Why do spiders typically elicit more fear in people than most insects do?
In: Biology
There are a few psychological things going on in our perception of spiders that make them that way. First, the fact that some are known to be poisonous. Second, some of them are known to be able to jump. Third, they can land on you by stringing themselves down from the ceiling or a branch and then get all up in you. Fourth, they create webs and kill/eat the things that get caught in the webs. This behavior is menacing and smart and tickles that funny bone in our psyche that gives us the feeling that these spiders are somehow more dangerous than they really are. Finally, they have eight legs instead of six and those last two legs create a visual profile that makes them seem like they can really fuck you up, especially considering the way in which their unique appearance is associated with all of the above factors.
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