Why are Humans so Afraid of Insects

Fear of wild animals have been considered as an evolutionary adaptation for long period, because most of them are potential predators to humans. But less known is whether insects elicit similar fear in humans. In this paper an attempt is made to examine, if fear of insects in humans were similarly justified, that is if the excessive stigma associated with insects and entomophobia were related to the danger insects posed to humans, or not. This hypothesis was tested by examining the human response of fear owing to either disgust or perception of danger to real pictures of insects. The methodology followed in this study is critical analysis based on theoretical approach and survey by following the tools of questionnaire. Pictures of ten different type of insects were presented to 44 students who categorized each animal into one of the four groups based on the fear they had, fear of being bitten, fear of contamination, fear of infestation and disgust. In this research, systematic method is applied to find out the veracity of facts and their interrelations. Efforts are being made to attain relevant knowledge and to analyse research problem by means of collection, analysis, tabulation and interpretation of data, utilization of interdisciplinary approach by evaluation of behaviour and attitude of individuals by observation and pre-structured questionnaire. Apart from these, primary and secondary sources are utilized for this venture. The objective method has been applied for this perusal in order to expose the work, on a rational basis. The qualitative approach intensifies the nature of the methodology of this study. In sum, the study is analytical, and objective in nature. The results are analysed systematically and scientifically. Vidya Jose "Why are Humans so Afraid of Insects?" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-3 | Issue-2 , February 2019, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd21564.pdf