Abstract
The hypothesis that elaboration of the phobic stimulus potentiates exposure in vivo treatment was put to the test in a clinical experiment. Forty-one female spider phobics, who applied for treatment, were randomly allocated to one of two conditions. In both conditions a 2.5 hour therapist-directed exposure treatment was given. In the elaboration condition Ss were required to attend to and describe the objective features of the spider constantly. In the non-elaboration condition the therapist tried to prevent this. A manipulation check suggested that Ss in the elaboration condition had indeed elaborated more extensively on the objective features of the spiders during exposure than Ss in the non-elaboration condition. However, Ss in the elaboration condition practised with somewhat fewer spiders than Ss in the non-elaboration condition, probably because of the time the elaboration took. Contrary to the hypothesis, elaboration did not potentiate either short-term or long-term effects of the exposure treatment. It seems superfluous to let patients elaborate on the phobic stimulus during exposure in vivo treatment: the processing of phobic stimulus information which is needed for an effective treatment seems to occur spontaneously when the patient engages in exposure in vivo exercises.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Psychiatry and Mental health
Cited by
52 articles.
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