Previous research involving medical, veterinary, and physiotherapy students, among others, has identified neuroscience and neuroanatomy as some of the most challenging subjects in their degree program. The term "neurophobia" was coined to describe the fear or aversion towards neuroscience and clinical neurology, often attributed to the difficulty of translating theoretical knowledge from basic sciences into practical or clinical contexts.

In psychology degree programs, neuroscience and neuroanatomy are introduced during the first two years, because a solid understanding of neuroanatomy is essential for linking the biological underpinnings of behavior to broader psychological theories and practices. Whether psychology students experience neurophobia, as do students of different programs (e.g., Medicine) has been understudied.

This study aimed to explore whether psychology students experience neurophobia, and to examine its correlates. Specifically, we explored the relationships between neurophobia and other variables highlighted in previous research as relevant for academic performance. These are: trait anxiety, neuroscience learning-related anxiety, and goal orientation. There are three types of learning goals: learning orientation, performance orientation, and avoidance orientation. Learning orientation is defined as the desire to learn; performance orientation is related to the desire to pass and achieve good grades; and avoidance orientation is associated with the desire to evade work and avoid failure. To do this, a total of 37 second-year psychology students (32 females) participated in the study. The results indicated that 64% of the participants reported experiencing neurophobia. Additionally, students with higher levels of neurophobia also reported greater anxiety related to learning neuroscience. Furthermore, students with elevated trait anxiety showed higher levels of neuroscience-related anxiety and were more inclined towards an avoidance goal orientation. Both avoidance and performance orientations were significantly correlated with anxiety related to learning neuroscience.

These findings suggest that addressing both neuroscience-related anxiety and trait anxiety, alongside promoting adaptive goal orientations, may help reduce neurophobia and enhance learning outcomes in neuroscience-related courses for psychology students.

Acknowledgement:
This study was supported by the University of Zaragoza: PIIDUZ_2 Consolidados grants (2023/4704 and 2024/5358).

Keywords: Neurophobia, psychology, Neuroscience, anxiety, goal orientation.