This is not the first study that has attributed trypophobia to a misplaced evolutionary response. In 2013, scientists at the University of Essex in 2013 suggested that sufferers unconsciously associated circular holes with the patterns on potentially dangerous animals, such as the venomous blue-ringed octopus.

However, it’s important to remember that feeling a bit grossed out by something isn’t the same as having a full-blown phobia – and there may be an element of emotional contagion involved. As Jennifer Abusi observes in Popular Science, it’s not unusual for people to say that they didn’t realise they were trypophobic until they looked at ‘triggering’ photos and read about the phenomenon online.

“It’s not unusual to laugh harder at a funny movie if others around you are laughing,” explains Martin Antony, a psychologist at Ryerson University in Toronto and author of The Anti-Anxiety Workbook. “In the same way, we may be more likely to experience fear in a particular moment if others around us are fearful.”

Images: iStock, George Marks

Scientists discover why you really have trypophobia, aka the fear of tiny holes