Abstract We developed and validated a symptom scale that can be used to identify "trypophobia", in which individuals experience aversion induced by images of clusters of circular objects. The trypophobia questionnaire (TQ) was based on reports of various symptom types, but it nevertheless demonstrated a single construct, with high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The TQ scores predicted discomfort from trypophobic images, but not neutral or unpleasant images, and did not correlate with anxiety. Using image filtering, we also reduced the excess energy at mid-range spatial frequencies associated with both trypophobic and uncomfortable images. Relative to unfiltered trypophobic images, the discomfort from filtered images experienced by observers with high TQ scores was less than that experienced with control images and by observers with low TQ scores. Furthermore, we found that clusters of concave objects (holes) did not induce significantly more discomfort than clusters of convex objects (bumps), suggesting that trypophobia involves images with particular spectral profile rather than clusters of holes per se.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 181. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 20 September 2026.
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#279,110
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Outputs from Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
#26
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#2,999
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Outputs of similar age from Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
#2
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Altmetric has tracked 34,362,729 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,220 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 10.8. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 19 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 89% of its contemporaries.
