The effect of suggestion and pretesting on avoidance reduction in fearful subjects
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental PsychiatryPublished 1 September 1973
Alan E. Kazdin
Citations30
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score0.87
SNIP0.84
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Abstract
The effect of suggestion (instructions for therapeutic change) in the absence of veridical treatment was evaluated with snake avoidant college students. 81 subjects (selected for high fear on two paper-and-pencil measures administered in class) received one of four conditions: Instructions-Pretest, Instructions-No Pretest, No Instructions-Pretest, and No Instructions- No Pretest. The instructions suggested that there would be an improvement in performance (at second testing for the pretested group) or little initial avoidance (at the first assessment for the nonpretested group). On behavioral, attitudinal, and fear measures of avoidance, instructed subjects showed significantly less avoidance than subjects for whom no induced expectancy was given. No pretest sensitization effect was found.
Keywords
PsychologySocial SciencesNeuroscience
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