Psychology students get hands-on with creepy crawly phobias

Have you ever held a tarantula? Or a python? Would you want to? And what’s it got to do with Psychology?

Each year, the Psychology department arranges for the Creepy Crawly Show to visit the College with some of nature’s most weird, wonderful, and perhaps a little terrifying, creatures.

One by one, the animals are shown to the first year psychologists and their unique features explained by visiting expert, Phil. The offer to hold some of the hairy, slimy, slithery and crawly beasts is always received with mixed reactions, with some students preferring to keep spiders, snakes and the like at some distance, while others jump at the chance to have an arachnid creep around their head or a serpent slide around their arm.

This is where the Psychology comes into effect, as Psychology teacher, Amanda Griffiths, discussed:

“The students are currently studying ‘The Approaches’, each of which have very differing explanations and theories in addressing the commonly posed question - ‘Why do we behave in the way that we do?’

“In the biological approach, we’ve discovered that phobias may well be a genetically inherited behaviour that enhances an individual’s likelihood of survival. Take the common phobias of spiders, for example: those who fear spiders will find the encounter anxiety provoking and run away from it, therefore they are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass on the trait of fearing spiders. Unfortunately for those that do not possess a phobia of spiders, in this biological approach theory, they remain in its company and may well get bitten, poisoned and fail to survive.”

Amanda explained that the students were also discussing the approach of learning through association – a theory famously patented by Psychologist Ivan Pavlov in his work ‘Classical Conditioning’:

She said: “This theory proposes that phobias are learnt, usually through negative past experiences. When we go onto studying psychopathology, we revisit this theory and discuss treatments such as Flooding and Systematic De-sensitisation to help treat those who are no longer able to function effectively in daily life due to severe phobias.”

After witnessing the full spectrum of reactions that the students had to the animals, including one student who battled through tears in her determination to hold a tarantula, Amanda concluded: “It’s brilliant that students have been able to enjoy the rare chance to see these animals up close, discuss why these animals are fear provoking and discuss the physiological and emotional responses we experience when feeling anxious. This has allowed many of them to face their ultimate fears and hold the animal they are afraid of (usually the cockroach, tarantula or snakes)!

“This unique opportunity enables the students to learn more about the subject, and themselves, in a fun, practical and interactive way, and initiates lots of further discussion and debate for future lessons.”

The Foundation to Health & Veterinary Studies (Year 0) students also got their turn with the creepy crawlies