Cognitive restructuring and verbal extinction effects in treating snake phobia
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Kenneth Stuart Wein (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Rosemery Nelson
Abstract: Four forms of group treatment were compared for their relative therapeutic effectiveness in reducing snake fear. The treatments included (1) cognitive restructuring (CR), which emphasized making subjects aware of their irrational self-statements by providing them with an understanding of the etiology of their fear; (2) verbal extinction (VE), a treatment that involved discussions of experiences related to the anxiety-provoking stimulus; (3) systematic desensitization (SD), a standard technique control; and (4) an attention-placebo control treatment (AP). A no-treatment control group was also included in the study. Results indicated that CR was as effective as SD in reducing behavioral avoidance over NC and AP control group levels. On the two verbal-cognitive measures of snake fear used in the study, CR produced significant improvement relative to the NC and AP groups. VE treatment was found to be facilitative in reducing subjective fear behavior, but it did not produce changes of sufficient magnitude to be significantly better than the NC group. An analysis of pre-treatment to post-treatment changes in heart rate failed to yield a significant treatment effect.
Cognitive restructuring and verbal extinction effects in treating snake phobia
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Created on 1/1/1974
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 1974
- Subjects
- Phobias $x Treatment
- Behavior therapy
- Cognitive therapy