Big Idea: Fear/Phobias
Possible Topics: Fear of Spiders
List of Questions about my Big Idea:
Why are people afraid of spiders?
Is a fear of spiders inborn?
Is a fear of spiders from experience?
Can a fear of spiders be cured?
Can a fear of spiders be imagined?
Is a fear of spiders worse than the real danger of spiders?
Definitions of my Big Idea:
Scientists figure humans may be born with a fear of spiders.
Arachnophobics may also be afraid if they are touched by or touch an object that feels like a spider.
An evolutionary reason for the phobias, such as arachnophobia, claustrophobia, fear of snakes or mice, etc. 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.
Spiders, for instance, being relatively small, don’t fit the usual criterion for a threat in the animal kingdom where size is a factor, but nearly all species are venomous, and although rarely dangerous to humans, some species are dangerous.
Arachnophobia may be a cultural, rather than genetic trait.
Some medications someone with this phobia might take would include anti-anxiety medications or anti-depressants. Also, a therapist might choose to have the subject partake in what is called "Exposure Therapy" where the person is exposed to virtual spiders and then eventually live spiders little by little until they have overcome the phobia.
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