Husker Team Probes Arachnophobia

Researchers use eye-tracking technology to understand why spiders evoke fear in many people.

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are using state-of-the-art eye-tracking technology to study why spiders evoke fear in many people. The interdisciplinary team, led by psychologist Emma Brase and biologist Eileen Hebets, is mapping participants' eye movements as they view images of spiders and other arthropods. The goal is to better understand the mechanisms underlying arachnophobia and potentially improve people's relationships with nature, particularly spiders, which play vital ecological roles.

Why it matters

Understanding the root causes of arachnophobia could lead to more effective mental health treatments. It may also improve public support for spider conservation efforts, which are critical to maintaining their roles in biodiversity, pest control, and crop protection.

The details

The researchers showed 118 undergraduate students images of spiders and other arthropods, both individually and in pairs, and tracked their eye movements using an eye-tracking device. Contrary to expectations, participants tended to pay more attention to spiders with obvious "spider cues" like webs, eggs, or fangs, rather than avoiding them. The researchers theorize this could be due to the visual interest of more complex images, the predictability of a spider in a web versus one on the ground, or an anthropomorphic tendency to see spiders in a web as more "home-like" and less threatening.

  • The study was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Arachnid Science.
  • The Community for Arthropod Research, Education and Materials Innovation (CAREMI) was launched at UNL in 2024.

The players

Emma Brase

A graduate student in psychology and the lead author on the recent Frontiers in Arachnid Science publication.

Eileen Hebets

The George Holmes Professor of biological sciences and the principal investigator on the study.

Mike Dodd

A Husker psychologist who measured the participants' eye movements using an SR Research EyeLink 1000 device.

CAREMI

A nationally unique research group at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that unites researchers from various disciplines to conduct arthropod-related research.

Jennifer Angus

An artist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who creates art installations using arthropods. CAREMI will sponsor an exhibition of her work later this year.

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What they’re saying

“If I know what turns people off about arachnids, that can help me figure out how to avoid those things and focus on things that might turn people on about arachnids.”

— Eileen Hebets, George Holmes Professor of biological sciences (Mirage News)

“When I talk to people about their fear of spiders, one of the first things they mention is how fast they are and how unpredictably they move. It makes a lot of sense to me that people might be less afraid of a spider in a web than one on the ground, because of the predictability.”

— Eileen Hebets, George Holmes Professor of biological sciences (Mirage News)

“We are not in a place where we have an infinite number of experts on every topic. The way, then, to expand your science and ask new, cutting-edge questions is to do that in collaboration with people who can bring different skills and measures and abilities to your research.”

— Mike Dodd, Husker psychologist (Mirage News)

What’s next

Later this year, CAREMI will sponsor an exhibition at the Great Plains Art Museum featuring the work of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Jennifer Angus, who creates art installations using arthropods. Hebets and Dodds aim to collect additional eye-tracking data on how people interact visually with that art.

The takeaway

This study highlights the value of an interdisciplinary approach to understanding complex human-nature relationships, like the widespread fear of spiders. By combining expertise from fields like biology, psychology, and art, researchers can gain deeper insights that could lead to more effective mental health treatments and greater public appreciation for the ecological importance of spiders.