

Öhman A. Fear and anxiety: Evolutionary, cognitive, and clinical perspectives. In: Lewis M, Haviland-Jones JM, editors. Handbook of Emotions. The Guilford Press; 2000. pp. 573–593.

LeDoux JE. Evolution of human emotion: A view through fear. Prog. Brain Res. 2012;195:431–442. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53860-4.00021-0. PubMed DOI PMC

De Clercq R. Aesthetic pleasure explained. J. Aesthet. Art Crit. 2019;77:121–132. doi: 10.1111/jaac.12636. DOI

Ekman P. Basic emotions. In: Dalgleish T, Power MJ, editors. Handbook of Cognition and Emotion. Wiley; 1999. pp. 45–60.

Plutchik R. Emotions and Life: Perspectives from Psychology, Biology, and Evolution. American Psychological Association; 2002.

Likert R. A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Arch. Psychol. 1932;22(140):55.

Klorman R, Weerts TC, Hastings JE, Melamed BG, Lang PJ. Psychometric description of some specific-fear questionnaires. Behav. Ther. 1974;5:401–409. doi: 10.1016/S0005-7894(74)80008-0. DOI

Zsido AN, Arato N, Inhof O, Janszky J, Darnai G. Short versions of two specific phobia measures: The snake and the spider questionnaires. J. Anxiety Disord. 2018;54:11–16. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2017.12.002. PubMed DOI

Haidt J, McCauley C, Rozin P. Individual differences in sensitivity to disgust: A scale sampling seven domains of disgust elicitors. Pers. Individ. Differ. 1994;16:701–713. doi: 10.1016/0191-8869(94)90212-7. DOI

Olatunji BO, et al. The Disgust Scale: Item analysis, factor structure, and suggestions for refinement. Psychol. Assess. 2007;19:3. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.19.3.281. PubMed DOI

Polák J, Landová E, Frynta D. Undisguised disgust: A psychometric evaluation of a disgust propensity measure. Curr. Psychol. 2019;38:608–617. doi: 10.1007/s12144-018-9925-4. DOI

Shrout PE, Fleiss JL. Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability. Psychol. Bull. 1979;86:2. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.86.2.420. PubMed DOI

Hallgren KA. Computing inter-rater reliability for observational data: An overview and tutorial. Tutor Quant. Methods Psychol. 2012;8:23–34. doi: 10.20982/tqmp.08.1.p023. PubMed DOI PMC

O’Connor BP. SPSS and SAS programs for determining the number of components using parallel analysis and Velicer’s MAP test. Behav. Res. Meth. Instrum. Comput. 2000;32:396–402. doi: 10.3758/BF03200807. PubMed DOI

Ter Braak, C. J. & Šmilauer, P. Canoco reference manual and user's guide: Software for ordination (version 5.10). Biometris (Wageningen University & Research, 2018).

R Development Core Team . R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2010.

Gamer, M., Lemon, J. & Singh, I. F. P. irr: Various Coefficients of Interrater Reliability and Agreement. R package version 0.84.1. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=irr (2020).

Pohlert, T. The Pairwise Multiple Comparison of Mean Ranks Package (PMCMR). R package, https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=PMCMR (2014).

Oksanen, J. et al. vegan: Community Ecology Package. R package version 2.5-7. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan (2020).

StatSoft Inc. Statistica (Data Analysis Software System), Version 13 http://www.statsoft.com/.

McLean CP, Anderson ER. Brave men and timid women? A review of the gender differences in fear and anxiety. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 2009;29:496–505. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2009.05.003. PubMed DOI

Graham JB. Ecological and evolutionary aspects of integumentary respiration: Body size, diffusion, and the Invertebrata. Am. Zool. 1988;28:1031–1045. doi: 10.1093/icb/28.3.1031. DOI

Cannell AE. The engineering of the giant dragonflies of the Permian: Revised body mass, power, air supply, thermoregulation and the role of air density. J. Exp. Biol. 2018;221:19. doi: 10.1242/jeb.185405. PubMed DOI

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. DOI

Davey G. Visitor behavior in zoos: A review. Anthrozoös. 2006;19:143–157. doi: 10.2752/089279306785593838. DOI

Frynta D, Lišková S, Bültmann S, Burda H. Being attractive brings advantages: The case of parrot species in captivity. PLoS ONE. 2010;5:e12568. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012568. PubMed DOI PMC

Frynta D, Šimková O, Lišková S, Landová E. Mammalian collection on Noah’s ark: The effects of beauty, brain and body size. PLoS ONE. 2013;8:e63110. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063110. PubMed DOI PMC

Possidónio C, Graça J, Piazza J, Prada M. Animal images database: Validation of 120 images for human-animal studies. Animals. 2019;9:8. doi: 10.3390/ani9080475. PubMed DOI PMC

Prokop P, Fančovičová J. Does colour matter? The influence of animal warning coloration on human emotions and willingness to protect them. Anim. Conserv. 2013;16(4):458–466. doi: 10.1111/acv.12014. DOI

Askew C, Field AP. Vicarious learning and the development of fears in childhood. Behav. Res. Ther. 2007;45:2616–2627. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2007.06.008. PubMed DOI

Mineka S, Cook M. Social learning and the acquisition of snake fear in monkeys. In: Zentall TR, Galef BG, Zentall TR, editors. Social Learning. Psychology Press; 2013. pp. 63–86.

Landová E, Svádová KH, Fuchs R, Štys P, Exnerová A. The effect of social learning on avoidance of aposematic prey in juvenile great tits (Parus major) Anim. Cogn. 2017;20:855–866. doi: 10.1007/s10071-017-1106-6. PubMed DOI

Curtis G, Magee WJ, Eaton WW, Wittchen HU, Kessler RC. Specific fears and phobias: Epidemiology and classification. Br. J. Psychiatry. 1998;173(3):212–217. doi: 10.1192/bjp.173.3.212. PubMed DOI

LeBeau RT, et al. Specific phobia: A review of DSM-IV specific phobia and preliminary recommendations for DSM-V. Depress. Anxiety. 2010;27(2):148–167. doi: 10.1002/da.20655. PubMed DOI

De Jong PJ, Muris P. Spider phobia: Interaction of disgust and perceived likelihood of involuntary physical contact. J. Anxiety Disord. 2002;16:51–65. doi: 10.1016/S0887-6185(01)00089-5. PubMed DOI

Davey GC, Marzillier S. Disgust and animal phobias. In: Olatunji BO, McKay D, editors. Disgust and Its Disorders: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment Implications. American Psychological Association; 2009. pp. 169–190.

Janovcová M, et al. Human attitude toward reptiles: A relationship between fear, disgust, and aesthetic preferences. Animals. 2019;9:5. doi: 10.3390/ani9050238. PubMed DOI PMC

Rádlová S, et al. Snakes represent emotionally salient stimuli that may evoke both fear and disgust. Front. Psychol. 2019;10:1085. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01085. PubMed DOI PMC

Why Are Some Snakes More Terrifying and What Is Behind the Fear?

Attentional, emotional, and behavioral response toward spiders, scorpions, crabs, and snakes provides no evidence for generalized fear between spiders and scorpions

Animals evoking fear in the Cradle of Humankind: snakes, scorpions, and large carnivores

Toward a reliable detection of arachnophobia: subjective, behavioral, and neurophysiological measures of fear response

Do Spiders Ride on the Fear of Scorpions? A Cross-Cultural Eye Tracking Study