Trypophobia, skin disease, and the visual discomfort of natural textures
Abstract In the last decade, the behavioral sciences have described the phenomenon of trypophobia, which is the discomfort felt by some individuals when viewing images containing clusters of bumps or holes. One evolutionary hypothesis for this phenomenon is that this visual discomfort represents an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55149-8 |
| _version_ | 1797275236488445952 |
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| author | Christopher DiMattina R. Nathan Pipitone Martin R. Renteria Kriston J. Ryan |
| author_facet | Christopher DiMattina R. Nathan Pipitone Martin R. Renteria Kriston J. Ryan |
| author_sort | Christopher DiMattina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In the last decade, the behavioral sciences have described the phenomenon of trypophobia, which is the discomfort felt by some individuals when viewing images containing clusters of bumps or holes. One evolutionary hypothesis for this phenomenon is that this visual discomfort represents an adaptation which helps organisms avoid skin disease and/or ectoparasites. Even though trypophobic imagery and disease imagery are both examples of visual textures, to date there has been no comparison of the visual discomfort elicited by these two specific kinds of textures within the larger context of the visual comfort elicited by natural texture imagery more generally. In the present study, we administered the Trypophobia Questionnaire (TQ) and recorded the visual comfort ratings elicited by a large set of standard natural texture images, including several trypophobic and skin disease images. In two independent samples, we found that while all observers find skin diseases uncomfortable to view, only those scoring high on the TQ rated trypophobic imagery equally uncomfortable. Comparable effects were observed using both standard ANOVA procedures as well as linear mixed effects modeling. Comparing the ratings of both high-TQ and low-TQ participants to the standard textures, we find remarkably consistent rank-order preferences, with the most unpleasant textures (as rated by both groups) exhibiting qualitative similarities to trypophobic imagery. However, we also find that low-level image statistics which have been previously shown to affect visual comfort are poor predictors of the visual comfort elicited by natural textures, including trypophobic and disease imagery. Our results suggest that a full understanding of the visual comfort elicited by natural textures, including those arising from skin disease, will ultimately depend upon a better understanding of cortical areas specialized for the perception of surface and material properties, and how these visual regions interact with emotional brain areas to evoke appropriate behavioral responses, like disgust. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:10:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cbe4c50771254c92813386aa21fc23ff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:10:30Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-cbe4c50771254c92813386aa21fc23ff2024-03-05T18:40:45ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-02-0114111710.1038/s41598-024-55149-8Trypophobia, skin disease, and the visual discomfort of natural texturesChristopher DiMattina0R. Nathan Pipitone1Martin R. Renteria2Kriston J. Ryan3Department of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast UniversityDepartment of Biological Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Florida Gulf Coast UniversityAbstract In the last decade, the behavioral sciences have described the phenomenon of trypophobia, which is the discomfort felt by some individuals when viewing images containing clusters of bumps or holes. One evolutionary hypothesis for this phenomenon is that this visual discomfort represents an adaptation which helps organisms avoid skin disease and/or ectoparasites. Even though trypophobic imagery and disease imagery are both examples of visual textures, to date there has been no comparison of the visual discomfort elicited by these two specific kinds of textures within the larger context of the visual comfort elicited by natural texture imagery more generally. In the present study, we administered the Trypophobia Questionnaire (TQ) and recorded the visual comfort ratings elicited by a large set of standard natural texture images, including several trypophobic and skin disease images. In two independent samples, we found that while all observers find skin diseases uncomfortable to view, only those scoring high on the TQ rated trypophobic imagery equally uncomfortable. Comparable effects were observed using both standard ANOVA procedures as well as linear mixed effects modeling. Comparing the ratings of both high-TQ and low-TQ participants to the standard textures, we find remarkably consistent rank-order preferences, with the most unpleasant textures (as rated by both groups) exhibiting qualitative similarities to trypophobic imagery. However, we also find that low-level image statistics which have been previously shown to affect visual comfort are poor predictors of the visual comfort elicited by natural textures, including trypophobic and disease imagery. Our results suggest that a full understanding of the visual comfort elicited by natural textures, including those arising from skin disease, will ultimately depend upon a better understanding of cortical areas specialized for the perception of surface and material properties, and how these visual regions interact with emotional brain areas to evoke appropriate behavioral responses, like disgust.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55149-8 |
| spellingShingle | Christopher DiMattina R. Nathan Pipitone Martin R. Renteria Kriston J. Ryan Trypophobia, skin disease, and the visual discomfort of natural textures Scientific Reports |
| title | Trypophobia, skin disease, and the visual discomfort of natural textures |
| title_full | Trypophobia, skin disease, and the visual discomfort of natural textures |
| title_fullStr | Trypophobia, skin disease, and the visual discomfort of natural textures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trypophobia, skin disease, and the visual discomfort of natural textures |
| title_short | Trypophobia, skin disease, and the visual discomfort of natural textures |
| title_sort | trypophobia skin disease and the visual discomfort of natural textures |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55149-8 |
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