Hypnosis versus systematic desensitization in the treatment of test anxiety.

Assessed the comparative effectiveness of systematic desensitization (SD) and the directed experience hypnotic technique (HT) in reducing self-reported test anxiety and increasing the academic performance of 36 test-anxious undergraduates. Ss were assigned randomly to either the HT or SD conditions or to 1 of 2 control groups. All Ss had previously scored above the 50th percentile on Sarason's Test Anxiety Questionnaire (TAQ) and below the 85th percentile on a midterm exam. Results indicate that only the SD treatment significantly reduced TAQ scores. No significant improvement in academic performance was observed for either treatment. An additional analysis of high- vs moderate-anxious subgroups failed to show differential treatment effects on either dependent measure. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist warmth and status in the systematic desensitization of test anxiety.

Randomly assigned 20 test-anxious undergraduates (as determined by the Sarason-Ganzer Test Anxiety Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) to 4 systematic desensitization conditions, representing 2 levels each of therapist warmth and status. Ratings by treated Ss and independent judges confirmed that the experimental warmth and status manipulations had been successful. Comparisons with 10 untreated, high test anxiety control Ss indicate that treated Ss evidenced significantly greater reductions in both test and trait anxiety. With treated Ss, changes in both test and trait anxiety were greatest in the 2 higher warmth conditions. There were no significant effects of therapist status. Ss ratings of satisfaction with treatment and likelihood of return to desensitization treatment should new problems occur were also highest in the 2 higher warmth conditions. Reasons for the differential effectiveness of the warmth and status factors are discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of anxiety management training and desensitization in reducing test and other anxieties.

Compared the effectiveness of systematic desensitization (SD) and anxiety management training (AMT) on 22 and 18 college students, respectively, in reducing test anxiety [Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) and Test Anxiety Behavior Scale] and generalizing to other anxieties. Both SD and AMT produced significant reduction of test anxiety, but by follow-up, AMT produced significantly more test-anxiety reduction on the TAS. On one measure of nontargeted anxieties (Fear Inventory) both AMT and SD produced and maintained significant anxiety reduction. However, on the other measure (Trait Anxiety Inventory), AMT reduced anxiety significantly by follow-up, whereas SD produced no change at all. Results are discussed in terms of the superiority and advantages of AMT for remedial and preventive counseling functions. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EMG biofeedback training versus systematic desensitization for test anxiety reduction.

Investigated EMG biofeedback training as a method to reduce test anxiety among 40 university students. A procedure combining EMG biofeedback training with systematic desensitization (SD) was compared to an automated SD program not using EMG feedback. The study also evaluated the effectiveness of EMG feedback relaxation training without SD. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: (a) EMG biofeedback training with SD, (b) EMG biofeedback relaxation training, (c) automated SD, and (d) no-treatment control. At the end of the program, all participants were administered the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale, Sarason's Test Anxiety Scale, and an anagrams test, given under threat conditions. Results suggest that EMG biofeedback training is a useful technique for reducing test anxiety, but not necessarily more effective than SD. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of study counseling and desensitization in alleviating test anxiety in college students.

Selected 36 male and 39 female test-anxious undergraduates. 50 Ss were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 therapists for (a) desensitization alone, (b) study counseling alone, (c) a combination of study counseling and desensitization, and (d) a placebo procedure. 25 Ss were assigned to 2 control groups. The experimental design was a repeated-measures paradigm involving pre- and posttreatment assessment of self-report, physiological, and academic performance variables. Data were collected during an interview and immediately before midterm and final examinations. Results indicate that a combination of desensitization and study counseling was more effective in reducing physiologically measured anxiety and improving academic and examination performance than either technique alone. Desensitization and study counseling were not reliably different from each other, nor reliably more effective than the placebo procedure in improving academic performance. (29 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of study counseling and desensitization in alleviating test anxiety: A two-year follow-up.

Asked 46 participants in a program comparing study counseling and desensitization for reducing test anxiety to evaluate the effects of each procedure 2 yrs after termination of treatment. Ss who had been assigned to active psychotherapeutic conditions (including a placebo) maintained positive attitudes toward their respective treatments. A significantly larger proportion of Ss in the treatment groups showed individually significant improvement in grades during the 1st follow-up semester. Ss in both the treatment and control conditions achieved significantly better grades and reduced self-reported anxiety by semester of graduation, obscuring treatment effects reported originally. Results suggest that the deleterious effects of test anxiety may be alleviated by entry into courses which minimize formal test evaluations and by the easing of general grading standards which has occurred over the past several years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of relaxation as self-control and systematic desensitization in the treatment of test anxiety.

Relaxation as self-control and desensitization were compared to a waiting-list control in the reduction of test and other anxieties in 43 undergraduates. Neither active treatment differed significantly from the other, but they did differ significantly from the control treatment on several variables. Ss in both treatments reported less debilitating test anxiety, whereas desensitization Ss showed greater facilitating test anxiety. Under stressful conditions, treated Ss were less worried and anxious, found the situation less aversive, and perceived themselves and their abilities more favorably than controls. Significant reductions in nontargeted anxieties suggested transfer of anxiety-management skills to areas other than test anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of implosive therapy and systematic desensitization in the treatment of test anxiety.

Administered I. G. Sarason's 21-item Test Anxiety Scale as a pre- and posttest measure of the comparative efficacy of 2 techniques for reducing test anxiety in 34 undergraduates. Both desensitization and implosive therapy resulted in significant decreases in scores. However, the desensitization group also demonstrated a significant reduction in state anxiety assessed during simulated testing sessions and a significant increase in GPA, while the implosive therapy group showed no comparable improvement. Results are discussed in relation to a number of conceptual and methodological issues that have received relatively little empirical attention in behavior therapy research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group systematic desensitization versus covert positive reinforcement in the reduction of test anxiety.

Compared modified versions of systematic desensitization and covert positive reinforcement to a no-treatment control condition in the reduction of test anxiety in 27 undergraduates. Both experimental groups received 8 treatment sessions, and the systematic desensitization group received 2 additional sessions devoted to relaxation training. The 2 treatments were comparable and generally superior to the control group in pretest-posttest and pretest-follow-up changes as measured by the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale and the Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test. On an anagrams performance test, the covert reinforcement and control groups were superior to the desensitization group. No significant differences occurred in subjectively experienced anxiety during the performance test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group vicarious desensitization of test anxiety.

Examined whether vicarious desensitization, using videotapes and a small group format, could be used as a treatment for test anxiety. 43 test anxious college students were administered the Test Anxiety Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Ss received either vicarious desensitization, study skills training, or both treatments; there was also a no-treatment control condition. Self-report measures indicated that vicarious desensitization resulted in lower test and trait anxiety than study-skills training alone or no treatment. Academic performance measures, obtained posttreatment and at a 3-mo follow-up, indicated no differential effectiveness. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Systematic desensitization and awareness treatment for reducing counselor anxiety.

Compared the effects of systematic desensitization, an awareness treatment designed to increase awareness of interpersonal anxiety, and no treatment on the reduction of counselor's anxiety. 41 counseling graduate students assigned to 1 of the 3 treatment conditions served as Ss. With treatments intervening, Ss participated in pre- and postcounseling interviews with a client-accomplice. A multivariate analysis of postanxiety measures showed no differences between the treatment groups, but in comparison to the no-treatment control group both treatments were associated with significant anxiety reduction on 4 measures related to speech disturbance, extraneous body movement, and self-reported anxiety. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment of anxiety through systematic desensitization in therapy groups.

The effects of short-term treatment by modified systematic desensitization in time-limited intensive therapy groups were evaluated in a matched groups design. 10 chronically anxious college males, treated by the group method, were evaluated on the basis of personality and anxiety scales against an "own-control" period, and 4 equated groups of 10 Ss each. 1 group served as an untreated control for evaluating extra-treatment effects on college grade-point average, as an objective, public criterion. Ss in the remaining groups received 1 of the following individual treatments: systematic desensitization, insight-oriented psychotherapy, or an attention-placebo treatment. The group method produced several significant improvements, suggesting that combined group desensitization offers an efficient and effective treatment for social-evaluative anxiety. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Galvanic skin response and reported anxiety during systematic desensitization.

Preselected 3 groups of 8 females each for high snake fear. 1 group received systematic desensitization with relaxation, another desensitization without relaxation (essentially exposure to phobic visualizations), and the 3rd relaxation and visualization of neutral scenes. Outcome measures indicate that the desensitization group reduced phobic behavior most, followed by the relaxation group, and then the exposure group. Total amplitude of GSR responsivity during a visualization showed a more rapid habituation for the desensitization group than either exposure or relaxation group. Results confirm the initial hypotheses and provide support for a counterconditioning explanation of systematic desensitization with relaxation as the mediator or counterconditioner. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognition and desensitization in the group treatment of test anxiety.

Assessed the comparative effectiveness of cognitive, arousal reduction, and combined cognitive and arousal reduction treatments for test anxiety. 48 test-anxious volunteers who had scored above 32 on the Debilitating Anxiety scale of the Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 graduate-student therapists, who provided (a) cognitive therapy, (b) systematic desensitization, (c) a combination of cognitive therapy and systematic desensitization, or (d) a pseudotherapy control procedure. 12 other test-anxious Ss were assigned to a waiting-list control group. Test anxiety was assessed both on self-report measures, in an analog testing situation prior to treatment, at the completion of treatment, and at a 1-mo follow-up. GPA was also used as a measure of academic performance. Results indicate that cognitive therapy was more effective in reducing anxiety in the analog testing situation and improving GPA than other treatment and control procedures. Systematic desensitization, combined systematic desensitization and cognitive therapy, and the pseudotherapy control procedure were not reliably different from one another. Results underline the effectiveness of cognitive therapy in treating test anxiety. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer, behavioral improvement, and anxiety reduction in systematic desensitization.

Studied the degree of transfer and fear change associated with 4 levels of desensitization, pseudodesensitization, and no treatment in 74 female snakephobic undergraduates. Only Ss desensitized to 75% or more of the hierarchy demonstrated reliably greater reductions in avoidance behavior than controls. However, Ss completing 50% or less of the hierarchy showed smaller transfer decrements than those who finished the hierarchy. Results also suggest that repeated exposure tends to improve transfer efficiency. On the posttest, desensitization Ss reported significantly less anxiety than no-treatment controls when repeating their highest pretreatment responses, but were no different from either control group when performing new approach responses, suggesting that behavioral improvement is not dependent upon the elimination or inhibition of conditioned emotional arousal. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of three methods of reducing test anxiety: Systematic desensitization, implosive therapy, and study counseling.

Administered the Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test to 39 undergraduates. Finger sweat prints were also included as anxiety measures. Ss were assigned to 4 groups: systematic desensitization, implosive therapy, study counseling, and a no-treatment control group. Groups met for 4 1-hr sessions for 2 wks. Results suggest that systematic desensitization is more effective in reducing debilitating anxiety than either implosive therapy or study counseling and that implosive therapy is more effective than study counseling, which was not significantly different than no treatment. No significant differences between treatments were found on the physiological measure of anxiety, GPAs (compared before and after treatment), or facilitating anxiety. Findings support previous studies comparing desensitization and study counseling. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)