Scorpion fear

Arachnophobia actually means fear for arachnids, but in most cases this term is used for spider fear or phobia. There haven't been many studies investigating the presence of fear of scorpions or other arachnids. In a recent study, Richard Vetter and co-workers studied the presence of scorpion fear compared to fear of spiders in 850 university students from five different campuses in USA.

The results were surprising. The researchers expected expected a higher fear for spiders than for scorpions, but they found the opposite - a higher fear for scorpions that for spiders. The authors provide to explanation for this result and recommend that more research should be done into this interesting topic.

Abstract:
No abstract available.

Reference:
Vetter RS, Draney ML, Brown CA, Trumble JT, Gouge DH, Hinkle NC, et al. Spider Fear Versus Scorpion Fear in Undergraduate Students at Five American Universities. American Entomologist. 2018;64(2):79-82. [Subscription required for full text]