Manipulations of exposure-based therapy to reduce return of fear: a replication

Using exposure-based treatment for fear of heights, we tested two different manipulations, namely administering blocks of exposure trials on an expand ing spaced schedule and varying the nature of the exposure, both of which h ave been shown to reduce return of fear [Rowe, M. K., & Craske, M. G. (1998 a). Effects of an expanding-spaced versus massed exposure schedule on fear reduction and return of fear. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 701-718; Rowe, M. K., & Craske, M. G. (1998b). Effects of varied-stimulus exposure t raining on fear reduction and return of fear. Behaviour Research and Therap y, 36, 719-734.]. The samples for these two studies included 23 and 34 unde rgraduates, respectively. Fear was assessed before, immediately after and o ne month after treatment using self-report and physiological measures. Stud y hypotheses were not strongly supported, but the manipulations did lead to different responses during treatment. The data suggest that physiological habituation is not necessary for fear reduction. Expanding spaced treatment may have increased generalization, and those in the constant and varied co nditions responded to different aspects of the exposure. Reasons for the fa ilure to replicate previous research and ideas for future research are disc ussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.