Within an experimental paradigm that simulated systematic desensitization, the effects of manipulated cognitive expectancy on avoidance behavior were evaluated. The results indicated that both overt avoidance behavior and two verbal indexes were differentially affected by expectancy and that no relationship between avoidance behavior and autonomic…

Five groups of 15 female subjects reporting fear of snakes participated in two behavioral avoidance tests employing a snake as the target object. Results are discussed both in terms of implications for psychotherapy outcome research design and possible usefulness of situational variables in the development of more effective anxiety-reduction…

In a case of claustrophobia and in another with fears of flying, Japanese defense activities of the Karate type proved to be effective counter conditioners of anxiety. They were used in the former case in vivo and in the later case both in imagination and in vivo. (Author)

A woman who had from childhood suffered from neurotic anxieties of an interpersonal kind had for 10 years been plagued with insistent and fruitless negative thoughts about herself. This transcript deals mainly with her objections to the technique of thought stopping and the efforts that were made to overcome them. (Author)

Accelerated massed desensitization and anxiety management training were compared with standard systematic desensitization in terms of reducing self-reported test anxiety in high test-anxious college students. All three treatments significantly reduced test anxiety as compared with a waiting list control group. (Author)

The relative effects of imagerial covert rehearsal with attentional shifts and the use of an independent reinforcing agent in a covert reinforcement therapy were compared. A 17-year-old female student, requesting treatment for a snake phobia, served as the subject. The phobia was measured along four dimensions: behavioral approaches to a live…

This study examines the relationship, in women, between the motive to avoid success and feelings of being controlled externally. The results suggest that achievement motivation is blocked or lowered by feelings of external control in the situation of arousal of achievement anxieties in young women. (Author/PC)

The relative efficacy of systematic desensitization and assertive skill training in increasing assertive responses, reducing anxiety related to being assertive, and increasing response satisfaction, was compared to two control conditions--a placebo-control (discussion) and an assessment-control. Also investigated was the effect of the subjects'…

Presented is a debate between a physician and a psychologist concerning the possibility of successful intervention with homosexual behavior. The physician argues that homosexuality results from disturbed patterns of gender identity, while the psychologist sees homosexuality as an urge to respond to members of the same sex. From this urge may stem…

Outcome data on smoking cessation has emphasized that most people have difficulty not in quitting smoking, but in maintaining cessation. An attempt was made to develop a more meaningful typology of relapse-promoting situations using a sample of 183 exsmokers who called a telephone hotline seeking help to stay away from cigarettes. Two higher order…

Case studies of the writing habits exhibited by anxious and nonanxious writers in workshops to reduce writing apprehension and in regular literature/composition classes have revealed how certain aspects of the composing processes of anxious writers differed from those of nonanxious writers. Some of the common problems were the lack of structured…

This paper is intended primarily for elementary school teachers. It summarizes what is known about classroom anxiety and how teachers can reduce this anxiety and its detrimental effects. This is a nontechnical literature review designed to give advice to practitioners. The paper describes kinds of anxiety and outlines three different methods of…