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Imagery ability and exposure in vivo in spider phobia

1991; Elsevier BV; Volume: 29; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0005-7967(91)90049-9

1873-622X

Harald Merckelbach, Peter J. de Jong, Arnoud Arntz,

Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes

The present study deals with the effect of imagery ability on treatment outcome in spider phobias. Thirty-eight spider phobics completed the Questionnaire on Mental Imagery (QMI) and the Spider Questionnaire (SPQ). Subjects also went through a behavioral approach task (BAT) during which heart rate and avoidance behavior were measured. Each subject was then given one-session treatment as described by Ost. Immediately after treatment, SPQ and BAT data were again obtained. On the basis of their QMI scores, subjects were assigned to a 'good', 'moderate', or 'poor' imagers group. Neither pre-treatment nor post-treatment measures were found to vary as a function of imagery ability. Thus it appears that, at least for specific phobias such as spider fear, imagery ability is not a relevant variable for predicting the effects of in vivo exposure.