Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to introduce the reader into animal phobias, which are considered as the most common specific phobias. This clinical phenomenon that has been traditionally studied by psychiatrists is being looked at through the perspective of evolutionary psychology.
This new field has especially in the last two decades provided the opportunity to test intriguing hypotheses of the origins of irrational fears of animals. The evolutionary theory is grounded in the newest advances in cognitive psychology and neurosciences, which deepen our knowledge of fear processing in the human brain that might have a significant impact into clinical practice as well.
The chapter is concluded by a brief characteristics of basic principles of aesthetic perception of animals and results coming from cross-cultural comparisons of emotions triggered by animals.