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psychology
1mo

Does anyone know the psychology behind humans fearing insects although logically we are much bigger and more powerful ??

Like seeing a coakroach would literally ruin my whole day , its scary , disghusting and you cant know its next move .. but the other day i was thinking : why? Like why we usually dont fear cats or dogs but we fear insects which are way smaller

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1mo

Sarah, this is a great question, and so I felt I should honour it with an equally good answer - people have mentioned diseases before, and etc, BUT it actually has to do with unpredictable threat potential. If you look at a lion, a dog, or a horse, you can, taking advantage of their body language, somewhat understand something about their future actions. However, when it comes down to insects, they are so different from us and other animals - they have many legs, strange eyes, unusual bodies, etc. - that they are too unpredictable to us, and that scares us. This is also why, if you're curious, when we imagine aliens from other planets, we give them somewhat human-like characteristics (e.g. grey aliens), or, if we want to make them more scary, we give them insect ones (e.g. the ones from the Aliens movies).

1mo

Damn good question! I think it could be related to evolution, but I don't know that much yet, I'm just finishing my second year! But I think it might have something to do with Freud, usually when something is weird, it's about him. (edited)

1mo

I really hate the noises they make flying and they look odd but I heard its because some carry disease and sting or bite so humans became weary of them naturally. (edited)

1mo

It's different for everyone. I actually have a phobia of cockroaches. I oftentimes have panic attacks if I see one, and if it's in my bedroom or something then I won't go back for like a week lol, I'll find somewhere else to sleep. Phobias usually develop because of bad experiences during childhood, like perhaps a cockroach got stuck in my hair and really terrified me. That's how the fear stays with you. Some people are scared of dogs and cats though! I know tons of people in my life who are genuinely afraid of dogs, no matter the size, and actively avoid them. Everyone's different :p

1mo

I’d say it’s because our instincts associate insects with harmful bites, but also the idea of something alive crawling on your face or whatever is just an unsettling feeling

1mo

Insects trigger disgust because we naturally associate them with disease and contamination. Their quick, erratic movements trigger a reflex response before logic can kick in. Because they look entirely alien, we can't read their behavior or intent the way we do with mammals. Lastly, their size lets them invade our personal spaces unnoticed, creating a loss of control.

1mo

yes. bugs are an indicator of sickness and death. specifically when they are in or around our food or shelter. if you find bugs around your food or water, much higher odds it's fouled so you get sick and die. evolutionarily speaking the people who weren't afraid of bugs died at much higher rates than those who weren't. especially among women. men it balanced out more.

1mo

Fear doesn't come from size, it comes from uncertainty. The brain fears more from a small thing it can't predict its movement, more than a large animal with known behavior.

1mo

It is because other animals like cats and dogs are mammals like us and share similar body plan, and we are accustomed to those. Insects are to us so alien with features and movements that appear unnatural to us. We are hard wired to react to body language and facial queues and when it comes to insects they just are weird and disturbing with erratic movements (edited)

1mo

Evolutionary biology. Fearing one is a bit silly. What about 10. 100? 1000? How many would it take? Trust fear... just don't always obey it. Know when to be brave and when not to.

1mo

Because they're shocked one day as a child then never try to conquer their fears. Often given extra attention to reinforce the fear rather than corrected. Every story I hear about "I hate bugs/spiders because..." is something from single digits.

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