Bennett-Levy and Marteau (1984)

== Aim ==
To see whether we are more afraid of animals that move quickly, move suddenly, and look very different from people. 
== Procedure ==
Used 2 questionnaires, asking about the same 29 animals. Participants were told that none of the animals were harmful. Questionnaire 1 asked about fear of animals and how close the person would like to get to them. Questionnaire 2 measured how the participants felt about each animal. Some participants were also interviewed. 
== Findings/Results ==
Most feared animals were rat, cockroach, jellyfish, spider and slug. These animals were rated as more ugly, more slimy, and moved more quickly and suddenly. Overall people were less likely to approach ugly or slimy, speedy or sudden animals. They were more afraid of these animals 
== Conclusion ==
Features of ugliness, sliminess, speediness and sudden movement all make animals more frightening. Many animals which cause phobias look like this, which supports the idea that preparedness relates to an animal’s feature. It supports that preparedness causes phobias. 
== Evaluation ==
Strengths 	Weaknesses
Different participants answered the two questionnaires, individual groups design 	The questionnaires only asked about six factors. In the interviews, the participants said other things about what makes animals scary
It was good to use men and women as their phobias are different 	The participants were told the animals were not dangerous but many still thought that rats were harmful, so the instruction was not very successful.
Participants did not need to see the animals, which might have frightened some of them. Avoided ethical problems	
Findings are useful as they can explain why fears are not always linked to actual experiences