capafons et al Flashcards
what were their aims?
aimed to assess the effectiveness of SD in the treatment of fear of flying
- a secondary aim was to see whether fear of flying reduced spontaneously without treatment
who were the ppts?
41 adults
- 17 males
- 24 females
how did they match the groups?
sex, age and anxiety levels
what was the procedure?
each ppt was assessed for fear of flying individually on two occasions one for completing anxiety scales and the ohter for physiological measurements (done when watching a film of a flight)
each ppt in the treatment condition had 12-15 one hour treatment sessions ( 2 per week) where they created their own anxiety hierarchy
what were the findings?
there were no significant differences on any of the measures of anxiety between the first and second assessments in the non-treatment group.
there were highly significant reductions in reported anxiety and physiological measures except body temps in the treatment conditions first and second assessments.
- 90% of ppts had significant reduction
what was the conclusion?
indicate that SD is a highly effective treatment for fear of flying, with a success rate of 90%
what is a strength?
the use of several measures of anxiety including psychological and physiological ones
- the psychometric tests used in the study had previouslt been shown to be valid and reliable
- the physiological measures provided objective and reliable data
this makes it valid
what is a weakness?
the measures of anxiety were only taken shortly after treatment
- we have no idea of how long the benefits of the treatment lasted
the results may have given a false positive impression
what is a competing argument of weakness?
other studies have found long term effectiveness of SD for fear of flying
how can it be applied?
have applications for clinical psychologists in choosing a treatment for fear of flying
- clinical psychologists are committed to evidence based practice and studies like these ones can give that evidence
