Had to evict a big ass spider from my room today and was reminded of this meme template. At least it’s easier to evict spiders than cats, the latter don’t fit in measuring cups.
Had to evict a big ass spider from my room today and was reminded of this meme template. At least it’s easier to evict spiders than cats, the latter don’t fit in measuring cups.
I don’t think arachnophobia is learned or a result of upbringing!
Look at any 2 year old digging around in the dirt and notice how they will happily pick up and examine spiders and other “creepy crawlies” with their bare hands. They haven’t learned from society as a whole that they’re supposed to be weirded out or afraid of these things.
We tried so hard to raise our kids to not be afraid of spiders, and to decide for themselves whether they had a preference for blue or pink, dolls or cars etc. But none of that effort survived contact with their extended family or starting school.
At least for the spider thing we’re having some success with unlearning that fear. When it’s a choice between spiders in their room or mosquitoes, they’re choosing the spiders.
I haven’t been able to observe all two year olds. It’s only a few percent of the population that has arachnophobia, and the fact that it doesn’t always present in infancy doesn’t mean it’s learned.
Though it’s quite possible there’s a combination of predisposition and learning.
Definitely some evolutionary coding at play.