Trypophobic images gain preferential access to early visual processes

Trypophobia is a common but unusual phobia that is induced by viewing many clustered objects. Previous studies suggested that this trypophobia is caused by the specific power spectrum of the images; this idea has not been fully investigated empirically. In the present study, we used breaking continuous flash suppression (b-CFS) to clarify whether the trypophobic images affect access to visual awareness, and what features of trypophobic images contribute to rapid access of awareness. In the b-CFS paradigms, a dynamic masking pattern presented to one eye suppresses the target images shown to the other eye. The participants' task was to indicate where the target image appeared in a dichoptic display through a mirror stereoscope. The target images consisted of trypophobic, fear-related, clusters or neutral images. The trypophobic images emerged into awareness faster than the other types of images. However, the phase-scrambled versions of the trypophobic images did not show any differences across the image types, suggesting that the trypophobic power spectra themselves did not affect access to awareness. Moreover, the phase-scrambled trypophobic images without CFS tended to be detected earlier than the phase-scrambled fearful and neutral images. These findings indicate that trypophobic power spectra might affect post-perceptual processing, such as response production.