Empathy and imagery in avoidance behavior reduction.

This therapy analog study was designed to assess the relative effects of therapist empathy and instructed imagination of hierarchy scenes on avoidance behavior reduction. Ss were 30 undergraduate females who indicated "much fear," "very much fear," or "terror" on Item 39 (snakes) during a classroom-administered Fear Survey Schedule II, and who were unable to touch a live snake. After a 45-min treatment session involving (a) mechanical imagery, (b) empathetic imagery, or (c) empathetic conversation, each S completed ratings that included the 16 empathetic understanding items from the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory. Although the communication of differential therapist empathy was validated, behavior change attributable to therapist empathy was minor in comparison to the effects of imagery instructions. Imagery instructions delivered in a relatively unempathetic fashion produced as much avoidance reduction as imagery instructions delivered in an empathetic manner. Unempathetic imagery instructions also produced significantly greater avoidance reduction than the establishment of an empathetic relationship without instructed imagery exercises. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)