Ophidiophobia – Fear of Snakes Assignment PDF

Ophidiophobia – Fear of Snakes 0
Title: Ophidiophobia – Fear of Snakes
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Ophidiophobia – Fear of Snakes 1
Introduction
In my class, I was provided with a list of fears, there were some exciting and serious
fears that have a detrimental effect on a person’s life. The fear that I have selected to gain a
deeper knowledge is a fear of snakes. I have selected this fear because in my opinion, snakes
and other reptiles are looked with a scary perception and what enhances it are the stories
which we all listen to as kids. Snakes are scary, but I am inquisitive about this fear due to the
reputation that surrounds it and that’s why I selected this topic. The fear of snakes is a sub-
categorized fear of reptiles which is also known as herpetophobia. The main neurology
behind this order is that from our childhood we are exposed to this knowledge that has always
linked snakes with evil things, and we have always projected them as devils. According to
Douglas & Siejak, the reason behind the fear of snakes can be associated with the old age
myths, a traumatic episode, especially in the early age, and in a few cases, it can be genetic
too (Klieger & Siejak, 2010). The bible also portrays snakes as a mean-spirited and evil
animal and the mindsets like this enhance the fear in a person. So, the main reason I have
selected this fear, it to gain a deeper knowledge about this subject and then work towards it to
change this abnormal psychological thinking.
Population
The fear of snakes is the second most prominent phobia that people have in the entire
world. Children according to the studies who have the capabilities to identify objects and
animals do not have a fear of snakes, but it is the parents who inculcate this fear by passing
on their perception of a snake that is scary and evil which they received as kids (Mitchell,
2009). So, it is a continuous process. The children are most at risk because they are at a
learning stage and they pick habits and knowledge of their parents. According to the latest
research, it has been found that approximately 1/3 of person suffer from this fear and that

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constitutes around 10% of the world’s population. According to a survey conducted by the
Canadian Cancer Society, this was formulated that amongst the 1500 Canadians who were
above the age of 18, displayed results that both the men and women have touted fear of
snakes on the top rank, in which the individual contribution of the men and the women was of
33% and 46% respectively (Canadian Cancer Society, 2015).
Conditions
According to Norris, the fear of snake is insidious, which increased gradually after a
traumatic incident and have a lifetime impact on the victim (Norris, 2013). A person who has
a fear of snake may also experience some social, biological and psychological changes that
may be directly linked or sometimes may not be related to the snakes, but there are certain
disorders that emerge. I have found many cases of ophidiophobia during my research that the
person also gradually attain fear of going to a pet shop or going on a hiking or camping trips,
they also gain a fear of going to the zoo or any other nature preservation sites (Shiwnarain,
2017). The symptoms may vary for different people as it completely depends on the level of
phobia that a person has. In case of a mild phobia, the person will have fear when
encountering with large snakes. In case of a more severe case, the person will be afraid of
even small snakes, and in the most severe case, the person would also react abnormally to the
photographs of the snake. Such a person at the sight of a snake may end up shaking,
shivering, crying, shouting, and particularly they can also run away from that place. They
may also have difficulties in breathing and can also have heart palpitations. The most
common and effective approach to treating ophidiophobia is cognitive behavioral therapy and
its practices. In my opinion, the person suffering from this fear should talk about his fear in
details (Souchet & Aubret, 2016). Then the person should be exposed to a snake slowly and
gradually, starting with photographs, then small snakes and then according to the reactions
the treatment should develop. Hypnosis should also be utilized for calming down a person. In

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my opinion, hiring a therapist is the most effective approach to deal with this fear. The
graduated exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy will help in changing the
negative perceptions
Conclusion
According to this brief report, this can be formulated that the fear of snakes is highly
found in people and that the main reason for this is the set mindset of people. The aspects that
require more analysis in depth are the reasons why this fear occurs and also the changing
behavior of the victims. In the last, I would like to conclude that, the success rate of curing
this fear is very high, so people who are affected by it should definitely work on abolishing it.

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References
Canadian Cancer Society. (2015). Snakes and ladders top list of Canadians’ fears, just don’t
ask them. Retrieved from
http://www.cancer.ca/en/about-us/for-media/media-releases/ontario/2015/june/fearless-
challenge-launch/?region=on
Klieger, D., & Siejak, K. (2010). Disgust as the Source of False Positive Effects in the
Measurement of Ophidiophobia. The Journal of Psychology, 131(4), 371-382.
Mitchell, P. (2009). Monkeys and the Fear of Snakes. Proceedings of the Zoological Society
of London, 92(2), 347-348.
Norris, R. (2013). Venomous snakebites in North America (2nd ed., p. chap. 139).
Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders.
Shiwnarain, M. (2017). Our Fear Of Snakes And Spiders Is Embedded Within Our
DNA. Science Trends, 1(1), 15-45.
Souchet, J., & Aubret, F. (2016). Revisiting the fear of snakes in children: the role of
aposematic signalling. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 20-50.

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