Spiders and Snakes (oh my!)
 

So, when looking through tilted knowledge today I came across the spider thread, it started me thinking again about the fact that spiders do not worry/scare/bother some people. I personally cannot understand this, as I a petrified of spiders...i think that it is the way that the move or something...even crabs freak me out a little...they act a little too much like spiders!

That being said, my girlfriend doesnt even bat an eye about spiders, yet she is petrified of snakes...she says that it is probably related to the fact that she was born in Africa, where there are tons of spiders, but I am not so sure...I think that there is something else behind it, because I have met a lot of people who seem to be one or the other. (i.e. a spider or a snake person.) The phobias seems to be mutually exclusive, as far as my experience...

So anyway, my question is, does anyone know why or have any theories as to why some people are afraid of spiders and some are afraid of snakes? Is this all just in my mind or is there a real phenomena occuring?

My thought is that it might have something to do with your genetic heritage...maybe the inherent dangers to your ancestors influence your own fears later on down the line. Maybe spiders were prolific and dangerous where my forefathers lived??

whatcha think?

For a bullshit answer:

Both spiders and snakes move "wierdly" compared to humans. Like, really wierd.

When we see them move, our brain models their movement, goes "woo woo waba waba" and gets the willies.

We associate the animal with the uncomforable brain reaction.

And thus, we become afraid of them.

Note, this is pure bullshit.

I do know that snakes became "evil" in religion when the christians coverted Ireland, where before that was pagan, and snakes were something to represent fertility (i think thats what they represented anyway).

Maybe some of the general fear of snakes comes from there.

As for phobias, I dont kno, but it was random information was In possesion of and felt I should pass it on.

my guess: some people have had bad experiences with creepy crawly things. some haven't. bugs, when you think about it, don't look very threatening--they're small and in a fight of human vs insect the human should win most of the time.

snakes, on the other hand, are inherently scary looking. if you show a picture of a snake, mouth open, to a 2-yr old kid, the kid will instinctively be frightened. (I know there has been some study associated with this...)

i'd be very curious to hear that there is someone who is scared of spiders but not of snakes. do you actually know someone like this?

At your service ;)

Hate spiders, snakes don't bother me a bit.

I think the seemingly mutual exclusiveness of the phobias is coincidental, and that a lot of fears tend to be rooted in childhood experiences, and two things that can bite you are logical targets for fear.

Don't forget that both can be venomous, lethally so. In general, I don't have a problem with snakes, but I am wary when I encounter one and I'm not sure what kind it is (see above). Spiders on the other hand, just like bugs, are gross to me when they are big. I can kill certain bugs or spiders with my bare hands with no problem, but if they get to big or spikey looking, I grab a shoe or a napkin.

I think it may have something to do with the way the media has portrayed them.

90% of the time, spiders are always venomous, not wanted, or the pet of some creepy kid (Home Alone).

Another factor may be the fact the way that they hunt for food. Catch it in a web, inject it with poison, wrap it up, and save it for later.

Or it could possibly also be the way that spiders feel when they crawl on skin.

But for me, its the sound I heard when I was 10. We had a zoo bring some animals and insects to school one day, and they passed a tarantula around in a pet container. One of the kids dropped it, the spider escaped, started crawling around the classroom floor, and one of the boys at the back of the room stepped on it. I think that was quite possibly the most disgusting noise I've ever heard. The crunchy, squishy sound and then the twitching legs after the fact... damn.

I shudder just thinking about it.

I think that's subjective.

Regardless, there is probably a very low level instinctual response to both of them because they are both known to be venomous (at least some species). On top of that, we are socialized to be scared of (or to hate) things that aren't furry and don't vaguely resemble us. My guess? Snakes are slimy and spiders are creepy-crawly. Each person thinks one is infinitely worse than the other and which one depends on that person's experiences.

I'd touch something slimy over a creepy-crawly any day.

I have a fear of Large Spiders only! Its has to be larger than a 50 cent piece to frighten me. I believe this fear stems from a childhood incident:

When I was 9 years old we moved to a new house in a very wooded area on Long Island. Deep in the wooded property many trees had fallen and my father cut them up with a chainsaw for firewood. A few weeks later he asked me to stack the wood into piles for him. I started stacking and about 10 minutes into the job, I lifted one of the logs and out pops an enormous spider. This thing was the size of an English Muffin and was quite colorful. Of course I went running into the house scared shitless, and the old man forced me to go back out and finish the job. Ever since I have had a fear of large spiders. Snakes & small spiders do not bother me.

Yea, I too hate spiders. I freak when I see them even when they are small but yet I love snakes and have two of them.

Funny part is, snakes aren't even remotely slimy. Their skin is generally quite dry--more like patent leather or something.

I generally will go out of my way to avoid killing a spider, except when it is or closely resembles a black widow, which live in great numbers in my area. Then, out comes the Raid.

I used to room with a guy who was raising hundreds of king snakes in the garage, so I'm cool with them too, though I really don't see them in the wild. Obviously I'd give a rattler a wide berth if I met one.

I agree with what Supple Cow has to say. The fear of these species comes less from their physical appearance (the way they walk, whether they're "icky," etc.) than the idea of potential danger. Personally, seeing a spider or a snake in the wilderness does not bother me in the least. However, when I wake up and find myself staring at a spider on my pillow, it will elicit an imulsive reaction of jumping out of the bed and instictively brushing myself off as to make sure none of its brethren are clinging to me. When the creatures are in your apartment, the threat of attack is -- literally -- closer to home and seems all the more potent. When I see one inside, the first thing that jumps to mind is "Oh no, I hope it doesn't bite/sting me; it could be poisonous!" That is, of course, absurd; the worst things we have around here are a couple garter snakes and some daddy-long-legs.

I don't know if this is a natural psychological response or if I'm alone in these feelings, but I'm certain that no matter where a creature enters my apartment, it's exiting through the drain pipes.

I am not freaked out by either, but am wary when a large spider crawls across the room towards me...

To most people the phobia seesm to come from other peoples reaction when you first encounter it. I know lots of Catholics who are physically sick when they hear or see a snake.

Curiuosly some of these people are also afraid of bird's wings (not birds just the wings)

Dreffed

i don't mind spiders or snakes as long as they are outside. i freak if a spider is in my house because generally i miss it when i try and hit it and then it falls and i can't find it.

i used to live in a basement apartment with tons of spiders. it got so i knew they were there before i saw them. some would make clicking sounds.

what i really can't tolerate are tics!!!!!!!!! i instantly know if i have one on me and have to get it off immediately.

And...that tick crawling up your back...

i love snakes and i used to hate spiders with a horrible passion. i dont really remembe why though, they were just the little furry thing that can crawl up your leg or arm or back or neck and bite you.
but then i thought about it, and they are actually quite beneficial to have around so i generaly just let them be now except when they are in my room...then its time to meet mr shoe.

Are we forgetting our serpent in the Garden of Eden? ;) Far before it came to Ireland snakes were considered evil.

I don't have a phobia from either, but both my sister and one of my friends have a huge fear of spiders, and both of them had traumatic experiences with spiders when they were younger, so that probably is a possible cause of it.

A lot of people have said that they don't mind spiders or snakes in the wild, but they do mind them at home.

For me, it's the opposite almost, with snakes at least. I'm fine with them as pets, or in zoos or whatever. But when I see them in the wild, I flip out. I almost stepped on a Southern Water Snake about 3 years ago, and I saw about 20 Northern Water Snakes in a mass breeding frenzy about 2 years ago, and both times i was totally petrified with terror.

On why we're frightened, perhaps it's an instrict we're born with. Obviously they both can potentially form a threat to humans, and so over generations and generations the fright of spiders and snakes has grown into an instinct rather than a learned reaction.

In all seriousness I hate anything with more than 4 legs, but it really does start with spiders. It's totally unrealistic, because I fear non-poisonous crawlies as much as I do the poisonous ones. For me, it's not so much the fear of potential harm, they just CREEP me out.

Alternately, I've never been afraid of snakes. Wary of them, respectful of them, but ever since the day I looked eye to eye with a snake and saw a glimmer of personality there, I really began to like them.

I do fear both, but I can control it. We quite often have huge Hunstmen (spiders) in our house. Both my wife and I know they are not dangerous, and probably help to keep insects down so they get left alone.

Snakes are a bit different. Oz is chock full of a significant portion of the worlds most venomous snakes. Having said that - I might curse if I see one, but I'm hardly likely to try to kill it. Mostly, if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. About the only ones around here that are likely to attack without provaction are the king brown's.

I'm thinking it's the fangs coupled with the venom. I think we freak out when something can cause us more injury than just the physical flesh-tearing. A bear might be scary, because it has large teeth, but almost no one has a bear phobia, and I think that's because the physical damage of the teeth is a lot more bearable (sorry) to our minds than the insidious, deceptive poison damage.

Discomfort around snakes and spiders is present across cultures. This might be explained by your evolutionary rationale. I'm not so sure about an evolutionary explanation of individual differences in discomfort around snakes and spiders.

Another interesting question: Why are snake and spider phobias so ubiquitous, but cigarette, electrical outlet, and car phobias so rare? More people die every year from cigarettes, electrical outlets and cars than from snakes and spiders.

Some spiders irritate me. However, Wolf spiders don't bother me a bit.

And my co-workers think I'm crazy when it comes to snakes. One wouldn't come near me for a week the time I picked up a 3-foot long blacksnake and calmly carried it through the shop so I could turn it loose across the road in a cornfield. Watching his eyes become the size of a coffee cup and then the ensuing sprint to the other end of the building made me laugh. :)

I do not like spiders. Snakes don't bother me a bit. I don't remember every having a traumatic episode with spiders. I think for me, it is more of the way they move and can basically attack from any angle. In short, they can sneak up or down on you.
Where as snakes are usually found on the ground, unless the fall from a tree or something. A spider can drop down from the ceiling while you are watching some tube and make you shit yourself. That is my theory.

I'm deathly afriad of spiders. I think my fear is that one will bite me and I'll kick the bucket. Also, knowing a spider is in my room and I don't know where it is really, really freaks me out. Snakes? No problem.

i think the fear is handed down from the past. ask your parents if they are afraid of spiders/snakes... compare the fear with you. my dad is afraid of spiders, my mom is too. my dad is not afraid of snakes, my mom is. i am afraid of spiders but not snakes.

if you are iffy about spiders than it doesnt help to see your parents freak when the tiniest spider comes strolling in through the door. they get the newspaper and smash the thing into oblivion like their life depends on it... of course your'e gonna freak too when you see one.