Scientists have figured out why we are afraid of clowns
Miscellaneous / / April 03, 2023
It seems that Stephen King's Pennywise is an effect, not a cause.
Coulrophobia, or the fear of clowns, is a common phobia. She appears in children and adults in different cultures, although the exact cause is unknown due to insufficient scientific study of the topic.
To learn more, British researchers conducted a survey among 987 volunteers aged 17 to 77 years.
More than half of the respondents (53.5%) said they had at least a slight fear of clowns, and 5% reported that they were "wildly afraid" of them. This ratio of extreme fear higherthan many other phobias: animals (3.8%), blood, injuries and injections (3%), heights (2.8%), enclosed spaces (2.2%) and flying (1.3%).
It also turned out that women are more likely to be afraid of clowns than men. The reasons require further study, but this corresponds other phobias, such as the fear of snakes and spiders. Another correspondence is expressed in age: as with other phobias, the older the person, the less likely they are to be afraid.
Next, participants who reported at least a minimal fear of clowns were given a questionnaire. He allowed scientists to find out whether the fear of clowns is caused by the following reasons:
- An unsettling or unpleasant feeling due to makeup that makes clowns look not quite like people.
- The hypertrophied facial expressions of the clown create a sense of direct threat.
- Makeup makes it difficult to read the emotions of the person wearing it and causes a feeling of uncertainty.
- The colors of clown makeup are reminiscent of death, infection or blood, causing disgust.
- Due to the unpredictable behavior of clowns, being around them is uncomfortable.
- The fear of clowns was passed down from family members.
- Negative images of clowns in pop culture.
- A frightening personal experience with a clown.
The last point was agreed with by the few respondents. In other words, people are rarely afraid of clowns because of personal unpleasant experience. But popular culture has had a more significant impact on this fear. In general, it is not surprising if you recall the same Pennywise from the book Stephen King "It". The novel not only remains popular, but also received a number of film adaptations, which added more visual images to the frightening clown.
But the fact that even Ronald McDonald, the McDonald's mascot who didn't even think about it, scares people. frightening, shows that some people are repelled by something about the appearance of all clowns, and not just obviously terrible.
This idea is supported by the fact that among the respondents the most popular was the third proposed reason. Grim hides emotions, and we cannot see the intentions of such a person. We can't tell if the eyebrows are raised because of the make-up design or the anger of the person wearing the make-up, and feel uneasy about it.
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