Why I'm Uneasy Around Spiders

The science of-- OH GOD IS THAT A SPIDER?! Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonate Subscribe to It's Okay To Be Smart: http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub I'm scared of spiders. I'm not afraid to admit it. I love them in a scientific sense, or from a "let me look at you from way over here" sense, but that's as close as I get. Here's a look at the science of why some of us are afraid of spiders, snakes, roaches, and other creepy crawlies. Did I evolve to be this way, or did I learn to be afraid of them? It seems to be an open question… How dangerous ARE spiders? http://burkemuseum.blogspot.com/2010/09/q-how-dangerous-are-spiders-to-humans.html#.VECZZNR4pj5 Humans may have evolved to pick out spiders and snakes from environment: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2001/09/snakes.aspx The overlapping worlds of fear conditioning from innate fear: http://instruct.uwo.ca/psychology/371g/Ohman2001.pdf Doctor Who study suggests that spider fear may not be innate: http://www.wired.com/2014/01/doctor-who-and-spider-phobia/ Most common phobias: http://psychology.about.com/od/phobias/p/commonphobias.htm Adults and kids pick out creepy animals quicker than non-creepy animals: http://www.livescience.com/2348-fear-snakes.html Children report spiders as a top fear: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005796797000508 List of clips featured in this episode: http://bit.ly/1xFhdO9 Produced for PBS Digital Studios Joe Hanson - Host and writer Joe Nicolosi - Director Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer Katie Graham - Director of Photography Stephen Bohls - Editing/Motion Graphics John Knudsen - Gaffer Theme music: "Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod Thumbnail photo: specnaz/Shutterstock Stock images via Shutterstock Music: "Two Boys and a Girl" - Podington Bear ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices