Capafons 1998 - treatment of flying

Question 1

What is the aim of capafons?

Answer 1

• test whether SD is effective as a therapeutic technique for treating fear of flying

Question 2

What is the method of capathons?

Answer 2

-41 people with fear of flying
-20 in treatment group
-21 in control group
-two groups balanced in terms of age, sex, self reported fear level
-recruited as a result of advertising free intervention programmes to treat fear of flying
- treatment group - 8 males, 12 females
- control group - 9 males, 12 females

Question 3

What were the dependent variables in capafons?

Answer 3

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS USED TO DIAGNOSE FEAR OF FLYING
-how afraid of flying are you? (not at all, little, very, extremely)
- do you travel by plane if no alternative transport
- whilst flying have you ever had any of the following symptoms or feelings?
TWO QUESTIONNAIRES MEASURING FEAR OF FLYING
- fear of flying scale (measuring fear during flight), scale measuring their expectations of danger and anxiety
HEART RATE, PALM TEMPERATURE AND MUSCULAR TENSION WHILST PARTICIPANTS WATCHED A VIDEO OF A PLANE TRIP

Question 4

What is the procedure of capafons?

Answer 4

-interviewed individually to complete the self report measues
- shown video showing a traveller taking plane journey ( flight simulation)
- contols =all done in same room, temperature of room, distance from screen standardised

Question 5

What is the procedure of post-treatment ?

Answer 5

• Tested with post treatment measures after 8 weeks
• during the 8 weeks, treatment group given 2 one hour sessions per week (SD)
• 12-15 sessions - relaxation imagination training
• the control group did not have treatment
• post treatment measures were taken after the patient had taken 2 flights
• the first flight was in the 7 days following treatment

Question 6

What were the results of capons?

Answer 6

• No significant difference in scores before and after flight for the control group but there was reductions in fear for treatment group
• the treatment group scored differently than control after treatment on all but two measures (Palm temp and fear without involvement)
• measured differently on fear during flights, avoidance behaviour, catastrophic thought, heart rate

Question 7

What was the conclusion of capafons?

Answer 7

-successfully reduced fear of flying in treatment group although 10% did not show a significant reduction
- no reduction in fear in control group (only one person showed a change)

Question 8

Evaluation generalisability

Answer 8

• ↑g= groups based on age, sex, fear level, multiple people used neither andro nor gyno centric
• ↓g= volunteers for free treatment, not representative of different levels of fear-not as scared

Question 9

Evaluation - reliability

Answer 9

• high r = reductions in fear in treatment group, reduced fear, success of SD due to no change in control
  -high r = reduced fear - easily repeated and replecated to others phobias

Question 10

Evaluation - validity

Answer 10

• high internal - participants tested in same environment, controls extraneous variables.
• high validity - measure heart rate etc, quantitative data (replicable)
• low internal - self reported fear - qualiative data, biased
• low validity - how afraid of flying are you? - questions too vague, demand characteristics
• low validity - flight simulation - not all data taken on flight instead on simulation - unreliable

Question 11

evaluation - ethics

Answer 11

-high ethics - media campaign, advertising free programmes - consent given, not forced
- high ethics -post treatment measures, 12-15 sessions - gradual process, no psychological harm

Question 12

evaluation - application

Answer 12

yes - successfully reduced fear of flying in treatment group - SD successfull, makes other phobics want to try treatment , should be use to treat other aerophobic people and other phobias