Trypophobic images — usually composed of clusters of small holes or protrusions — are capable of provoking discomfort and aversion in a significant portion of the population, even when they do not present directly threatening content. In the study conducted by Shirai and Ogawa (2019), the authors experimentally investigated whether these images have privileged access to visual consciousness compared to other types of visual stimuli, using the “breaking continuous flash suppression” (b-CFS) paradigm. This method allows the evaluation of the time it takes for an image to reach consciousness when presented in one eye and suppressed by dynamic patterns in the other.
The results demonstrated that trypophobic images emerge into consciousness significantly faster than images that are neutral, fear-related (such as predators), or merely cluster-like (without clear emotional evocation). This suggests that there is a specific perceptual advantage associated with trypophobia. However, this advantage disappeared when the images were phase-scrambled (preserving only the spatial power spectrum), indicating that physical attributes alone—specifically the distribution of energy at mid-spatial frequencies—are not sufficient to explain the effect.
This finding is relevant for two reasons. First, it partially contradicts the hypothesis that the anomalous power spectrum (high contrast at mid-spatial frequencies), often observed in trypophobic images, would be the determining factor for discomfort and rapid access to consciousness. Second, it reinforces the idea that emotional or cognitive factors—such as unconscious association with signs of contagious diseases—interact with visual aspects to facilitate conscious detection. The lack of differences in arousal (emotional arousal) between trypophobic and non-trypophobic images after phase shuffling also reinforces this interpretation, suggesting that negative emotional valence may emerge from more complex structural components than the power spectrum alone.
From a neuropsychological perspective, sensitivity to trypophobic patterns may be rooted in evolutionary mechanisms for detecting subtle biological threats, such as skin infections or poisonous organisms. This automated attentional bias could have been adaptively advantageous, conferring a survival advantage—a hypothesis in line with the so-called “behavioral immune system theory.” Interestingly, even under conditions of interocular suppression, trypophobic images have been shown to break through the barrier to consciousness more quickly than other images, pointing to the possibility of implicit emotional processing at preconscious stages.
In methodological terms, the inclusion of a non-suppression condition allowed the authors to differentiate between purely perceptual effects and post-perceptual effects such as reaction time and motor decision. The fact that the differences were more marked under CFS suggests that trypophobic images not only elicit negative emotional responses but also influence the early stages of visual perception.
In summary, Shirai and Ogawa’s (2019) research provides robust empirical evidence that trypophobic images have privileged access to visual consciousness, an effect that cannot be attributed exclusively to their low-complexity visual properties, such as the power spectrum. The interplay between spatial repetition patterns and unconscious affective evaluation appears to be the underlying driver of this prioritization. These findings pave the way for future investigations that combine physiological measures (such as galvanic skin response or functional neuroimaging) to explore the neural correlates of trypophobic processing.
Reference:
SHIRAI, Risako; OGAWA, Hirokazu. Trypophobic images gain preferential access to early visual processes. Consciousness and Cognition, v. 67, p. 56–68, 2019. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2018.11.009. Accessed on: June 17, 2025.
