V. Ndiaye et al., SPIDER REPULSION AMONG STUDENTS LESSENS W ITH INCREASED CONTACT, Bulletin de la Societe zoologique de France, 118(3), 1993, pp. 295-299
Eleven groups of laboratories were observed. Each group was composed o
f 20-25 students : some were in the third year of the university in ps
ychology, others in the fourth year, studying natural history. In the
laboratory, they studied the alimentary behaviour of the spider ; in e
ach case, an index of repulsion was mesured at the beginning and at th
e end of the class, using a questionnaire. This index demonstrated a s
trong repulsion to spiders at the beginning, and was significantly dif
ferent at the end, when the students were more indifferent or even att
racted to the spiders. Contrarily to our hypothesis, the index was nev
er different if we compared groups working on living animals and group
s working on videotapes. From individual interviews of 28 students of
the same group, the personal evolution was analyzed, as well as the re
asons for the repulsion or attraction. The results are discussed : the
''didactic contract'' is strong, maximizing the cognitive aspects of
the students' work and minimizing the affective aspects. This may expl
ain the significant evolution of the initial repulsion.