Humans hardwired to fear spider’s angular legs and unpredictability

Scientists believe that they have worked out why humans fear spiders more than other creepy-crawlies.
Psychology professor Jon May, from Plymouth University, said their angular shaped legs, dark colours and the fact they move unpredictably are all things we are hard-wired to fear.

He said studies have shown that people tend to dislike angular shapes and prefer curved ones, have bad associations with dark colours, and prefer creatures we feel we can ‘understand’.

“Spiders just tick all these boxes, and like any phobia, when it builds up in someone’s mind they can become scared even seeing a picture,” the Daily Mail quoted Professor May as saying.

“We like bright- coloured butterflies and ladybirds, but spiders are dark coloured with long angular legs – and the shape and colour both have strong negative associations.

“We are also very sensitive to seeing things moving out of the corner of our eye and immediately notice it, and insects move quickly and unpredictably,” he said.

He further said that those who are scared of spiders show behaviour, which scientists don’t understand.

“People scared of spiders will often report them being bigger than they were or say they saw one crawl into someone’s mouth, which spiders never do. We don’t understand their behaviour,” he said.

Professor May said fear is also ‘socially conditioned’, which implies that we are more likely to develop it as children if we encounter it at home from our parents or siblings.

He added that arachnophobics could deal with their fears by trying to sympathise with the insects and learn about them.

Other people have phobias about insects such as moths, beetles and cockroaches.

Dr Adam Hart, a reader in science communication at the University of Gloucestershire, said small children are happy to handle creepy-crawlies in the garden and find them fascinating, but become scared of them, as they get older.

He said one of the ways to learn to appreciate them is to eat them.