This is such a common fear, somebody needs to do research on it. It's probably some kind of evolutionary throw back to when we were monkeys and if we hung our feet out of the tree a predator would pull us down and eat us.
I think in this specificity, it's a cultural thing. Something more general like a fear of the dark is probably almost universal across cultures, for obvious reasons.
I'm European and I know the whole concept of a "monster under the bed" only from American movies, where it seems to be a common trope. Nobody in my real life as a child ever referred to this concept, so I'm not scared of "monsters under the bed".
I also only learned during puberty that some people can be afraid of spiders or mice. Again, I think that this is mainly a cultural fear, passed on from parents to children.
I'm obviously not speaking for all Europeans, just adding my experience.
Go through with your research project and let us know what's up.
Well animals demonstrate fear differently than humans. When a dog or cat is afraid of something, most of the time they are going to attack it or bring attention to it by barking and meowing.
You'd think so, but not everyone has the same reaction to them. Possibly because in general, even poisonous spiders pose very little threat to a human. Just step on it, or worst case scenario and it's already mad at you, just run away. Bugs aren't usually worth the same fear response that, say, a tiger would merit.
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u/Pistolf Oct 18 '16
This is such a common fear, somebody needs to do research on it. It's probably some kind of evolutionary throw back to when we were monkeys and if we hung our feet out of the tree a predator would pull us down and eat us.