Fear of frogs

Cultural beliefs

Some cultures accord the sight of a frog as a bad omen. Other cultures regard the sight as a good omen. Portuguese shopkeepers use ceramic frogs to deter Roma people, and also serve as a marker of anti-Romani prejudice.

A common myth says that to touch frogs and toads may give one warts. A survey carried out by researchers from the Johannesburg Zoo have shown that in modern times old superstitions play a less significant role and modern children are more concerned whether frogs are venomous or harmless.

As a phobia

A phobia of frogs often begins after seeing frogs die violently. One case of severe fear of frogs has been described in Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry in 1983: a woman developed an extreme fear of frogs after a traumatic incident in which her lawn mower ran over a group of frogs and killed them.

References

References

1. "Psychiatry Specialty Board Review for the DSM-IV" (1996) Psychology Press, {{ISBN
2. Jacob Shatzky, Leland Earl Hinsie (1953) "Psychiatric Dictionary: With Encyclopedic Treatment of Modern Terms", Oxford University Press, [https://books.google.com/books?id=DVQ0AAAAIAAJ&q=batrachophobia "Fear of frogs"]
3. Vidal, Marta. (February 4, 2019). "Portuguese shopkeepers using ceramic frogs to 'scare away' Roma". Al Jazeera Media Network.
4. [http://www.izea.net/education/Attitudes%20towards%20frogs-Gordon.pdf "What do kids think about Frogs?"] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-07-08 , a [[Johannesburg Zoo]] article)
5. (December 1983). "The Repeated Pretest-Posttest Single-Subject Experiment: A New Design for Empirical Clinical Practice". Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry.