Rigel Clapps

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Graham, Steven

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

Insects tend to evoke feelings of fear or disgust and this thesis aims to examine potential reasons for such emotions. Fear itself is a complex neurobiological process, but it can be measured and reduced with proper efforts. Insects themselves, while plentiful, tend to evoke certain reactions due to several prevailing theories. One asserts that individuals tend to dichotomize insects into “good” or “bad” categories, while another claims that knowledge or the lack thereof may be at play. Insects also tend to be associated with contamination, suggesting that whether the insect is indoors or outdoors may play a role in determining how it is viewed. Curiously, these theories evaporate when the butterfly is considered, with prior evidence suggesting that individuals may forget that the butterfly is even an insect at all. Using this knowledge as a framework, I developed a survey to test the hypotheses of dichotomization and location, as well as testing whether or not those factors applied strongly to the butterfly, which appeared in the survey as both with wings and with the wings having been digitally removed. This survey also utilized an open-response question where participants could describe an experience they had with insects that stands out in their memory. Participants were gathered from New College of Florida and 49 provided data for analysis, with 42 providing answers to the open-response. Overall, it was found that whether an insect is deemed “good” or “bad” plays significantly into how it is publicly perceived. Butterflies were also the most positively ranked insect in the survey, but the wingless butterflies were significantly more negatively ranked, suggesting that knowledge may also be a key factor in how insects are perceived. Curiously, location did not have a significant effect on perception, suggesting that it either may not be a factor, or that the locations pictured were emotionally evocative enough for an effect to be found. The findings of this study confirm prior suspicions that perceptions of insects are determined by several factors, including whether public perception of the insect is positive or negative, as well as what kind of knowledge is extant in the public eye regarding the insect. This gives several angles to examine fears of insects from, bringing new life to fields that aim to reduce fear and educate others, not just for their own benefit, but for the benefit of the world around them as well.

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