Ichthyophobia
Encyclopedia
Fear of fish or ichthyophobia may refer to various cultural phenomena, such as fear
of eating fish
, or fear of dead fish, as well as to a specific phobia
. Galeophobia is a subtype of ichthyophobia specifically focused on one type of fish: shark
s.Galeophobia in medical dictionary.Galeophobia in Wiktionary
.
which is an intense and persistent fear
of fish
, described in Psychology: An International Perspective as an "unusual" specific phobia
. Both symptoms and remedies of ichthyophobia are common to most specific phobias.
John B. Watson
, a renowned name of behaviorism
, describes an example, quoted in many books in psychology
, of conditioned
fear of a goldfish
in an infant
and a way of unconditioning
of the fear by what is called now graduated exposure therapy:
In contrast, radical exposure therapy was used successfully to cure a man with a "life affecting" fish phobia on the 2007 documentary series, The Panic Room.
were described as being ichthyophobic, due to their aversion to fish. However, this was later recognised as a cultural or mythic
aversion to aquatic animals, and not a psychological condition.
have published a research paper
addressing the fears of eating fish because contaminants, such as mercury
may be accumulated in fish.
, Italian footballer Paolo Di Canio
describes finding that his then team-mate, Peter Grant
suffered from ichthyophobia. During a practical joke
, Di Canio describes Grant's fearful reaction after finding a salmon
head in his bed. Grant told The Independent
that item in his bed was in fact a "shark
's head" and "to say I got a fright when I put my feet between the sheets is an understatement."
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
of eating fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, or fear of dead fish, as well as to a specific phobia
Specific phobia
A specific phobia is a generic term for any kind of anxiety disorder that amounts to an unreasonable or irrational fear related to exposure to specific objects or situations...
. Galeophobia is a subtype of ichthyophobia specifically focused on one type of fish: shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s.Galeophobia in medical dictionary.Galeophobia in Wiktionary
Wiktionary
Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in 158 languages...
.
Phobia
Ichthyophobia is a variety of a specific phobiaSpecific phobia
A specific phobia is a generic term for any kind of anxiety disorder that amounts to an unreasonable or irrational fear related to exposure to specific objects or situations...
which is an intense and persistent fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, described in Psychology: An International Perspective as an "unusual" specific phobia
Specific phobia
A specific phobia is a generic term for any kind of anxiety disorder that amounts to an unreasonable or irrational fear related to exposure to specific objects or situations...
. Both symptoms and remedies of ichthyophobia are common to most specific phobias.
John B. Watson
John B. Watson
John Broadus Watson was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism. Watson promoted a change in psychology through his address Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it which was given at Columbia University in 1913...
, a renowned name of behaviorism
Behaviorism
Behaviorism , also called the learning perspective , is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that organisms do—including acting, thinking, and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior...
, describes an example, quoted in many books in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, of conditioned
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning is a form of psychological learning during which an individual modifies the occurrence and form of its own behavior due to the association of the behavior with a stimulus...
fear of a goldfish
Goldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
in an infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
and a way of unconditioning
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a form of conditioning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov...
of the fear by what is called now graduated exposure therapy:
In contrast, radical exposure therapy was used successfully to cure a man with a "life affecting" fish phobia on the 2007 documentary series, The Panic Room.
Cultural phenomenon
Historically, the Navajo peopleNavajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
were described as being ichthyophobic, due to their aversion to fish. However, this was later recognised as a cultural or mythic
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
aversion to aquatic animals, and not a psychological condition.
Fear of eating fish
The Journal of the American Medical AssociationJournal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association is a weekly, peer-reviewed, medical journal, published by the American Medical Association. Beginning in July 2011, the editor in chief will be Howard C. Bauchner, vice chairman of pediatrics at Boston University’s School of Medicine, replacing ...
have published a research paper
Research paper
Research paper may refer to:* Academic paper , which is published in academic journals and contains original research results or reviews existing results* Term paper, written by high school or college students...
addressing the fears of eating fish because contaminants, such as mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
may be accumulated in fish.
Cases of ichthyophobia
In his autobiographyAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Italian footballer Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio is a Italian former professional footballer and current manager of League Two side Swindon Town. Di Canio made over 500 league appearances and scored over 100 league goals as a player....
describes finding that his then team-mate, Peter Grant
Peter Grant (footballer)
Peter Grant is a Scottish former footballer and was, until October 2007, manager of Norwich City. This was Grant's first role in management, but he had previously held coaching jobs at Bournemouth, West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion...
suffered from ichthyophobia. During a practical joke
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
, Di Canio describes Grant's fearful reaction after finding a salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
head in his bed. Grant told The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
that item in his bed was in fact a "shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
's head" and "to say I got a fright when I put my feet between the sheets is an understatement."
External links
- "How I overcame my fish phobia"
- Ichthyophobia - PhobiasBlog.com