A research paper is a piece of academic writing based on its author’s original research on a particular topic, and the analysis and interpretation of the research findings. It can be either a term paper, a master’s thesis or a doctoral dissertation. In my research paper, I created a research study based on my research topic and used various published articles to support my arguments.
Research study
Why do Trypophobia cause aversion and disgust in humans?
Marvelous Aninye
November 15, 2018
This image reveals that California, New Mexico, Texas, and Vermont had the most searched for trypophobia as a phobia.
Abstract
Social media platforms have popularized this research topic due to the recurrence of images bearing holes in patterns. The public calls them trypophobic images. Trypophobia is a condition in which an individual suffers an emotional reaction when viewing seemingly innocuous images of clusters of objects, usually holes, such as the holes of a honeycomb or a lotus seed head. Each study investigated a portion on the topic; the first study investigated about trypophobia causing disgust to the participants of the experiment but most importantly causing trauma to the participants who were self-diagnosed with trypophobia. This interpretation was supported by results of the second study, which showed that spatial frequency of the images affected the response of the participants to trypophobia, as the spatial frequency of the pictures altered how the brain processed each image which resulted in discomfort and abnormal cortical activity. I, therefore, propose that massive oxygenation of the brain causes the aversion and disgust in individuals and severely in individuals self-diagnosed with trypophobia.
Introduction
Researchers have conducted various experiments and proposed multiple hypotheses on the actual cause of Trypophobia. A study published in April 2017 by Zhejiang University of China, Researchers surveyed preschoolers to confirm whether the fear upon seeing an image with small holes is based on a fear of dangerous animals or a response to visual traits. The Researchers concluded that this matter is not because of non-conscious fear of certain dangerous creatures but triggered by the appearance of the animals. Also, a research study from Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, MRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, University of Cape Town, South Africa, linked Trypophobia to major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). According to that study, people with Trypophobia were more liable to experience significant depressive order. Recently, a study from the University of Kent stated that the cause of the reaction is due to “disgust,” that helps us avoid infectious diseases and pathogens, so the type of response is a disease avoidance response. Upon reviewing the numerous articles above, it shows that further research is required to understand the full scope of Trypophobia and the origins of the condition. My proposed alternative hypothesis is that massive oxygenation of the brain or overworking the brain causes an increase in the trypophobic response.
A student of SUNY-Albany invented the term” Trypophobia,” and created a page on Facebook for self-diagnosed incidences and anecdotal. Trypophobia meaning fear of holes or clusters of holes is coined from two Greek terms “Trypa” to bore holes and “phobia” sense of fear. The most common examples of trypophobic stimulants are the lotus seed pod and the honeycombs. Trypophobia is referred to by people who suffer from it, through communications such as social networks and personal blogs. The American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,” (DSM-5) has not certified this matter as an actual phobia. Some researchers have found evidence that it exists in some form and has real symptoms that can affect a person’s everyday life if they are exposed to triggers.
Methods
In the research study from the University of Kent, the researchers recruited 300 people with self-diagnosed trypophobia from online groups and 300 university students who did not report having the phobia. Both groups viewed 16 images – eight of which showed a pattern of clusters relating to diseased body parts and eight images that were not associated with a diseased body part such as the image of a lotus pod and holes in bricks. The research study revealed that each group reported feeling disgusted by the pictures of the diseased body part but only the trypophobic sufferers found disease non-related images extremely unpleasant – even those showing objects as innocuous as the bubbles in a cup of coffee.
Upon analyzing the methods, there were apparent limitations from this experiment. The researchers did not classify the gender of the participants into the male or female category, and the age range was not mentioned. The size of the participants was more than 600; however only a few were able to complete the experiment. The experiment also listed the number of images showed to the participants, but the test did not mention the duration of each image’s exposure to the participants. The subjects who participated in this experiment were chosen from an online group and the university but did not mention if they were selected at random. During the test, the participants were both given the same treatments. The study achieved a respectable number of participants for the experiment. The study design was moderately relevant considering it dwelled on revealing the idea for determining the reaction of the participants to the images but did not satisfy the primary purpose of ascertaining the cause of their response to the pictures. The independent variables were valid and comprehensive, but how the test to determine the participants who were self-diagnosed with trypophobia was conducted was not confirmed. In this research, the experimenters used questionnaires. The flaws of using questionnaires or surveys are that the participants may lie about their condition.
Yoshiro Sasaki and other researchers of Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan presented that the ideal cause of these aversions is due to the spatial frequency of the images. The method sections recorded that there were about 15 participants in one of the experiments conducted. There were ten male participants to five female participants. The participants were chosen at random they were selected based on their consent and inquired that they should have normal vision. The study design addresses the research issue because it aimed at determining the cause of the aversion with trypophobia in the participants. The experiment was conducted in a darkened room. The participants started each trial by pressing the space bar on a computer keyboard. The stimuli were presented on 22 inches, gamma-corrected cathode ray tube monitor. The resolution considered was 1,024 × 768 pixels, and the refresh rate was 100 Hz. A computer controlled the presentation of the stimuli and the collection of data. The incentives were 20 trypophobic and 20 control images (512 × 512 pixels; 20° × 20°) The trypophobic images consisted of clusters of holes and round objects such as lotus seedpods, barnacles, and so on. The reliability of the dependent variables was reliant on the fairness of the participants. Each participant was given a scale to rate their experience after viewing each image at different spatial frequencies (low-pass, middle-pass, and high-pass). During the course study, the researchers maintained the extraneous varies like the duration of the experiment.
Results and discussions
The results from the research study conducted by Yoshiro Sasaki and other researches of Waseda University correlates and proves my hypothesis that mass oxygenation of the brain causes a response to harmless images. Disgust is a mechanism the brain uses to avoid excessive brain oxygenation due to the brain’s inefficiency to process ambiguous predicaments comparable to mathematical difficulties. Thus, this shows that the participants who had a trypophobic response to the innocuous images such as the lotus pod and the drilled hole in the brick have a mechanism that is overworking. The statistical analysis from research study from Waseda University shows that it is more of a disgust response to a fear response.
A graph in the research plotted the rating score against the range of spatial frequency. The chart showed that the original, low pass, middle pass spatial frequency of the images had the highest range of discomfort. Indicating that the participants were more traumatized when the images had a natural pattern of clusters than when the patterns were irregular and blurry.
According to the results, the fear-related cues of low and middle spatial frequency and are processed at the superior colliculus and pulvinar, and this information is rapidly transmitted to the amygdala. This system causes an instant and unconscious detection of fear-inducing threatening objects. A more massive hemodynamic response in posterior brain regions, but only for individuals with trypophobia, perhaps because of the emotion experienced. Also, the excess energy at mid-range spatial frequencies found in trypophobic images shows a link to discomfort and abnormal cortical activity.
Images that act as a stimulus towards trypophobia, such as a cluster of holes, show a feature of sharp contrast energy at mid-range spatial frequencies. This feature leads to fear of self-diagnosed adults with Trypophobia. Any images with the same spectral feature will act as a trigger and induce this feeling of disgust as a survival adaptation, even though the stimuli are harmless. That is, aversion might be the critical cognitive factor of discomfort from clusters of holes. From the perspective of aversion, one cognitive mechanism underlying trypophobic discomfort is a protective function. We benefit from mechanisms that help us to avoid potential threats, such as dangerous and harmful objects.
Conclusion
Despite the topic’s popularity in the world of social media, it is still under-reported in the scientific literature. My research provides a proposal to push for more research on the topic because there is not enough scientific study on this topic. There are many situations caused by trypophobia that go unnoticed except in the world of psychology research. Most research done on this topic still holds little knowledge on this the precise cause of the aversion to these images. Further investigation on this topic would be beneficial to the world if we can sufficiently comprehend the reasons for such responses and help control unfavorable effects on trypophobic patients who suffer from anxiety and depressive disorders.
References
Debczak, M. (2017, July 25). Scientists Think They Know What Causes Trypophobia. Retrieved November 24, 2018, from http://mentalfloss.com/article/503056/scientists-think-they-know-what-causes-trypophobia
Le, A. T., Cole, G. G., & Wilkins, A. J. (2015). Assessment of trypophobia and an analysis of its visual precipitation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, (11).
Sasaki, K., Yamada, Y., Kuroki, D., & Miura, K. (2017). Trypophobic Discomfort is Spatial-Frequency Dependent. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, (3).
Welsh, J. (2015, August 07). Science explains why this image disgusts some people. Retrieved November 24, 2018, from https://www.businessinsider.com/the-science-of-trypophobia-a-fear-of-holes-2015-8
Wilkins, A., & Dinh Le, A. (2016, March 31). Could Trypophobia Be Caused By Math Hurting Our Brains? Retrieved November 24, 2018, from https://www.popsci.com/could-trypophobia-be-caused-by-math-hurting-our-brains
A. I., & A, L. H. (n.d.). Understanding Trypophobia: The Fear of Holes. Retrieved from https://www.mjpsychiatry.org/index.php/mjp/article/viewFile/415/304
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