VALIDITY OF THE FEAR SURVEY SCHEDULE IN PHOBIA RESEARCH - A LABORATORY TEST

The Fear Survey Schedule III, developed by Wolpe and Lang (1969, 1977) , is used frequently to classify subjects as phobic or nonphobic. Subj ects selected for their intense-fear scores on blood, fire, bat, and s nake items did not significantly differ from no-fear subjects on an ob jective behavioral assessment test. Analyses of subject verbal reports suggest several possibilities for the inability to discriminate betwe en fearful and nonfearful subjects. Researchers are cautioned about th e use of the Fear Survey Schedule for selecting phobic subjects withou t supporting evidence.