{"id":257713,"date":"2023-10-31T06:42:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T10:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/es\/?p=312993"},"modified":"2025-07-01T17:48:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T00:48:54","slug":"scientists-discover-why-we-are-scared-of-clowns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/scientists-discover-why-we-are-scared-of-clowns\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists discover why we are afraid of clowns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Some people are afraid of clowns. Not even sinister clowns. Normal clowns, who don&#8217;t appear sinister at all, make them feel uncomfortable or violated. <strong>This might sound strange to those who don&#8217;t suffer from coulrophobia, but it&#8217;s a much more common phobia than one might think<\/strong>; in fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chapman.edu\/wilkinson\/research-centers\/babbie-center\/_files\/Babbie%20center%20fear2021\/wave-7-american-fears-methodology-report-v2-06.15.21.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">up to 5% of Americans suffer from it<\/a>. Maybe you even suffer from it yourself. And now, a university professor has discovered its causes.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Scary Clown Horror Ghost\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-icon-s\/p\/cce72ddf-d976-4473-ba8d-83e9fa03b584\/2222627036\/scary-clown-horror-ghost-logo\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Scary Clown Horror Ghost<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/scary-clown-horror-ghost.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DOWNLOAD<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--0\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"0\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\"><\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/scary-clown-horror-ghost.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Philip John Tyson, an associate professor of psychology at the University of South Wales, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC9931735\/#:~:text=Results,sense%20of%20a%20direct%20threat.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">has published an academic article<\/a> about the fear of clowns alongside his colleagues Shakiela Davies, Sophie Scorey, and William James Greville. <strong>Titled &#8220;Fear of Clowns: An Investigation into the Ethology of Coulrophobia,&#8221; this article, published in Frontiers of Psychology, interviewed over 500 people with a fear of clowns to delve into the reasons behind their fears<\/strong>. Along the way, they arrived at some very interesting conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most interesting, although not too surprising, finding is that having a traumatic experience with a clown is not a significant reason for developing coulrophobia. It&#8217;s not for any other phobia, and it isn&#8217;t for this one either. However, one thing that stood out to people about clowns is that it was difficult to discern what they were thinking while appearing unpredictable. <strong>Due to their highly ambiguous features and erratic, unintelligible behavior, people who suffer from coulrophobia perceive clowns as potentially dangerous entities<\/strong>. Similarly to how arachnophobes view spiders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed-Youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"IT - Official Teaser Trailer\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FnCdOQsX5kc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Neither does the exaggeration of their features help. <strong>By emphasizing their appearance to seem not exactly human, the idea of being untrustworthy or potentially dangerous is reinforced, thus fueling the anxiety of those who suffer from this phobia<\/strong>. This is something that, of course, Hollywood has something to say about. Because Hollywood&#8217;s portrayal of terrifying clowns seems to have had a significant impact on this negative perception of them, according to this study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, we can conclude that, although clowns are not to blame, coulrophobia is inevitable. Simply put, clowns are scary. <strong>In their attempt to be charming and funny by distancing themselves from humanity, they come across as sinister and a source of anxiety for many people<\/strong>. And all the clowns in the world will have to live with that eternal contradiction. No matter how hard they try to make people laugh, there will always be a group of people they make cry.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Scary Clown Horror Ghost\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-icon-s\/p\/cce72ddf-d976-4473-ba8d-83e9fa03b584\/2222627036\/scary-clown-horror-ghost-logo\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Scary Clown Horror Ghost<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/scary-clown-horror-ghost.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DOWNLOAD<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--0\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"0\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\"><\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/scary-clown-horror-ghost.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coulrophobia, or fear of clowns, is a more common phobia than you think, and now its origins and the reasons for its existence have been studied.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9268,"featured_media":257717,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":1},"categories":[1015],"tags":[5672,5673,5674,5675],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-257713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-coulrofobia","tag-miedo","tag-miedo-a-los-payasos","tag-payaso"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":316822,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257713\/revisions\/316822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257713"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=257713"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=257713"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=257713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}