The Face of Trypophobia: An Exploratory Analysis of Facial Expressions in Response to Trypophobic Objects

Abstract Trypophobia is often described as an aversion to clusters of holes. While previous research has identified the emotions involved in trypophobia, most studies have relied on self-report ratings. Our study is the first to examine facial expressions involved in trypophobia and how they relate to self-reported emotion ratings. We contrasted disgust and fear expressions of trypophobic and non-trypophobic participants in response to different real objects from four categories: trypophobic, disgust, fear and neutral. Participants were recruited from an undergraduate participant pool and videotaped while evaluating physically present stimuli. Facial expressions were analysed using Affectiva Affdex 2.0. Results revealed a small group difference in adjusted facial disgust expressions for trypophobic objects, with trypophobic respondents showing stronger disgust expressions relative to their responses to neutral objects. However, analyses using unadjusted facial expression scores showed no significant group difference, indicating that the effect depended on adjustment for neutral baseline responses. Additionally, a positive albeit weak relationship emerged between scores on the Trypophobia Questionnaire (TQ) and adjusted facial disgust expressions for trypophobic objects, suggesting that higher trypophobia severity was associated with more pronounced disgust responses. Notably, facial expressions and self-reported emotion ratings were not related in the trypophobic group, whereas the control group showed expected correlations between specific facial expressions and self-reported emotions. The weak association between facial expressions and TQ scores suggests that self-reported and facial-expression measures may not always align in trypophobia, and that the different components of emotional responding can provide different information. The discrepancy between self-reported emotions and facial expressions in the trypophobia group may align with findings from anxiety research, suggesting individuals with trypophobia may experience heightened internal distress while regulating outward emotional displays.