The influence of two of the variables in Leitenberg's graduated exposure technique for treating phobias, graduated exposure and subject control of the exposure time, was investigated using 15 snake-phobic subjects. Subjective fear significantly decreased from pretesting to posttesting. (Author)

This study investigates whether six women who previously had received 15 sessions of group systematic desensitization (SD) for their sexual anxiety would report additional treatment gains from participation in a sexual-enchantment workshop with their partners. The women reported a significant decrease in sexual anxiety. (Author)

Three types of therapy were combined with two types of scenes. Spider-phobic subjects were assigned to one of the six treatment conditions or to an untreated control group. In general, (a) Desensitization and modeling therapies were equally effective; (b) modeling alone was more effective than mere exposure to the phobic object. (Author)

The subject-controlled graduated exposure of a snake with feedback of exposure times resulted in significantly less avoidance behaviors for snake-phobic subjects than for control snake-phobic subjects who did not receive therapy. (Author)

A comparison was made between the traditional counterconditioning paradigm and a self-control paradigm of systematic desensitization. College students reporting high test anxiety and indicating interest in receiving treatment were assigned to counterconditioning, self-control, or wait-list control conditions. As predicted, self-control procedures…

Degree of transfer and fear change associated with four levels of desensitization, pseudodesensitization, and no treatment were assessed in snakephobic students. Desensitization subjects reported significantly less anxiety than no-treatment controls when repeating their highest pretreatment responses, but were no different from either control…

Assesses a self-reward contracting procedure intended to facilitate completion of self-administered desensitization. Self-referred snake phobics received either (a) self-administered desensitization; (b) self-administered desensitization with self-reward contracting; or (c) a self-administered placebo with self-reward contracting. Results show the…

This article describes a concentrated program of desensitization used to treat flight phobia. A case history illustrates the use of expanded emotive imagery, stimulus breakdown and techniques of covert positive reinforcement. (SJL)