The phobia to amphibians and reptiles is very frequently in Cuba but this emotional phenomenon have not been assessed appropriately. I would like to know if there are studies in other countries to permit us comparative assessment and know methodologies.
Although the phobia could be to any native or introduced amphibians and reptiles, the introduced species like house geckos are more close to the peoples.
Hello Rafael,
here are some references concerning snakes:
TI : On fear of serpents and ophiolatry.
AU : Christy N.P.
SO : Trans. Am. clin. climatol. Ass.
CO : 79:21-33.
PY : 1968
TI : The origins of fear of snakes.
AU : Murray E.J.; Foote F.
SO : Behav. Res. Ther.
CO : 17(5):489-493.
PY : 1979
TI : Teach respect - not fear: getting along with rattlesnakes.
AU : Vogler J.
SO : Wyo. Wildl.
CO : 35(11):22-25.
PY : 1971
TI : 'Offensive' snakes: cultural beliefs and practices related to snakebites in a Brazilian rural settlement.
AU : Fita D.S.; Costa Neto E.M.; Schiavetti A.
SO : J. Ethnobiol. Ethnomed.
CO : 6(13):1-13.
PY : 2010
TX : Viperidae.
TI : Cross-cultural comparison of student attitudes toward snakes.
AU : Prokop P.; Ozel M.; Usak M.
SO : Soc. and Anim.
CO : 17(3):224-240.
PY : 2009
TI : Combating ophiophobia: origins, treatment, education, and conservation tools.
AU : Burghardt G.M.; Murphy J.B.; Chiszar D.A.; Hutchins M.
SO : In S.J. Mullin, R.A. Seigel, eds. Snakes: ecology and conservation.
PB : Ithaca, London : Comstock Publishing Associates.
CO : I-XIV, 1-365 [pp. 262-280].
PY : 2009
Cordially.
Philippe
De un colega tuyo: En Cuba no hay serpientes venenosas - Cuba - Juven
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2008-09-21/en-cuba-no-hay-serpientes-venenosas/
Hola Rafael, en un libro que publicamos sobre la herpetofauna de la resreva de la biosfera de Sian Ka an, Quintana Roo, México, en un pequeño capítulo se describen algunos mitos y realidades. Es una reseña del pensamiento de la gente de la Península de Yucatán. Te envío la liga del libro. http://bibliotecasibe.ecosur.mx/sibe/book/000038733
Y dos fotos de las pàginas del libro con el texto al que hago referencia.
Saludos
Hello Rafael,
A good example of how complicated this issue can get, would be to look at New England in the U.S. This past summer they were releasing rattlesnakes onto a conservation island and some of the public sentiment and misinformation campaign was interesting to say the least. A quick search in Google provides a plethora of news stories about the reintroduction and the issues on both sides. Here is a video about the program. http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/New-Englands-Wild-Rattlesnake-Population-Teeters-on-Brink-of-Extinction-321685342.html You could reach out to the Fish and Wildlife Service for the science of this story. https://www.fws.gov/newengland/
In 2018 Bradley R. Reynolds published "A Walk in the Woods: Changing Student
Attitudes toward Amphibians and Reptiles" might be exactly what you're looking for. 42 students divided into groups given "empathy tests" before and after learning about herps. Being from this region of Appalachia, I agree with these being the most typical sentiments of college students in that area.
Article A Walk in the Woods: Changing Student Attitudes toward Amphi...
Hi Jose, good paper for our research! we are trying to assess and begin a studies about herpetophobia en Cuba. I have a close experience in my family, some of woman historically have terror to lizards. We think that it is a phenomenon more common that is believed . I will publish a short report soon.
saludos, Rafael
See: Gibbons, W. (1983). Their Blood Runs Cold: Adventures with Reptiles and Amphibians.Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press.
Hello Rafael.
Another "recent" publication worth of attention:
TI - Association Between Fear and Beauty Evaluation of Snakes: Cross-Cultural Findings AB - According to the fear module theory, humans are evolutionarily predisposed to perceive snakes as prioritized stimuli and exhibit a fast emotional and behavioral response toward them. In Europe, highly dangerous snake species are distributed almost exclusively in the Mediterranean and Caspian areas. While the risk of a snakebite is relatively low in Central Europe, Azerbaijan, on the other hand, has a high occurrence of the deadly venomous Levant viper (Macrovipera lebetina). We hypothesize that co-habitation with this dangerous snake has shaped the way in which humans evaluate snake species resembling it. For that purpose, we asked respondents from the Czech Republic and Azerbaijan to rank photographs depicting 36 snake species according to perceived fear and beauty. The results revealed a high cross-cultural agreement in both evaluations (fear r(2) = 0.683, p < 0.0001; beauty: r(2) = 0.816, p < 0.0001). Snakes species eliciting higher fear tend to be also perceived as more beautiful, yet people are able to clearly distinguish between these two dimensions. Deadly venomous snakes representing a serious risk are perceived as highly fearful. This is especially true for the vipers and allies (pit vipers) possessing a characteristic body shape with a distinct triangular head and thick body, which was found as the most fear evoking by respondents from both countries. Although the attitude toward snakes is more negative among the respondents from Azerbaijan, their fear evaluation is similar to the Czechs. For instance, despite co-habitation with the Levant viper, it was not rated by the Azerbaijanis as more fearful than other dangerous snakes. In conclusion, agreement in the evaluation of snake fear and beauty is cross-culturally high and relative fear attributed to selected snake species is not directly explainable by the current environmental and cultural differences. This may provide some support for the evolutionary hypothesis of preparedness to fear snakes AU - Landova E AU - Bakhshaliyeva N AU - Janovcova M AU - Peleskova S AU - Suleymanova M AU - Polak J AU - Guliev A AU - Frynta D SO - Front Psychol. 2018 Mar 16;9:333. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00333. eCollection 2018.
Cordially.
Philippe
For those having problems retrieving the above paper, it is attached. Very interesting read. Elliott
I did a presentation on ophidiophobia a while back regarding this:
Conference Paper Counteracting Ophidiophobia: A Positivistic Approach to Myth...
I've attached my presentation PowerPoint, maybe the content or citations will help you find what you're looking for.
Try specific chapters in the book A. Hailey, B. S. Wilson, and J. Horrocks, eds. Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas, Vol 2 Regional Accounts of the West Indies, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands. Our chapter addresses the issue lightly. I attached it for you.
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