Denée Buchko

Are you terrified of snakes, but kind of don't want to be?

Well, there's a real good trick that I can tell you, but you'll need a time machine.

If your parents acted towards you in a certain way as it came to snakes, you might have not been so scared of them.

This is all according to a new research study.

We're here with someone who worked on it.

She's a psychology instructor and snake lover, I believe, at the University of Regina.

Her name is Danae Buchko.

Danae, welcome to the show.

Hi, thanks so much for having me.

So snakes and children, the very thought I think to most people would cause them a great horror.

Why are so many people scared of snakes to begin with?

Well, that's the question, isn't it?

That's the question that I had.

That's the question that kind of spawned my interest in this kind of research.

So as you mentioned, I'm not afraid of snakes.

I've never been afraid of snakes.

I've always really loved snakes and all reptiles.

So that is what I was wondering as I embarked on this journey of

My degree and getting an education, getting my master's degree in psychology.

I wanted to know why such a large proportion of people in our culture, like, which is mostly a North American Western thing, had such a disdain towards these creatures.