Are you afraid of clowns? The questionnaire reveals the degree of your coulrophobia

If the image of a clown makes you look away, you may have coulrophobia.

Researchers at the University of Wales created the Clown Fear Questionnaire to find out the origin of this phobia, and the results may not be as expected.

Participants are asked to rate 18 items, including “if I met a clown, I would leave the room”, from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”.

The poll also led to the origin of people’s fear, with clown make-up giving them a less-than-human appearance was cited as the most popular explanation.

However, the team also found that coulrophobia decreases with age, giving hope to those who still shudder at the thought of a clown.

Scientists have created a questionnaire to determine how afraid people are of clowns.  Participants rate each item from one to seven, with one for “strongly disagree” and seven for “strongly agree.”

Scientists have created a questionnaire to determine how afraid people are of clowns. Participants rate each item from one to seven, with one for “strongly disagree” and seven for “strongly agree.”

Previous research has established that people are not born with a fear of clowns, but this phobia develops with age.

Coulrophobia begins at an early age when a child watches a thriller featuring a killer clown — 1998’s Killer Clowns from Outer Space and Stephen King’s 1986’s It are just two examples.

However, there are real “killer clowns”, such as serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who acted as Pogo the Clown at charity events and children’s parties in the 1970s and killed 33 boys and youths.

“However, some people are afraid of Ronald McDonald, the mascot of the fast food chain, and he is not meant to scare you,” the researchers wrote in their paper. Talk.

“It suggests that there might be something more fundamental about the way clowns look that confuses people.”

The team interviewed 987 people aged 18 to 77.

These participants were in Africa, Europe, Australia, the Americas and the UK.

Items included: I would do anything to avoid a clown; If I ran into a clown, it would take me a long time to get him out of my mind; If I saw a clown, I would be afraid of him; and if I saw a clown, I would be very panicked.

The poll also led to the origin of people's fear: clown make-up, which gives them a not-quite-human appearance, is considered the most popular explanation for what can be seen on Stephen King's

The poll also led to the origin of people’s fear: clown make-up, which gives them a not-quite-human appearance, is considered the most popular explanation for what can be seen on Stephen King’s “It” face.

And responses were obtained using a 7-point scale from 1-strongly disagree to 7-strongly agree. And the higher the scores, the more intense the phobia.

The results showed that participants from Asia reported the highest degree of coulrophobia, while participants from Europe had the lowest. International Journal of Mental Health.

However, 54 percent of all respondents were somewhat afraid of clowns.

The next step for this researcher was to identify the origin of this fear.

While the non-human species came in first place, “the clown’s exaggerated facial features convey a direct sense of menace” came in second.

The next reason was makeup, as it hides a person’s emotions, causing others to feel insecure.

There are real

There are real “killer clowns”, such as serial killer John Wayne Gacy (pictured), who acted as Pogo the Clown at charity events and children’s parties in the 1970s and killed 33 boys and youths.

Some respondents reported that the makeup reminded them of “death, infection, or bloody injury and caused disgust or avoidance,” the researchers wrote.

The next source was the unpredictable behavior of clowns, which gives us discomfort, and then the fear that family members have learned.

And then the “negative depiction of clowns in popular culture” caused people fear.

The last reason that might come as a surprise was the “frightening experience with the clown.”

“Interestingly, we found that the final explanation that we had a frightening personal experience with a clown had the lowest level of agreement,” the researchers wrote in The Conversation.

“This indicates that one life experience is not enough to explain why people are afraid of them.”