The role of mental relaxation in experimental desensitization

Rational-Emotive Therapy: Research Data That Supports The Clinical and Personality Hypotheses of RET and Other Modes of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy

This article examines 32 important clinical and personality hypotheses of rational-emotive therapy (RET) and other modes of cognitive-behavior therapy and lists a large number of research studies that provide empirical confirmation of these hypotheses. It concludes that (1) a vast amount of research data exists, most of which tends to confirm the major clinical and personality hypotheses of RET; (2) this data keeps increasing by leaps and bounds; (3) RET hypotheses nicely lend themselves to experimental investigation and therefore encourage a considerable amount of research; (4) researchers have not yet tested some of the major RET formulations and could do so with profit to the field of psychotherapy and personality theory.

Relaxation and distraction in experimental desensitization

Compared experimental desensitization with a procedure that replaced relaxation with a distraction task and with an approach that combined both relaxation and distraction (N = 50). Each of these treatments reduced snake phobia to a greater extent than control procedures; desensitization generally was more effective than the other two procedures. The results are discussed in terms of their relevance for "distraction" or "attentional" accounts of desensitization.

Should fearful individuals be instructed to proceed quickly or cautiously?

Snake or cockroach phobic Ss were given opportunities to approach a live specimen. Those instructed to go "as far as they could" made significantly more progress in overcoming their fear than Ss asked to proceed cautiously. They also did better than the group especially urged to push themselves, although this difference was not significant. Implications for treatment strategies are discussed.