By Dr. Liji Thomas, MD Reviewed by Lauren Hardaker Mar 9 2026 Eye-tracking experiments reveal a curious contradiction: people tend to avoid looking at spiders when other creatures are present, yet striking features such as large eyes, bright colors, and webs still draw their gaze back. Study: Human eyetracking reveals a general avoidance of spider images but a bias toward spider-specific features . Image credit: RHJPhtotos/Shutterstock.com Spiders are often regarded with fear and disgust. But