Chromophobia

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Chromophobia
Other namesChromatophobia
Bowl of Strawberries.jpg
The fear of the color red is called erythrophobia.
Specialty Psychology

Chromophobia (also known as chromatophobia [1] or chrematophobia [2] ) is a persistent, irrational fear of, or aversion to, colors and is usually a conditioned response. [2] While actual clinical phobias to color are rare, colors can elicit hormonal responses and psychological reactions. [3]

Contents

Chromophobia may also refer to an aversion of use of color in products or design. [4] Within cellular biology, "chromophobic" cells are a classification of cells that do not attract hematoxylin, [5] and is related to chromatolysis. [6]

Terminology

Names exist that mean fear of specific colors such as erythrophobia for the fear of red, xanthophobia for the fear of yellow and leukophobia for the fear of white. [2] A fear of the color red may be associated with a fear of blood. [2]

Overview

In his book Chromophobia published in 2000, David Batchelor says that in Western culture, color has often been treated as corrupting, foreign or superficial. [7] Michael Taussig states that the cultural aversion to color can be traced back a thousand years, [8] with Batchelor stating that it can be traced back to Aristotle's privileging of line over color. [9]

In a study, hatchling loggerhead sea turtles were found to have an aversion to lights in the yellow wave spectrum which is thought to be a characteristic that helps orient themselves toward the ocean. [10] [11] The Mediterranean sand smelt, Atherina hepsetus, has shown an aversion to red objects placed next to a tank while it will investigate objects of other colors. [12] In other experiments, geese have been conditioned to have adverse reactions to foods of a particular color, although the reaction was not observed in reaction to colored water. [13]

The title character in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie has an aversion to the color red caused by a trauma during her childhood [14] which Hitchcock presents through expressionistic techniques, such as a wash of red coloring a close up of Marnie. [15]

The term colorphobia can also be used refer to its literal etymological origin to refer to an apprehension towards image processing on one's vision and its visual perceptual property. [16] However, the term's association with a racial component has been used by public figures such as Frederick Douglass. [17]

Leukophobia often takes the form of a fixation on pale skin. Those with the phobia may make implausible assumptions such as paleness necessarily representing ill health or a ghost. [18] In other cases, leukophobia is directed more towards the symbolic meaning of whiteness, for instance in individuals who associate the color white with chastity and are opposed to or fear chastity. [19] In Paul Beatty's novel Slumberland, leukophobia refers to racism. [20]

Variations

Show
Chrysophobiafear of the color orange
Cyanophobiafear of the color blue
Erythrophobiafear of the color red, maroon, and also of blushing
Glaucophobiafear of the color gray
Kastanophobiafear of the color brown
Leukophobiafear of the color white
Melanophobiafear of the color black
Porphyrophobiafear of the color purple
Prasinophobiafear of the color green
Rhodophobiafear of the color pink
Xanthophobiafear of the color yellow

See also

Related Research Articles

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A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, often found in agoraphobia and emetophobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agoraphobia</span> Anxiety disorder

Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can include public transit, shopping centers, crowds and queues, or simply being outside their home on their own. Being in these situations may result in a panic attack. Those affected will go to great lengths to avoid these situations. In severe cases, people may become completely unable to leave their homes.

Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder, characterized by an extreme, unreasonable, and irrational fear associated with a specific object, situation, or concept which poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobia can lead to avoidance of the object or situation, persistence of the fear, and significant distress or problems functioning associated with the fear. A phobia can be the fear of anything.

<i>Marnie</i> (film) 1964 film by Alfred Hitchcock

Marnie is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock from a screenplay by Jay Presson Allen, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Winston Graham. The film stars Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery.

Erotophobia is a term to describe a fear or aversion to sex or related matters. It was coined by a number of researchers in the late 1970s and early 1980s to describe one pole on a continuum of attitudes and beliefs about sexuality. The word is derived from the name of Eros, the Greek god of erotic love, and Phobos (φόβος), the god of fear. The model of the continuum is a basic polarized line, with erotophobia at one end and erotophilia at the other end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avoidant personality disorder</span> Personality disorder

Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) or anxious personality disorder is a Cluster C personality disorder characterized by excessive social anxiety and inhibition, fear of intimacy, severe feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, and an overreliance on avoidance of feared stimuli as a maladaptive coping method. Those affected typically display a pattern of extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation and rejection, a belief that one is socially inept or personally unappealing to others, and avoidance of social interaction despite a strong desire for it. It appears to affect an approximately equal number of men and women.

Ergophobia is described as an extreme and debilitating fear associated with work, a fear of finding or losing employment, or fear of specific tasks in the workplace. The term ergophobia comes from the Greek "ergon" (work) and "phobos" (fear).

Aquaphobia is an irrational fear of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fear of needles</span> Phobia of injections or needles

Fear of needles, known in medical literature as needle phobia, is the extreme fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynophobia</span> Fear of dogs and canines

Cynophobia is the fear of dogs and canines in general. Cynophobia is classified as a specific phobia, under the subtype "animal phobias". According to Timothy O. Rentz of the Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders at the University of Texas, animal phobias are among the most common of the specific phobias and 36% of patients who seek treatment report being afraid of dogs or afraid of cats. Although ophidiophobia or arachnophobia are more common animal phobias, cynophobia is especially debilitating because of the high prevalence of dogs and the general ignorance of dog owners to the phobia. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) reports that only 12% to 30% of those with a specific phobia will seek treatment.

Desensitization is a psychology term related to the treatment or process that diminishes emotional responsiveness to a negative or aversive stimulus after repeated exposure. This process typically occurs when an emotional response (feeling) is repeatedly triggered, but the action tendency associated with the emotion proves irrelevant or unnecessary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dental fear</span> Medical condition

Dental fear, or dentophobia, is a normal emotional reaction to one or more specific threatening stimuli in the dental situation. However, dental anxiety is indicative of a state of apprehension that something dreadful is going to happen in relation to dental treatment, and it is usually coupled with a sense of losing control. Similarly, dental phobia denotes a severe type of dental anxiety, and is characterized by marked and persistent anxiety in relation to either clearly discernible situations or objects or to the dental setting in general. The term ‘dental fear and anxiety’ (DFA) is often used to refer to strong negative feelings associated with dental treatment among children, adolescents and adults, whether or not the criteria for a diagnosis of dental phobia are met. Dental phobia can include fear of dental procedures, dental environment or setting, fear of dental instruments or fear of the dentist as a person. People with dental phobia often avoid the dentist and neglect oral health, which may lead to painful dental problems and ultimately force a visit to the dentist. The emergency nature of this appointment may serve to worsen the phobia. This phenomenon may also be called the cycle of dental fear. Dental anxiety typically starts in childhood. There is the potential for this to place strains on relationships and negatively impact on employment.

Social anxiety is the anxiety and fear specifically linked to being in social settings. Some categories of disorders associated with social anxiety include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, autism spectrum disorders, eating disorders, and substance use disorders. Individuals with higher levels of social anxiety often avert their gazes, show fewer facial expressions, and show difficulty with initiating and maintaining a conversation. Social anxiety commonly manifests itself in the teenage years and can be persistent throughout life; however, people who experience problems in their daily functioning for an extended period of time can develop social anxiety disorder. Trait social anxiety, the stable tendency to experience this anxiety, can be distinguished from state anxiety, the momentary response to a particular social stimulus. Half of the individuals with any social fears meet the criteria for social anxiety disorder. Age, culture, and gender impact the severity of this disorder. The function of social anxiety is to increase arousal and attention to social interactions, inhibit unwanted social behavior, and motivate preparation for future social situations.

According to the DSM-IV classification of mental disorders, the injury phobia is a specific phobia of blood/injection/injury type. It is an abnormal, pathological fear of having an injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social anxiety disorder</span> Anxiety disorder associated with social situations

Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by sentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impairing ability to function in at least some aspects of daily life. These fears can be triggered by perceived or actual scrutiny from others. Individuals with social anxiety disorder fear negative evaluations from other people.

Oikophobia is an aversion to a home environment, or an abnormal fear (phobia) of one's home and also a tendency to criticize or reject one's own culture and praise other cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hodophobia</span> Fear of travel

Hodophobia is an irrational fear, or phobia, of travel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trypophobia</span> Fear or disgust of objects with repetitive patterns of small holes or protrusions.

Trypophobia is an aversion to the sight of repetitive patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. Although not clinically recognized as a mental or emotional disorder, it may nonetheless be diagnosed as a specific phobia in habitually occurring cases of excessive fear or distress. Most sufferers normally experience mainly disgust when they see trypophobic imagery, although some experience equal levels of fear and disgust.

Eurotophobia is the aversion to, fear of, or dislike of female genitalia. Eurotophobia originates from the Greek eurṓs, meaning "vulva," combined with phobia, meaning "fear" or "aversion."

References

  1. ↑ Campbell, Robert Jean (2009). Campbell's Psychiatric Dictionary. Oxford University Press. pp. 186–. ISBN   9780195341591 . Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Doctor, Ronald M.; Kahn, Ada P.; Adamec, Christine (2009-01-01). The Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears, and Anxieties, Third Edition. Infobase Publishing. pp. 146–. ISBN   9781438120980 . Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  3. ↑ Ph.D., Gregory Korgeski (2009-11-03). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Phobias. DK Publishing. pp. 232–. ISBN   9781101149546 . Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  4. ↑ Bleicher, Steven (2005). Contemporary Color Theory and Use. Cengage Learning. pp. 17–. ISBN   9781401837402 . Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Cajal, Santiago R.y (1999-03-02). Texture of the Nervous System of Man and the Vertebrates: I. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 185–. ISBN   9783211830574 . Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Acta Physiologica Scandinavica. 1950.
  7. ↑ Galt, Rosalind (2011). Pretty: Film and the Decorative Image. Columbia University Press. pp. 44–. ISBN   9780231153478 . Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Taussig, Michael (2009-05-01). What Color Is the Sacred?. University of Chicago Press. ISBN   9780226790060 . Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  9. ↑ Ratliff, Jonathan (2009). The Exploration of Color Theory in Museum Education Using Works Found in the J. B. Speed Museum's Collection. ISBN   9781109300321 . Retrieved 22 August 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ Witherington, Blair E; Bjorndal, Karen A (1991). "Influences of wavelength and intensity on hatchling sea turtle phototaxis: implications for sea-finding behavior". Copeia. 1991 (4). American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists: 1060–1069. doi:10.2307/1446101. JSTOR   1446101.
  11. ↑ Florida Marine Research Institute Technical Reports. Florida Marine Research Institute. 1996.
  12. ↑ Psychological Bulletin. American Psychological Association. 1911.
  13. ↑ Commons, Michael L.; Herrnstein, Richard J.; Wagner, Allan R. (1982). Acquisition. Ballinger Publishing Company. ISBN   9780884107408 . Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  14. ↑ Stromgren, Richard L.; Norden, Martin F. (July 1984). Movies, a language in light. Prentice-Hall. ISBN   9780136043072 . Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  15. ↑ Raubicheck, Walter; Srebnick, Walter (2011). Scripting Hitchcock: Psycho, The Birds, and Marnie. University of Illinois Press. pp. 53–. ISBN   9780252036484 . Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  16. ↑ Harper, Molly (2009). Nice Girls Don't Live Forever.
  17. ↑ Stephens, Gregory (1999). On Racial Frontiers. p. 1.
  18. ↑ Robertson, John G. (2003). An Excess of Phobias and Manias: A Compilation of Anxieties, Obsessions, and Compulsions that Push Many Over the Edge of Sanity. Los Angeles: Senior Scribe. p. 114. ISBN   9780963091925.
  19. ↑ Adamec, Christine (2009). The Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears, and Anxieties (3rd ed.). p. 509.
  20. ↑ Beatty, Paul (2008). Slumberland . New York: Bloomsbury USA. p.  185. ISBN   9781596912403.
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