Fear of eyes: triadic relation among social anxiety, trypophobia, and discomfort for eye cluster.

ABSTRACT: Imagine you are being gazed at by multiple individuals simultaneously. Is the provoked anxiety a learned social-specific response or related to a pathological disorder known as trypophobia? A previous study revealed that spectral properties of images induced aversive reactions in observers with trypophobia. However, it is not clear whether individual differences such as social anxiety traits are related to the discomfort associated with trypophobic images. To investigate this issue, we conducted two experiments with social anxiety and trypophobia and images of eyes and faces. In Experiment 1, participants completed a social anxiety scale and trypophobia questionnaire before evaluation of the discomfort experienced upon exposure to pictures of eye. The results showed that social anxiety had

SUBMITTER: Chaya K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4860305 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature