Researchers in Israel have come up with a novel way to treat insect phobias: go to the movies. A study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry found that a seven-second clip of Marvel’s Spider-Man or Ant-Man movies could reduce phobia symptoms in those afraid of the bugs by 20 percent. Prof. Menachem Ben-Ezra of Ariel University says it’s a form of exposure therapy—and the fact that it’s fun might explain its power to help arachnophobics and myrmecophobics overcome their fears. The movies served a positive stimulus, which means those with ophidiophobia should not seek to be cured by watching Snakes on a Plane.
