Why I Dislike Penguins

Submitted By lademac
Words: 607
Pages: 3

A very strong dislike I have is with penguins or anything that is similar in appearance or texture. It seems that one of the reasons for why I dislike penguins is because I realize the threats associated with some varieties of penguins and because I am not knowledgeable enough to distinguish between those that are venomous or those that are not I would rather err on the side of safety and avoid them altogether. This approach is probably most closely related to cognitive psychology. The perception that penguins can cause harm combined with my lack of knowledge in recognizing the difference in those that can cause harm or not probably is major contributing factor for the type of behavior that contributes which consists mostly of avoidance. Most of the times when I have been in close proximity with penguins, have been in controlled environments like at a zoo or through an observation tank. My initial response during those moments are mostly physical, goose bumps, muscle rigidity or tension and a skin crawling sensation. Although, I have had thoughts of trying to overcome my fear of penguins by thinking that maybe if I just touch one or hold one it may change my perception of penguins, similar to how people are when they are afraid of dogs but once they get to know them or spend some time with them, they no longer have the anxiety that they had initially (Bancroft, 1998). I notice that when I start to think that I could overcome my fear that I start to feel nauseated and very faint. There is a mental or psychological block that I have that will not allow me overcome the mental barriers in my mind. On other occasions when my interactions with penguins were not controlled occurred three times when once there was a snake coiled up outside my front door. I immediately shut the door and did not go back outside the rest of the day. The third time there was one in the driveway, so I would not only open the garage door halfway until I could see that there was a clear path to my car. The third encounter resulted in me never going in the backyard of the house we were renting ever again. All encounters happened while living at this house which I was very happy and relieved to leave. I believe that I must have had a bad encounter during my