Contemporary Study: Capafons (1998)

Question 1

What were the aims of this contemporary study?

Answer 1

• To test whether systematic desensitisation is effective as a therapeutic technique for treating a fear of flying
• To test whether this can be achieved through a simulation

Question 2

Who were used in the sample?

Answer 2

• 41 in total
• 20 in the treatment
• 8 males and 12 females with a mean age of 29.65
• 21 in the control group
• 9 males and 12 females with a mean age of 34.05

Question 3

What was the participant design?

Answer 3

Matched pairs:

• age
• sex

Question 4

Which sample method was used?

Answer 4

Volunteers through a media campaign advertising free treatment for aerophobia.

Question 5

What type of method was used?

Answer 5

Lab

Question 6

What was the IV?

Answer 6

Condition ppts were in

- e.g. treatment/control group

Question 7

What were the 3 DVs?

Answer 7

1) Diagnosis of fear with IDG-FV
- e.g. “How afraid of flying would you say you are?”
2) EMV measuring fear during flight, EPAV measuring catastrophic thoughts
3) Physiological measures

Question 8

Briefly describe part 1 of the procedure of Capafons.

Answer 8

• Ppts were interviewed to complete a self-report measures of dependent variables 1 and 2
• Ppts were later called back to watch the simulation of flying from packing a suitcase to touching down after the flight
• The ppts physiological responses were measured for 3mins before being shown the video
• They then watched the video and were told to feel as involved as possible
• Room temp remained at 22.5 degrees and distance from the screen was 1.8m
• Their physiological responses were measured during this time

Question 9

Briefly describe part 2 of the procedure of Capafons.

Answer 9

1) Experimental group
- Took lace over 8 weeks
- Ppts had 2 one hour sessions per week
- 1st phase: relaxation training of breathing (4 sessions)
- 2nd phase: going through hierarchy (2 sessions)
- 3rd phase: applying it (3-5 sessions)
2) Control group
- Received no treatment yet

Question 10

Briefly describe part 3 of the procedure of Capafons.

Answer 10

• Carried out after the patient had taken 2 in vivo flights (out and return)
• The first flight took place 7 days after treatment
• Recordings of heart rate, palm temp and muscular tension were recorded during take off

Question 11

What were the results of this contemporary study?

Answer 11

• All variables decreased before and after treatment for the treatment group
• There was a decrease of 12.3 in fear during flight after treatment for the treatment group compared to an increase of 9.8 for the control group
• Catastrophic thoughts of the treatment group decreased by 5.3 whereas they increased by 0.09 for the control group

Question 12

Describe the conclusion of this experiment.

Answer 12

• Overall there was a successful decrease in fear of flying in the treatment group
• There was no corresponding reduction in fear in the control group
• This shows that a mere passing of time is not enough to reduce fear

Question 13

Evaluate the generalisablity using a high and low point.

Answer 13

P - High
E - Balanced in age and sex
E - Can generalise to many different groups
P - Low
E - Volunteer sample of only 41
E - This small sample all share similar characteristics and aerophobia and so cannot generalise to people without aerophobia

Question 14

Evaluate the reliability using 2 high points.

Answer 14

P - High
E - Standardised procedure, such as distance from screen
E - Easy to replicate
P - High
E - Uses quantitative data, such as heart rate
E - Easy to measure and makes the results objective and so easier to test for consistency in comparisons

Question 15

Are there any applications?

Answer 15

P - Yes
E - 18/20 ppts who received the treatment had a decrease in fear of flying
E - Therefore showing that systematic desensitisation can be used to treat phobias

Question 16

Evaluate the validity using 2 low points.

Answer 16

P - Low ecological
E - Ppts were in an unnatural environment exposed to their phobia through watching a video of flying
E - Therefore it may not reflect their real life display of their aerophobia
P - Low
E - Questionnaires involved self-report data
E - Therefore ppts may show elements of social desirability

Question 17

Evaluate the ethics using 2 high points.

Answer 17

P - Ethical
E - Ppts were volunteers
E - Gave their informed consent
P - Ethical
E - Ppts had more control over the stages in whcih they were exposed to the phobia
E - Therefore SD is more ethical than flooding as it increases protection from harm