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(Hong Kong, 19 May 2026)  A global team of researchers from the School of Continuing Education (SCE) of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) (Hong Kong, China), the University of Pécs (Hungary) and Clemson University (USA) has unveiled new insights into the roots of biophobia (the fear of nature) among Hong Kong adults.

Published today, 19 May 2026, in People and Nature, a leading international journal of the British Ecological Society, the study surveyed 1,430 Hong Kong residents to explore how nature connectedness, disgust sensitivity and sociodemographic backgrounds shape fears of threatening animals (e.g. snakes and spiders) and nonthreatening animals (harmless small animals such as mice, bats and worms).

The findings highlighted the centralising role of nature connectedness in reducing biophobia, while disgust sensitivity showed domain-specific effects. Sociodemographic factors were less strongly linked, pointing to the need for further research to capture their influence. Read the full study here (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70353).

The need for multi-disciplinary investigations into the origins of biophobia in an increasingly urbanised world

Dr Sam Lau, lead author of the study and person-in-charge of the Research Centre for Environment and Human Health at SCE, HKBU, explained: “In highly urbanised cities like Hong Kong, direct interactions with wildlife are scarce. Our study seeks to understand how non-direct pathways shape species knowledge and contribute to biophobia. We highlight how sociocultural influences can reinforce avoidant or hostile behaviours towards unfamiliar animals, creating a vicious cycle of heightened fears and limiting opportunities for positive or neutral interactions with wildlife.”

The study employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to test three hypotheses outlined in its conceptual framework. First (H1), the team examined how nature connectedness, disgust sensitivity and sociodemographic backgrounds influence fears of both threatening and nonthreatening animals. Second (H2), the analysis explored whether fear of threatening animals could predict the fear of nonthreatening animals when controlling for other factors. Finally (H3), the study assessed whether sociodemographic differences, along with direct and vicarious experiences with threatening animals, moderated this relationship.

Experiences, not attitude, protect against animal fears

The study demonstrates that direct experiences with nature are irreplaceable in preventing biophobia and cannot be substituted by abstract pro‑environmental or pro‑nature views. SEM analysis revealed that the behavioural dimension of nature connectedness – physically engaging with natural environments and actively spending time outdoors – was significantly more effective in reducing fears of both threatening and nonthreatening animals than psychological dimensions, such as self-identification with nature or personal connection with flora and fauna. Ecological worldviews showed only limited protective effects, applying only to fears of snakes and spiders, but not small harmless animals. This suggests that positive attitudes towards nature may not be sufficient to overcome visceral fears, especially disgust-centric fears towards small animals, which often operate independently of worldview. Instead, experience with nature is necessary to help individuals acclimate to a broader range of species, particularly those predominantly perceived as disgusting or lacking human‑like traits, such as flying or crawling insects.

Distinct disgust mechanisms behind snake, spider and small animal fears

Unlike nature connectedness, disgust sensitivity did not emerge as a centralising dimension and was instead explained by distinct pathways across different levels of biophobia. The study measured four domains of disgust: core disgust (orally offensive stimuli), animal-reminder disgust (reminders of our mortality and animal origins), contamination disgust (contagions of human origin) and blood-injection-injury (BII) fears, which are strongly linked to disgust-specific reactions such as fainting. Analysis revealed domain-specific pathways: fear of snakes was linked to animal reminder and contamination disgust; fear of spiders to animal-reminder and core disgust; fear of small animals to BII fears and core disgust. Notably, the threatening animals (i.e. snakes and spiders) shared strong ties to animal-reminder disgust, reflecting their reputation as dangerous, venomous species. In contrast, small animals such as mice, bats and worms were strongly associated with BII fears and core disgust, consistent with their perception as invasive carriers of pathogens rather than mortal threats like snakes and spiders. Spiders also overlapped with small animals as pathogenic threats through core disgust, while snakes showed an unexpected association with contamination disgust. These distinctions support the idea that animal phobias have biological roots inherited from our ancestors, shaped by evolutionary pressures to avoid both venomous predators and disease‑bearing species.

Threatening animal fears spill over to harmless species

After controlling for disgust sensitivity, nature connectedness and gender effects (with female respondents reporting higher biophobia), the study found that the fears of spiders and snakes uniquely predicted fears of small animals. Spider fears accounted for 36.2% of the variance in small animal fears, far exceeding the additional 2.5% explained by snake fears. This suggests that biophobia may generalise through shared traits such as movement patterns, habitats or media-driven narratives, compounded by declining species knowledge.

Contrary to what expectations from the vicious cycle of biophobia model, the study found little evidence that sociocultural pathways explained this overlap. Direct experiences with snakes or spiders, vicarious experiences through parental fears, education level and age were not strong moderators of the relationship. While some isolated effects emerged, such as lacking experiences in spider bites strengthened the link between spider and small animal fears, these effect sizes were negligible.

Safeguarding our connection with wildlife amid rapid urbanisation

The study underscores the vital importance of direct nature experiences in fostering familiarity and reducing fears across a diverse range of wildlife species. While animals hold symbolic meaning in many cultures, less appealing yet ecologically essential species are often overlooked despite their critical role in sustaining ecosystems. The onset of biophobia in highly urbanised cities remains complex and biologically rooted, with clear distinctions between fears of threatening and nonthreatening animals. Building on these findings, Dr Sam Lau and his team call for further investigations into the unexplained pathways linking fears of threatening and nonthreatening animals. Future studies are encouraged to explore sociocultural pathways, and to examine the time-sensitive development of biophobic attitudes within the broader cycle of fear and avoidance.

Professor Ronald CK Chung, Dean of SCE, HKBU, added, “This study highlights HKBU’s contributions in the field of environment and human health, while reminding society that in the pursuit of urban progress, we must not overlook the fundamental bond between people and nature.”

Figures 1 and 2 are available for download at http://scepr.hkbu.edu.hk/biophobia26e.

Captions

Figure 1: Hong Kong’s topography and land use zoning for (1) residential areas by their population density and (2) green spaces by their accessibility to the public, from country parks and recreational zones (publicly accessible) to sites of special scientific interest (limited access to protect biodiversity). Outline zoning plan data are from Wong (2022).

Figure 2: Standardised SEM path coefficients for biophobia, after removing non-significant paths. Blue arrows represent significant direct effects of gender. Green arrows represent significant direct effects of nature connectedness variables. Red arrows represent significant direct effects of disgust sensitivity. Arrow thickness indicates path coefficient magnitude. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

About the international research team

This research was led by Dr Sam Lau, person-in-charge of the Research Centre for Environment and Human Health, SCE, HKBU, in collaboration with his research team member Mr Jason Fong, and international collaborators Dr Andras Zsido (University of Pécs, Hungary) and Dr Matthew Browning (Clemson University, USA).

About the Research Centre for Environment and Human Health, SCE, HKBU

The Research Centre for Environment and Human Health, SCE, HKBU was established in 2021 with funding support from the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong, China (UGC/IDS(R) 23/20). The Centre serves as an interdisciplinary research platform to enhance understanding of the environment-health nexus, explore integrative solutions for environmental change and human health, and promote public awareness of environmental health and sustainability.

Read the full study here

Lau, S.S.S., Fong, J.W.L., Zsido, A.N. & Browning, M.H.E.M. (2026). Examining the multidisciplinary origins of biophobia for threatening and non-threatening wildlife in a highly urbanised city in China. People and Nature. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70353

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