Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2023 Oct;59:101100. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101100. Epub 2023 Aug 9.
Many people, especially those living in developed countries, exhibit irrational negative feelings (e.g. fear, disgust, and aversion) toward insects. This so-called 'entomophobia' has often been suggested as a key contributing factor to the ongoing global decline in insects. However, this topic has not been well-investigated. From this point of view, we discuss the formation processes of entomophobia and its consequences from an evolutionary psychological perspective. Adopting the concept of the behavioral immune system, we suggest that the negative responses toward insects exhibited by modern people are driven by a series of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral traits that evolved to avoid infectious diseases. We then provide several strategic recommendations for mitigating the prevalence of entomophobia and a roadmap for better understanding how individual-level entomophobia can influence insect conservation. Understanding the human psychological dimension behind the ongoing decline of insects will provide useful insight on how best to mitigate this decline.
许多人，尤其是生活在发达国家的人，对昆虫表现出不合理的负面情绪（例如恐惧、厌恶和反感）。这种所谓的“昆虫恐惧症”常被认为是昆虫数量持续减少的一个关键因素。然而，这个话题并没有得到很好的研究。从这个角度出发，我们从进化心理学的角度讨论了昆虫恐惧症的形成过程及其后果。我们采用行为免疫系统的概念，认为现代人对昆虫表现出的负面反应是由一系列情感、认知和行为特征驱动的，这些特征是为了避免传染病而进化而来的。然后，我们为减轻昆虫恐惧症的流行提供了一些策略建议，并为更好地理解个体层面的昆虫恐惧症如何影响昆虫保护提供了一个路线图。了解昆虫持续减少背后的人类心理维度，将为如何最好地减轻这种减少提供有用的见解。
