Fear of mice
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Fear of mice and rats is one of the most common
specific phobia Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder, characterized by an extreme, unreasonable, and irrational fear associated with a specific object, situation, or concept which poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobia can lead to avoidance of the o ...
s. It is sometimes referred to as musophobia (from
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
''μῦς'' "
mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...
") or murophobia (a coinage from the
taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...
adjective "murine" for the family
Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. ...
that encompasses mice and
rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...
s, and also
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''mure'' "mouse/rat"), or as suriphobia, from French ''souris'', "mouse". The phobia, as an unreasonable and disproportionate
fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...
, is distinct from reasonable concern about rats and mice contaminating food supplies, which may potentially be universal to all times, places, and cultures where stored grain attracts rodents, which then consume or contaminate the food supply.


Cause

In many cases a phobic fear of mice is a socially induced conditioned response, combined with (and originated in) the
startle response In animals, including humans, the startle response is a largely unconscious defensive response to sudden or threatening Stimulus (physiology), stimuli, such as sudden noise or sharp movement, and is associated with negative Affect (psychology), af ...
(a response to an unexpected stimulus) common in many animals, including humans, rather than a real disorder. At the same time, as is common with specific phobias, an occasional fright may give rise to abnormal
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...
that requires treatment.


Treatment

Fear of mice may be treated by any standard treatment for specific phobias. The standard treatment of animal phobia is systematic desensitization, and this can be done in the consulting room, or in hypnosis. Some clinicians use a combination of both approaches to desensitization during treatment. It can be helpful to encourage patients to experience some positive associations with mice: the feared stimulus is paired with the positive rather than being continuously reinforced by the negative.


Elephants and mice

There is a common
folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
belief that elephants are afraid of mice. The earliest reference to this claim is probably by
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
in his ''
Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' () is a Latin work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. Despite the work' ...
'', book VIII. As translated by
Philemon Holland Philemon Holland (1552 – 9 February 1637) was an English schoolmaster, physician and translator. He is known for the first English translations of several works by Livy, Pliny the Elder, and Plutarch, and also for translating William Camden's ...
(1601), "Of all other living creatures, they lephantscannot abide a mouse or a rat." Numerous
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...
s and
zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
s have shown that elephants can be conditioned not to react. ''
MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...
'' performed an experiment in which, indeed, multiple elephants did attempt to avoid a mouse, showing there may be some basis for this belief. Regardless, elephantine musophobia remains the basis of various jokes and metaphors. The classical board game dou shou qi has the rat kill an elephant, and multiple editions of the rule book mentions that the rat would crawl into the elephant's ears to gnaw into its brain. This is considered to be a folk tale. Bell, R.C. (1983), ''The Boardgame Book'', p. 119. Exeter Books.


Patron saint

Gertrude of Nivelles Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled ''Geretrude'', ''Geretrudis'', ''Gertrud''; c. 628 – 17 March 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. She is venerated in the Catholic ...
is the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of murophobia, and is also invoked against rats and mice in general.


In popular culture

An exaggerated, phobic fear of mice and rats has traditionally been depicted as a stereotypical trait of women, with numerous books, cartoons, television shows, and films portraying women screaming and jumping onto chairs or tables at the sight of a mouse. Despite this portrayal, murophobia has always been experienced by individuals of both sexes. However, women are twice as likely as men to suffer from specific phobias, such as musophobia. *In
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
's
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
''
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...
'' the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
Winston Smith has an intense fear of rats. Strapping a cage of hungry rats to his face is a technique used to get him to implicate his lover in
thoughtcrimes ''Thoughtcrimes'' is a 2003 American sci-fi action thriller directed by Breck Eisner. Plot A high-school student named Freya McAllister ( Navi Rawat) begins hearing voices in her head and is misdiagnosed with schizophrenic catalepsy. She spends ...
. *In the TV series ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'',
Frank Costanza This is a list of characters who appeared on ''Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in main roles or multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Overview ;Overview : = Main cast (credited) : ...
has a profound fear of mice. In the episode " The Raincoats, Part 2", Frank threatens to move houses after George suggests there could be mice in their house. Kramer also appears to be afraid of mice in that same episode. *In ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jone ...
'', Henry Jones Sr. is described as being "scared to death" of rats. *The titular character in the ''
Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...
'' series is scared of mice, due to having had his robotic ears bitten off by mice due to a mistaken order by Sewashi, as decipted in 1995 short film '' 2112: The Birth of Doraemon''. *The incarnation of
Princess Zelda is a Character (arts), character in Nintendo's ''The Legend of Zelda'' video game series. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the original 1986 game ''The Legend of Zelda (video game), The Legend of Zelda''. As one of the central characters ...
from '' The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks'' will freeze in fear if she is met by rats. *Madame Medusa, the main antagonist of
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's ''
The Rescuers ''The Rescuers'' is a 1977 American Animated film, animated adventure film, adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor respectively star as Bernard and B ...
'' (1977), an adaptation of Margery Sharp's children's novels, suffers from extreme musophobia, becoming hysterical upon encountering the film's protagonists, a pair of friendly mice, while aiming to protect herself by jumping onto a chair and firing her
shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...
. Ironically, her far more threatening pet
crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...
s hardly make her uneasy. *In '' Totally Spies!'' episode Malled
Alex Alex is a given name. Similar names are Alexander, Alexandra, Alexey or Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Cook (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Forsyth (disambiguation), multiple people * Al ...
and
Clover Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversit ...
are afraid from rats and flies using jetpacks. *Tin Top from
Roary the Racing Car ''Roary the Racing Car'', stylised as ''ROARY: The Racing Car'', is a British preschool animated television series created by David Jenkins and produced by Chapman Entertainment for Five and Nick Jr. that aired from 7 May 2007 to 29 Septem ...
exhibited musophobia in the episode "Tin Top Gets Scared". *Injun Joe is afraid of mice and rats in the 1995 anime movie, ''Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure''. *Countess Le Grande is afraid of mice in the 2002 sequel, '' Cinderella II: Dreams Come True''. Especially Jaq
Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...
's mouse. *In the video game '' Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' the rideable/transformable elephant
Ellie Ellie or Elly is a given name. The name stands on its own or can be a shortened form of any of the numerous female names beginning with the syllable El-, in particular Elizabeth, Eleanor, or Elvira. It can also be a short form of Elaine, Elena ...
is afraid of rats and must throw a barrel at them. Additionally, there is a level called Stampede Sprint that centralizes on her fear of rats; at the beginning of the level you transform into Ellie only to be spooked by a few rats which causes Ellie to continuously barrage her way through the level. *Bloodsport, as portrayed in the film '' The Suicide Squad,'' is afraid of rats, which is used many times for comedic effect. *Lofty, a large blue
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
mobile crane A mobile crane is a cable-controlled crane mounted on crawlers or rubber-tired carriers or a hydraulic-powered crane with a telescoping boom mounted on truck-type carriers or as self-propelled models. They are designed to easily transport t ...
from the ''
Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment which ran from to in the United Kingdom through the CBBC strand and later CBeebies. The series centres on the adventures ...
'' franchise, is known for being afraid of mice. This fear is great enough that he raced all the way back to the yard while in a faraway field. However, subsequent productions remove this fear entirely. *In '' Tom and Jerry: Cowboy Up!'', Bentley is afraid of mice including
Jerry Mouse Gerald Jinx Mouse, known simply as Jerry, is an American character and one of the two titular characters in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of ''Tom and Jerry'' theatrical animated short films and other animated ...
and Tuffy. *Leo, a tabby cat from ''
PAW Patrol ''Paw Patrol'' is a Canadian children's animated television series created by Keith Chapman and produced by Spin Master, Spin Master Entertainment, with animation provided by Guru Studio. In Canada, the series is primarily broadcast on TVOntario ...
'', is shown to have fear of mice, but however, he overcomes his fear of mice.


See also

* List of phobias


References

{{reflist Zoophobias