Aversion to spiders , snakes and other dangerous animals and insects is genetic in origin and is more common among women , a new study published in New Scientist magazine reveals.
Its author, David Rakison, a specialist in developmental psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, has concluded that women are born with certain characteristics that were ingrained in the hunter stage of our ancestors. The research showed that female babies quickly associated arachnid photos with fear . In contrast, male babies were emotionally indifferent. Rkison argues that this is because men were, in prehistoric times, the risk takers when it came to going out looking for food. But women, in their role as protectors of children, were more cautious around animals such as snakes or spiders, according to Rakison. Therefore, women are genetically predisposed to have a phobia of spiders.
Previous studies have shown that women are four times more likely to develop a spider phobia than men, but this is the first to suggest that they are genetically predisposed.
