Pennywise, Twisty, Wrinkles, Bozo, Krusty, Ronald McDonald. What do these names have in common? They’re all clowns, and to some people they’re scary. A new study looks at the widespread phenomenon of clownphobia and how it starts has been identified.
Clown phobia (courophobia in technical terms) is very prevalent and affects people of all ages and cultures. But you don’t have to be a nasty clown in movies and TV. Some people run in the opposite direction just by seeing a harmless clown at a circus or a child’s birthday party.
Phobias are not classified as distinct conditions in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), 5th edition, but may be classified in the specific phobia category of the class of anxiety disorders. There is. Previous research has offered several explanations for phobias, but no research has focused on the origins of this particular fear.
A new study by researchers from the Department of Psychology and Therapeutics at the University of South Wales, UK, examines the psychology behind why clowns frighten people.
They created a new questionnaire to explore individual reactions to clowns and the relationship between phobias and demographic factors such as age and gender. Questions regarding the appearance and facial features of clowns, their behavior, depictions of clowns in popular culture, and whether the person has ever had a negative experience with clowns.
A survey sample of 987 participants aged 18 to 72 was selected, consisting of 80% females and 20% males. Just over half, 53.5%, of participants said they were somewhat afraid of clowns, and 5% said they were “extremely afraid” of clowns.
As an aside, the proportion reporting extreme fear of clowns was significantly more fearful of animals (3.8%), blood, injections and injuries (3.0%), heights (2.8%), and other fears such as flying (1.3%). slightly higher than those reported for the disease. %).
In terms of demographic factors, women were found to be more afraid of clowns than men. This is consistent with existing research on other phobias. It may also be a result of the higher numbers of women versus men in the study’s sample group.
However, the study yielded interesting results. Unexpectedly, having a negative experience with clowns was the least likely factor for fear of clowns, indicating that this alone is insufficient to explain. Negative portrayals of clowns in popular culture were a much stronger factor.
However, the strongest factor identified by the questionnaire was hidden emotional signals. Clown makeup hides your true facial expression and makes it difficult to interpret your intentions. This result suggests that fear of clowns stems from not knowing if clowns are angry, what they are really thinking, or what they will do next.
This study goes a long way toward providing insight into the underlying causes of the widespread phenomenon of telephobia. .
As the researchers noted in their paper conversation“If emotion-hiding makeup causes fear, does a person whose face is painted as an animal produce a similar effect? Or is there something more special about this fear-inducing clown makeup?”
The study was published in a journal the forefront of psychology.
Source: Conversation
