Arachnophobia is a specific phobia, an abnormal fear of spiders and other arachnids. It is among the most common of all phobias. People with arachnophobia tend to feel uneasy in any area they believe could harbor spiders or that has visible signs of their presence, such as webs. If arachnophobics see a spider they may not enter the general vicinity until they have overcome the panic attack that is often associated with their phobia. An evolutionary reason for the phobias, such as arachnophobia, claustrophobia, fear of snakes or mice, remains unresolved. One view, especially held in evolutionary psychology, is that the presence of venomous spiders led to the evolution of a fear of spiders or made acquisition of a fear of spiders especially easy. What is your opinion?

Topics: spiders, fear, panic, Arachnophobia, human psychology