Psychology students faced their fears when The Creepy Crawly Show returned to College

7 December 2015

The Creepy Crawly Show visited Psychology students in The Sixth Form College to help them understand more about phobias and the reasons certain animals may be feared more than others.

The students have been learning about what makes humans more fearful of certain animals than others with research suggesting that an animal that possesses certain characteristics such as ugliness, sliminess and speed are more fear provoking. However our students overcame their fears by holding a variety of exotic creatures including a Madagascan hissing cockroach, corn snakes and pythons, a tarantula, lizards, giant snails, a Japanese toad, a barn owl and a hybrid of a tarantula and cockroach called a vinegaroon.

Steve from The Creepy Crawly Show explained how fears are often mind over matter and shared that he had a phobia of all the animals in the show when he first began working with them, and only overcame his fears by locking himself away with the animals and practicing handling each one.

Head of Psychology, Rob Myatt, reminded students throughout the sessions to reflect on how they felt when presented with each animal, and to make note of their physiological reactions depending on their level of fear.

Rob commented, “Students enjoyed the rare chance to see these animals up close and it has allowed them to gain a better understanding of the characteristics that could make them fear provoking. Students also had the opportunity to overcome their own fears.” One student who achieved this was first year student, Paige Carr, who began the session at the opposite side of the room due to her fear of snakes - however, towards the end of the session she actually managed to get close enough to hold a Python.