The trypophobia (trypo- comes from the Greek and means stitch or drilling) is a c ONDITION in which a person experiences a fear or aversion to groups of small holes. It is triggered when a pattern of clustered tiny holes is seen, causing various symptoms, such as fear, disgust and anxiety.
The point is that although the term trypophobia has been used since 2009, it no longer exists as a phobia. It is not currently recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association and now a study published in the journal PeerJ has identified the real cause of this discomfort by analyzing the pupils of a group of volunteers.
What triggers trypophobia?
Sponges, soap bubbles, corals, honeycombs, water condensation, hives, strawberries, pomegranates, eyes grouped like insects (individual eyes grouped into a functional set or compound eye like those of a dragonfly), etc.
According to the research, led by Stella Lourenco of Emory University in Atlanta (USA), the fear of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes, seems to be driven by disgust rather than fear.
Why does trypophobia occur?
The researchers wanted to address the physiological and psychological factors of this rare phobia (which is no longer such). According to Lourenco “this phenomenon, which probably has an evolutionary basis, may be more common than we think “.
Both fear and disgust impart an evolutionary advantage: fear helps us avoid predators, while disgust keeps us from eating rotten food, for example. These negative emotions are certainly psychological companions, but they are also distinct entities.
Over the years, the similarities and differences between fear and disgust have been debated endlessly. Physiological responses are now known to be different: fear activates the sympathetic nervous system and disgust triggers the parasympathetic nervous system.
The study was designed to identify whether the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system triggered a trypophobic reaction. For this they used pupillometry. Pupilometry, which is a technique that measures eye tracking the size and pupil reaction, allows scientists to glimpse the physiology behind the emotion. Previous work had shown that a fear response induces an increase in the size of the pupil while, conversely, disgust causes the size of the pupil to decrease.
Using this knowledge, the researchers showed the participants three sets of images: threatening animals (spiders and snakes), images usually triggers of trypophobia and control photographs (cups, butterflies …).
After analysis it was clear that both the dangerous animal images and the trypophobic patterns triggered a response. However, they were not the same: images of snakes and spiders caused an increase in pupil size, while images of holes caused a decrease in pupils.
“Our findings suggest that the physiological foundations of these reactions are different, although the general aversion may be rooted in shared life,” explains Vladislav Ayzenberg, co-author of the work.
The researchers conclude that trypophobia-inducing images could remind our primitive brains of rotten or moldy food, hence the disgust reaction.
Interestingly, the study was carried out on students, and none of them reported having trypophobia. As Lourenco explains, “The fact that we have found effects in this population suggests a rather primitive and pervasive visual mechanism underlying the aversion to holes.”
So remember: you are not afraid of holes, you dislike them.
Citation: Ayzenberg V, Hickey MR, Lourenco SF. (2018) Pupillometry reveals the physiological underpinnings of the aversion to holes. PeerJ 6: e4185 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4185
