Fear of Holes

@article{Cole2013FearOH,
  title={Fear of Holes},
  author={Geoff G. Cole and Arnold J. Wilkins},
  journal={Psychological Science},
  year={2013},
  volume={24},
  pages={1980 - 1985}
}
Phobias are usually described as irrational and persistent fears of certain objects or situations, and causes of such fears are difficult to identify. We describe an unusual but common phobia (trypophobia), hitherto unreported in the scientific literature, in which sufferers are averse to images of holes. We performed a spectral analysis on a variety of images that induce trypophobia and found that the stimuli had a spectral composition typically associated with uncomfortable visual images… 
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Physiological responses to trypophobic images and further scale validity of the trypophobia questionnaire
Pupillometry reveals the physiological underpinnings of the aversion to holes
TLDR
Pupillometry is used in a novel attempt to uncover the distinct emotional response associated with a trypophobic response to holes and proposes that the specific emotion is determined by cognitive appraisal of the distinct image content.
Priming with skin-problems increases fear of clusters
TLDR
It is demonstrated that the association with skin-related problems increases the discomfort of trypophobic images, and the causal relationship of the association between skin disease and trypophobia should be explored.
Trypophobic images gain preferential access to early visual processes
Trypophobic images induce oculomotor capture and inhibition
TLDR
The present study measured saccade trajectories to examine how trypophobic images possessing a characteristic power spectrum affect visual attention and suggests that not only the power spectral characteristics but also the gist of a trypophobia image affect attentional deployment.
The hole story: an event-related potential study with trypophobic stimuli
TLDR
The increased LPP displayed by TP prone individuals reflects facilitated attention to these stimuli of motivational relevance, which primarily elicited disgust in the TP-high group, whereas these stimuli were affectively neutral for the TP_low group.
Understanding Trypophobia: The Fear of Holes
The sight of clustered holes can bring about uneasiness in people, and the disgust response towards it is called trypophobia. Reactions in humans vary from nausea to severe depression. We explore the…
Assessment of trypophobia and an analysis of its visual precipitation
TLDR
The trypophobia questionnaire (TQ) was based on reports of various symptom types, but it nevertheless demonstrated a single construct, with high internal consistency and test–retest reliability, and predicted discomfort from trypophobic images, but not neutral or unpleasant images, and did not correlate with anxiety.
An exploration of the nomological network of trypophobia
TLDR
The contours of the nomological network of trypophobia was largely similar to that of spider phobia and blood and injection phobia, and no gender difference was found, although some differences were observed.
Interpretative bias in spider phobia: Perception and information processing of ambiguous schematic stimuli.
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