Interpreting and responding to ambiguous natural images in spider phobia

Haberkamp, Anke; Schmidt, Fritz; Biafora, Melanie; Schmidt, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2019.101495

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…To put it differently, spiders are a specific stimulus eliciting augmented fear in general population not just in people with high fear of spiders or in spider phobics. If this was not the case, the specificity of spiders could be doubted as a pathological deviation from standard (but see [ 105 ]). But according to our results, elevated fear of spiders compared to other arthropods is shared by all people in general, our work further points toward the evolutionary roots of negative emotions elicited by spider stimuli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods: Spiders are special, but phobics not so much

et al. 2021

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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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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods: Spiders are special, but phobics not so much

et al. 2021

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“…It is frequently used to corroborate findings from the SPQ (e.g. Haberkamp et al, 2019) and has shown good psychometric qualities (Rinck et al, 2002). The internal consistency in our sample was excellent ( α = .97).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participants responded to each video on self-report scales of perceived uncontrollability and unpredictability as well as fear, disgust, arousal and valence (cf. Haberkamp et al, 2019). We tested the following hypotheses:…”

Section: Study and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aue & Hoeppli, 2012; De Jong & Muris, 2002). Moreover, when faced with ambiguous images varying in their degrees of similarity to spiders, spider-fearful individuals were more likely to perceive such images as spiders compared to non-fearful individuals (= interpretation bias; Haberkamp et al, 2019). Lastly, evidence also points towards attentional biases in spider phobia which modulate perceptions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Out of control: The role of spider movement and intolerance of uncertainty in spider fear

Grill

Haberkamp

2023

Journal of Experimental Psychopathology

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When asking spider-phobic individuals what they find most frightening about spiders, many report spiders’ unique movement characteristics. Here, we experimentally tested whether spider-specific movements are indeed a major cue in triggering spider fear. One-hundred-and-twenty participants (55 spider-fearful) viewed realistic 3D-animated videos of spiders and ladybugs moving on different paths and with different speeds. We found that spider-fearful individuals perceived spiders as more uncontrollable and unpredictable than ladybugs and non-fearful individuals. This held true to a certain degree even when spiders moved on predictable movement paths. Spiders also elicited more fear and disgust in spider-fearful individuals, which was amplified by curvy movement paths. Finally, spider-fearful individuals reported higher intolerance of uncertainty (IU), which may potentially increase distress in subjectively uncontrollable and unpredictable spider encounters. As far as we are aware, our study provides first experimental evidence of the effects of spider movement on cognition and emotion in spider fear, expanding the current knowledge about fear-related triggers.

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“…Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 0 = not at all to 6 = very much . It is frequently used to corroborate findings from the SPQ (e.g., Haberkamp et al, 2019) and has shown good psychometric qualities (Rinck et al, 2002). The internal consistency in our sample was α = .97.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and initial validation of an open-access online Behavioral Avoidance Test (BAT) for spider fear.

Grill,

Heller,

Haberkamp

2024

Psychological Assessment

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Interpreting and responding to ambiguous natural images in spider phobia

Cited by 6 publications

References 82 publications

Specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods: Spiders are special, but phobics not so much

Specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods: Spiders are special, but phobics not so much

Out of control: The role of spider movement and intolerance of uncertainty in spider fear

Development and initial validation of an open-access online Behavioral Avoidance Test (BAT) for spider fear.

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