| Abstract: | Notes that in spite of G. C. Davison and G. T. Wilson's (see PA, Vol. 49:Issue 1) global criticisms, the conclusions originally presented by W. Wilkins (see record 1972-06967-001) in his review are supported by empirical evidence. Neither hierarchy construction nor training in muscle relaxation, but only the instructed imagination of fear-relevant scenes, is a necessary element of Wolpe's systematic desensitization procedure. Factors influential in successful systematic desensitization include expectancy of therapeutic gain, reinforcing qualities of the therapist, feedback of success, and training in the control of attention. Aspects of the procedure are quite similar to and consistent with modeling procedures of fear reduction. Davison and Wilson appear to be in considerable agreement with several of these conclusions. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
