Learning Contemporary Study

Question 1

What is the Learning Contemporary study?

Answer 1

Capafons et al (1998)

Question 2

What is the aim?

Answer 2

-To prove that standardised intervention programmes permit the greatest success in the treatment of the phobia of flying

Question 3

What is the research method?

Answer 3

Lab experiment: Matched pairs design

Question 4

Who was the sample?

Answer 4

-Self selecting sample (advert on TV)

• 20 in treatment group
• 21 in control group

Question 5

What was controlled?

Answer 5

• Individual sessions were carried out in a room of 5x3.5 metres at a temperature of 22.5 degrees celsius.

Question 6

IV

Answer 6

Treatment for S.D vs no treatment for S.D

Question 7

DV

Answer 7

1) Diagnosis of fear with IDG-FV
- e.g. “How afraid of flying would you say you are?”
2) EMV measuring fear during flight, EPAV measuring catastrophic thoughts
3) Physiological measures

Question 8

What were the results?

Answer 8

• 90% successful in reducing fear levels after treatment in the experimental group.
• The results were similar for the control group showing that time alone did not lead to quantitative change in and out of the DV’s considered in the study.
• However, one person from the control group benefited from the baseline measure.

Question 9

What can be concluded?

Answer 9

• Time alone cannot be expected to decrease phobias.
• The success of the therapy were due to certain variables: the breathing and relaxation techniques were carried out rigorously, introducing the techniques of brief relaxation and stop thinking, and the realism of the simulation flight.

Question 10

Standardised procedure

Answer 10

Every participant would complete the relaxation training and therapy sessions even those on the control group.

Question 11

Objective

Answer 11

Quantitative measures were used to measure fear like skin response, heart rate and sweat monitor

Question 12

Ethical

Answer 12

Those in the control group were given the S.D treatment after the results to treat their phobia, which is ethical as they weren’t ignored after researchers obtained their results.

Question 13

Small sample

Answer 13

Only 41 patients

Question 14

Low mundane realism

Answer 14

In vitro task of watching the flight simulation which may not elicit the same reactions for fear than if the patient was actually flying.

Question 15

Low ecological validity

Answer 15

-Lab experiment: Watching flight videos

Question 16

Ethnocentric

Answer 16

Only Spanish sample tested- a different culture may have different reactions towards treatment.