A group of scientists from the University of South Wales conducted a questionnaire on the origin of fear of clowns with the aim of finding an answer to the phobia from the psychological path.
The study was applied to 528 participants whose ages ranged from 18 to 72 years. From the responses it emerged that the 53.5% had some fear of clownswhile a 5% admitted to a phobia or “extreme fear”. Also, it was found that the women develop this fear in greater numbers.
The research was published in Frontiers of Psicologhy and determined that one of the reasons behind the Coulrophobia is the uncertainty regarding the intention to cause harm. In addition, it was revealed that the representations in the media and cinema have influenced: Pennywise from “It”, the Joker are representations of murderers. A similar case is that of pogo clownAmerican serial killer who killed and raped 33 women in the United States.
To this is added the spontaneity with which they act, a factor that plays an important role in unfounded fear and their appearance produces “a negative experiential state and a sense of direct threat”the researchers noted.
However, the responses of the interviewees revealed that the makeup is the origin of the most recurring fear, since through it they can hide their facial expressionsmaking it difficult to decipher their intentions.
