capafons et al

Question 1

what did the capafons et al study believe ?

Answer 1

systematic desensitization works for the fear of flying

Question 2

why did capafons et al believe systematic desensitization worked for fear of flying

Answer 2

1- people who travel in aero planes still have fear so flooding doesn’t work

2- sd allows for an element of control

3- patient can go at their own speed

4- it is practical as it involves imagining the feared situation and the live situation isn’t necessary

Question 3

what were the aims ?

Answer 3

• offer some conclusions about the assessment of success of systematic desensitization applied to the phobia of flying

Question 4

what was the sample

Answer 4

-41 people with a flying phobia
-20 assigned to the treatment (8 males and 11 females)
-21 to the waiting control groups (9 males 12 females )

Question 5

how were participants recruited ?

Answer 5

volunteer sampling via a media campaign

this informed them of the opportunity to take part in a free intervention programme aimed at treating the fear of flying

Question 6

what diagnostic scales were used to assess participants fear of
flying ?

Answer 6

IDG - FV
EMV
EPAV

Question 7

what was the IDG-FV ?

Answer 7

spanish general diagnostic information tool on the fear of flying
obtains data about patients life history

Question 8

what were the EMV scales ?

Answer 8

measures pre and post treatment:
- fear displayed during flight
- fear of flight preliminaries
- fear without involvement, e.g seeing a plane

Question 9

what are the EPAV scales ?

Answer 9

• scales of expectation of danger and anxiety
• measured occurrence of catastrophic thoughts

Question 10

what was the procedure ?

Answer 10

• participants watched a video of a plane trip

Question 11

what happened 3 minutes prior to the participants watching the video ?

Answer 11

• habituation session, where patients heart rate, skin surface temperature, temperature and muscle tension was measured

Question 12

how was the room in which the participants watched the video in controlled ?

Answer 12

• room of 5x3.5 m
• at 22.5 degrees celsius
• sat 1.8 m from television

Question 13

what happened after the patient watched the video ?

Answer 13

• a new appointment was made either for presenting the treatment or for the next assessment session

Question 14

how long was the interval between the 1st and 2nd session in both groups ?

Answer 14

• 8 weeks

Question 15

what was the treatments group treatments ?

Answer 15

• 2, 1 hour sessions weekly
• standardized individual desensitization
• involved breathing relaxation and imagination

Question 16

results : control group

Answer 16

passing of time doesn’t lead to a quantitative change in any dependent measures

Question 17

results : treatment group

Answer 17

• shows significant changes take place in both self reported variables and those of the interview
• subjects performances in psychophysiological measures during the simulation significantly improve

Question 18

give objective measures of the study

Answer 18

heart rate
muscle tension
skin surface temperature

Question 19

which measure did not show no significant difference to the treatment group after their treatment

Answer 19

skin surface temperature

Question 20

what was the overall result for the treatment group ?

Answer 20

90% of patients with fear of flying undergo significant changes with the respect to the fear level presented by non treated participants

Question 21

conclusion

Answer 21

systematic desensitization is an effective treatment for decreasing or eradicating fear of flying

Question 22

strengths

Answer 22

VALID- sample groups balanced in terms of age sex and self reported fear level

RELIABLE- objective measures such as cardio back heart rate, mioback, muscular tension, skin temp measure

RELIABLE- standardized procedure e.g same distance from tv each time

no participant variables

ETHICAL- more ethical than flooding, clients have control, learn calming techniques

INTERNAL VALIDITY- extraneous variables controlled e.g temperature

Question 23

weaknesses

Answer 23

SAMPLE- volunteer sampling may mean that people who are extremely fearful of flying may not participate as they want to completely avoid their phobia = not as representative

GENERALISABILITY - results only applied to fear of flying, may not work with other phobias

APPLICATION= no evidence to see how long the benefits of the treatment last

RELIABILITY - 10% of people didn’t show reduction in fear - not universally effective

ETHICS- control group didn’t get treated