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A Temporal Approach-Avoidance Conflict In An Academic Test Situation
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A Temporal Approach-Avoidance Conflict In An Academic Test Situation
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This dissertation has been
microfilmed exactly as received
69-13,069
LIEBERMAN, Sara Mary, 1920-
A TEMPORAL APPROACH-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT
IN AN ACADEMIC TEST SITUATION.
University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1969
Psychology, clinical
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
A TEM PORAL APPROACH-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT
IN AN ACADEMIC TEST SITUATION
by
Sara Mary Liebertnan
A D is s e rta tio n Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE G RA D U A TE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In P a r tia l F u lfillm e n t of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Psychology)
January 1969
UNIVERSITY O F SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
TH E GRADUATE SC H O O L
U N IV ER SITY PARK
LO S A N G ELE S, C A LIFO R N IA 9 0 0 0 7
This dissertation, written by
Sara Marjr Lieberm an
under the direction of hsx.... Dissertation Com
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by The Gradu
ate School, in partial fulfillment of require
ments for the degree of
D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y
Dean
nnfp January , 1969
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
Chairman
A C K N O W LED G M EN TS
I want to thank the members of my Guidance
Committee, Dr. L. Douglas DeNike, Dr. James A.
P eterso n , Dr. Langdon E. L o n g streth , and Dr.
Norman T ib er, fo r t h e i r v aluable a s s is ta n c e .
To my chairman, Dr. A lfred Jacobs, who worked
very c lo s e ly w ith me on th is p ro je c t and gave
generously of h is time and e f f o r t , I want to
extend a very s p e c ia l thanks and my deep
a p p re c ia tio n .
I am a lso g r a te f u l to o th e rs who were
o f a s s is ta n c e during various phases in the
p re p a ra tio n of th is paper: Dr. Gary C. G alb raith ,
who gave up more than two c la ss periods to perm it
me to g ath er the data fo r the stu d y ; Dr. Ted
Donaldson o f Rand C orporation, who spent valuable
time in help in g me prepare the d ata for s t a t i s t i
c a l a n a ly se s; Dr. Norman C l if f and B ill Doherty,
who a ls o le n t valuable a s s is ta n c e w ith the
s t a t i s t i c a l an a ly se s; and my f rie n d s , Judy
McCray and Randy M artin, who helped g ath er the
d a ta .
And f in a ll y , my deepest thanks to my
husband Paul, my daughter, Laura, and my son
David, whose warm encouragement and w illin g n e ss
to put up w ith inconveniences a s so c ia te d w ith
w ife and mother studying in ste a d of cooking
and cle a n in g , made t h i s d is s e r ta tio n p o ssib le .
i i i
TABLE O F CONTENTS
Page
A CK N O W LED G M EN TS i i
LIST OF TABLES v i
LIST OF FIGURES v i i i
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION 1
Background
M ille r 's C o n flic t Model
Anxiety
Hypothesis One
Hypothesis Two
Hypothesis Three
I I . REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE................................. 19
Studies on C o n flic t
Studies on Anxiety
I I I . METHOD......................................................................... 44
Design of the Study
Measurement Instrum ents
In te rv e n tio n Instrum ents
S ubjects
Procedure
IV. RESULTS.................................................................... 57
Hypothesis One
Hypothesis Ttoo
Hypothesis Three
iv
Chapter Page
V. DISCUSSION...................... 80
Hypothesis One
H ypothesis Two
H ypothesis Three
VI. SU M M A R Y AN D CONCLUSION......................................... 90
Summary
Conclusions
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................ 95
APPENDICES................................................................................. 104
APPENDIX A. S t a t i s t i c a l D a t a ......................................... 105
APPENDIX B. Research Instrum ents ................................ 119
v
LIST OF TABLES
T able Page
1. Values o f F from Two Independent Comparisons:
D ifferen ces between Means on th e Sarason
Test Anxiety S cale: D ifferences between
Group Means in I n i t i a l Avoidance (T ria l 1)
Scores on the Approach-Avoidance Verbal
S c a l e ................................................................................. 58
2. Mean Scores on Approach, Avoidance, and
N eutral Statem ents on the V erbal Scale
over T r i a ls , Groups, and T otal Means over
the Three G ro u p s ............................................................ 60
3. Summary Table of Three-Way A nalysis of
V ariance: Between Groups; W ithin T r ia ls ;
W ithin Statem ents (Approach-Avoidance
V erbal S cale) ............................................................... 63
4. Post-Hoc Comparisons o f T otal Means on the
V erbal S cale; Approach (Ap), Avoidance (Av)
and N eutral (N) Statem ents S eparately
Compared over Four T r i a l s .................................... 68
5. Post-Hoc Comparisons o f T otal Means on the
Approach-Avoidance Verbal S cale: T ria ls
(1, 2, 3, 4) by Statem ents (Ap, Av, N)
In te ra c tio n s ................................................................... 69
6. Planned Comparisons of D ifferences in Mean
Performance between Groups on the Course
Exam R elativ e to the Previous Course
E x am ..................................................................................... 77
v i
Table Page
7. Raw Scores o f the D e se n sitiz a tio n Group
(Verbal S cale: Approach; Avoidance;
( N e u t r a l ) ................................................................... 106
8. Raw Scores o f the Placebo Group (Verbal
S cale: Approach; Avoidance; N eutral) . . 109
9. Raw Scores o f the C ontrol Group (Verbal
S cale: Approach; Avoidance; N eutral) . . 112
10. Group Standing on the Course Exam (Goal)
R elativ e to the Preceding Course Exam . . 115
11. Raw Scores on the Sarason Test Anxiety
S c a l e ............................................................................ 116
12. Points in Raw Score U nits between which
Median Scores F e ll (Sarason) ........................... 117
v i i
LIST OF FIGURES
F igu re Page
1. T otal Mean Response S tre n g th of a l l Groups
to Approach, Avoidance, and N eutral
Statem ents on the Verbal Scale ....................... 61
2. Response S tren g th to Approach Statem ents
w ith S uccessively Closer T ria ls to the
Course Exam, in the D e se n sitiz a tio n
Group, the Placebo Group, and the
C ontrol Group ........................................................... 66
3. Response S tren g th to N eutral Statem ents
w ith S uccessively C loser T ria ls to the
Course Exam, in the D e se n sitiz a tio n
Group, the Placebo Group, and the
C ontrol Group ........................................................... 67
4. Response S tren g th to Avoidance Statem ents
w ith S uccessively C loser T ria ls to the
Course Exam, in the D e se n sitiz a tio n
Group, the Placebo Group, and the
C ontrol Group ........................................................... 73
v i i i
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The study was concerned w ith c o n f lic t phenomenon
in a tem poral dimension. Students in a psychology c la s s
a t the U n iv ersity o f Southern C a lifo rn ia served as
su b je c ts in the in v e s tig a tio n . Changes in the a t titu d e s
of stu d en ts toward a scheduled course exam was measured
four tim es a t su c cessiv ely c lo s e r time in te rv a ls to the
a n tic ip a te d ev en t. S tre n g th of tendency to approach or
avoid was defined from s tre n g th of response to a s p e c if
ic a lly c o n stru c te d v e rb a l s c a le . An in te rv e n in g d e s e n si
tiz a t io n treatm en t s im ila r to W olpe's (1958) method,
designed to decrease fe a r o f ta k in g the course exam was
adm inistered to some Ss. Based on M ille r 's model o f an
approach-avoidance c o n f lic t (1950, 1958), i t was hypothe
siz ed th a t both the tendency to approach and the tendency
to avoid the fu tu re am bivalent event would in c re ase in
1
s tre n g th as the stu d e n ts moved c lo s e r to I t in tim e. I t
was fu rth e r hypothesized th a t the d e s e n s itiz a tio n t r e a t
ment would lower the s tre n g th o f the tendency to avoid the
course exam w ith in c re a sin g closeness to i t .
Background
Over a number of years much th e o r e tic a l c o n sid e ra
tio n has been addressed to the concept of c o n f lic t. When
two or more incom patible responses a re aroused sim u ltan e
ously in an organism , the organism is in c o n f lic t (Cofer
and Apply, 1964). Berlyne (1960) a s s e r ts th a t c o n f lic t is
a u biquitous and re c u rre n t event which must accompany
v ir tu a l ly every moment of normal waking l i f e in th e higher
mammals. The continuous and v a rie d stim u la tio n to which
the higher organism is capable of responding, as w ell as
the wide range o f h is response r e p e r to ir e , in e v ita b ly
arouses incom patible response te n d en cies. Berlyne fu rth e r
proposes th a t p erce p tu al and i n t e l l e c t u a l a c t i v i t i e s ,
op eratin g through a process of stim ulus s e le c tio n , are
devices fo r the red u ctio n or avoidance of p sy ch o lo g ical
c o n f lic t. Thus the au th o r suggests th a t r e c r e a tio n , "id le
c u r io s ity , a r t , p h ilo so p h y ," and pure sc ie n c e , in s h o r t,
a l l human a c t i v i t i e s which are not necessary to s u rv iv a l
are m aintained because they serve to reduce a s t a t e o f
c o n f l i c t .
In applying th e concept o f c o n f lic t to the a n a ly sis
o f b eh a v io r, Lewin (1931), Freud (1936), and M ille r (1950)
derived fu n c tio n a lly s im ila r form u latio n s. Four types of
c o n f lic t have been id e n tif ie d from two b a s ic response
te n d e n c ie s, the tendency to approach a goal and the
tendency to avoid a goal (Kimble, 1961):
1. Approach- approach c o n f lic t occurs when two
response ten d en cies a re sim ultaneously e l i c i t e d .
2. Avoidance- avoidance c o n f lic t occurs when one
o f two u n d esira b le courses o f a c tio n is re q u ire d .
3. Approach- avoidance c o n f lic t occurs when the
same goal has b oth a t t r a c t i v e and a v e rsiv e reward
v a lu e .
4. Double- approach- avoidance c o n f lic t occurs
when each o f two a lte r n a tiv e s possess both a t t r a c t i v e
and a v e rsiv e reward v alu e.
M ille r (1959) has presen ted the most sy stem atic
and d e ta ile d model o f c o n f lic t b eh av io r, augmented by an
ex ten siv e program of experim ental v e r if ic a tio n .
The purpose o f the p resen t study is to in v e s tig a te
some of the c h a r a c te r i s tic s of an approach-avoidance
c o n f l i c t , and more s p e c i f i c a l l y , to t e s t some of M ille r 's
major assum ptions.
4
M ille r 's C o n flict Model
M il le r 's s e rie s o f formal p o s tu la te s , w ith minor
changes, i s reproduced as follow s:
A. The tendency to approach a goal is stro n g e r
the n e a re r the su b je c t is to i t . This is an a p p lic a
tio n o f H u ll's (1943) p rin c ip le of the goal g rad ie n t
and w i l l be c a lle d the Gradient o f Approach.
B. The tendency to avoid a feared stim ulus is
stro n g e r the n e a re r the su b je ct is to i t . This is
an ex ten sio n of the g en eral idea of the g ra d ie n t of
reinforcem ent to avoidance le a rn in g . I t w i l l be
c a lle d the G radient o f Avoidance.
C. The s tre n g th o f avoidance in c re ase s more
ra p id ly w ith nearness to th e goal than does th a t
of approach. In o th e r w ords, the g rad ie n t of
avoidance is ste e p e r than th a t o f approach.
D. The s tre n g th o f tendencies to approach or
avoid v a rie s d ir e c tly w ith the s tre n g th o f the
drive upon which they are b ased . In o th e r w ords,
an in c re a se in d riv e r a is e s the heig h t of the
e n tir e g ra d ie n t.
E. Below the asymptote of le a rn in g , in c re a sin g
the number o f re in fo rc e d t r i a l s w ill in c re ase th e
s tre n g th o f the response tendency th a t is
re in f o rc e d .
F. When two incom patible responses a re in
c o n f l i c t , th e stro n g e r one w ill o ccu r.
R e fle c tin g on the b a s is for the g re a te r steepness
of the avoidance g ra d ie n t, M iller l a t e r (1959, p. 213)
added two new p o s tu la te s to rep lace p o stu la te C.
5
G. In th e c o n f lic t s it u a ti o n (a n tic ip a to ry to
shock) f e a r is a learn ed drive e l i c i t e d p rim a rily by
s i t u a t i o n a l cues b u t hunger is more dependent on
in te rn a l p h y sio lo g ic a l f a c t o r s .
H. The s tre n g th o f learned d r iv e s . lik e th a t of
o th e r learn ed re sp o n se s, v a rie s in v e rse ly w ith
d istan ce from the p o in t o f rein fo rc em e n t.
The dependence o f M ille r 's model on H u ll's concept
o f a goal g ra d ie n t n e c e s s ita te s a b r i e f ex p lan atio n o f the
l a t t e r p r in c ip le , which grew out o f an in v e s tig a tio n of
response chaining in a s p a t i a l dimension. I t s ta te s th a t
in a chain o f responses term inated by rein fo rcem en t, each
response in th e chain is co nditioned to the s tim u li
p resen t a t th e moment o f the response, w ith s tre n g th of
co n d itio n in g in c re a sin g as a fun ctio n o f closeness to the
g o al, i . e . , rein fo rcem en t. As the g rad ie n t o f r e in fo rc e
ment , th is phenomenon has been stu d ie d e x te n siv e ly
(Skinner, 1938; P erin, 1943; Wolfe, 1934; P erkins, 1947;
G rice, 1948b). M ille r 's s p a t i a l model a ls o makes use of
the concept o f stim ulus g e n e ra liz a tio n . Space is not
co nceptualized as a stim ulus per se (Maher, 1960). I ts
e f f e c t is deriv ed from a stim ulus g e n e ra liz a tio n g r a d ie n t:
some stim ulus ( i . e . , lig h t in te n s ity ) in c re a se s in
s im ila r ity to the goal s it u a ti o n as a fu n ctio n of i t s
s p a t i a l proxim ity to th e g o al. The g re a te r th e s im ila r ity
between th e g e n e ra liz a tio n stim ulus and the goal s itu a tio n ,
the g re a te r the s im ila r ity between th e response e l i c i t e d
by the former and the goal resp o n se. The combined e f f e c ts
o f stim ulus g e n e ra liz a tio n and the g ra d ie n t o f r e in f o r c e
ment a re h eld to ex p lain the s p e c if ic g ra d ie n t c h a ra c te r
i s t i c s of the two behavior ten d en cies under d isc u ssio n :
the tendency to approach a goal and the tendency to avoid
a g o al.
M ille r 's l a s t two deductions (G and H) r e s t in p a rt
on H u ll's (1943) assum ption th a t re a c tio n p o te n tia l, and
hence s tre n g th of re sp o n se , is a product o f d riv e (D) and
h a b it s tre n g th (H). Any learn ed response is a ffe c te d by
g ra d ie n t o f reinforcem ent. S tre n g th of avoidance is
m otivated by fe a r , which is a learn ed response most
stro n g ly a c tiv a te d by e x te rn a l s tim u li o r ig in a lly most
c lo s e ly a s so c ia te d w ith rein fo rcem en t. Fear should thus
p ro g re ssiv e ly in crease as the su b je c t nears the goal.
S tre n g th o f approach is m otivated by hunger, an innate
d riv e a c tiv a te d by in te r n a l cu es, hence not a ffe c te d by
changes in e x te rn a l s tim u la tio n w ith nearness to the goal.
The g r e a te r steepness o f avoidance is thus presumed to
a r is e from the fa c t th a t s tre n g th o f avoidance is the
7
product o f two v a ria b le s which vary in s tre n g th w ith
d ista n c e from the g o a l, w hile s tr e n g th o f approach is the
product o f one v a ria b le which v a rie s w ith d ista n c e from the
g o a l, H, and another which is u n a ffe c te d by d ista n c e from
th e g o a l, D.
Upon fu rth e r a n a ly s is , however, in an attem pt to
extend h is m in iatu re system to s itu a tio n s o th e r than th a t
o f anim als in space running fo r food, M ille r (1959, p. 227)
adopted a more g en e ra l ex p lan atio n fo r the g re a te r s te e p
ness o f the avoidance g ra d ie n t. He s ta te s :
Responses p rim arily m otivated by d riv es th a t a re
dependent on e x te rn a l cues in the environment should
show ste e p e r g rad ie n ts o f g e n e ra liz a tio n than those
m otivated by d riv es dependent on p h y sio lo g ic a l
fa c to rs or in te r n a l cues th a t the organism c a r r ie s
w ith i t from s itu a tio n to s it u a ti o n .
The follow ing deductions were derived from the
formal p o s tu la te s :
1. The su b je c ts should approach p a rt way to the
goal and then sto p . Stopping should occur a t th a t
p o in t where the g ra d ie n ts c ro s s .
2. In creasin g the s tr e n g th of hunger should
cause s u b je c ts to approach n e a re r the g o al.
3. In creasin g the number o f re in fo rc e d t r i a l s
(below the asym ptote) should cause su b je c ts to
approach n e a re r to the goal.
8
4. In creasin g the stre n g th of fe a r should cause
the su b je c ts to remain f a r th e r away from the goal.
5. In creasin g the number of re in fo rc e d avoidance
t r i a l s (below th e asymptote) should cause th e su b je c ts
to remain f a r th e r away from the goal.
From the assum ption of g re a te r steep n ess of
avoidance than approach, M ille r derived the follow ing
a d d itio n a l deductions:
6. In creasin g the stre n g th of approach should
cause the su b je c t to go n ea re r to the feared g o a l,
and a t t h i s p o in t, stro n g e r fe a r should be e l i c i t e d .
7. Decreasing the o v e r - a ll s tre n g th o f avoidance
should cause th e su b je c t to go n e a re r to th e g o al,
and a t th i s p o in t stro n g e r fe a r should be e l i c i t e d .
8. The in crease in fe a r should be g re a te r when
the same d ista n c e o f approach toward the goal is
produced by r a is in g the g ra d ie n t of approach than
when i t i s produced by lowering the g ra d ie n t of
avoidance.
9. In each of the above cases g re a te r d istan ce s
of approach toward the goal should produce g re a te r
increase in f e a r.
10, A fte r the goal is reached, fu rth e r in creases
in the s tre n g th of approach should not produce
a d d itio n a l in c reases in the fe a r e l i c i t e d , but
fu rth e r red u ctio n s in the stre n g th o f avoidance
should produce a d d itio n a l red u ctio n s in the fe a r
e l i c i t e d .
In o rd er to t e s t the deductions M ille r form ulated
a number of what he termed p a r t i a l d e f i n i t i o n s , which lin k
the th e o r e tic a l p o s tu la te s to observable e f f e c ts :
9
a. Nearness can be measured by s p a t i a l d istan ce
in the experim ental a lle y .
b. The anim als running to food are being tra in e d
to approach under th e m otivation o f hunger.
c. Each t r i a l running to food when hungry i s a
re in fo rc e d t r i a l fo r approach.
d. G reater amounts o f food d e p riv a tio n , up to a
lim it o f a t le a s t 48 hours under the p a r tic u la r
co n d itio n s used, produce g re a te r s tre n g th o f hunger
d riv e .
e. Animals running away from e l e c t r i c shock are
being tra in e d to avoid under the m otivation of fe a r .
f. Each t r i a l on which the anim als receiv e
e l e c t r i c shock is a re in fo rc e d t r i a l for avoidance.
g. G reater s tre n g th of e l e c t r i c shock w ith in
the lim its used, produce g re a te r s tre n g th o f fe a r
d riv e .
h. W ithin the lim its of the an im al's c a p a c ity ,
the s tre n g th o f the response tendency is p o s itiv e ly
re la te d to the speed w ith which the su b je c t w ill
s t a r t to run.
i . W ithin the lim its of the an im al's ca p ac ity
to p u ll, the s tre n g th of the response tendency is
p o s itiv e ly r e la te d to the s tre n g th o f p u ll ex erted
by an anim al tem porarily r e s tra in e d .
j . The d e f in itio n of nearness is extended to
apply to any s it u a ti o n in which the su b je c t can be
sa id to be coming n e a re r to a goal in space, time
or some dimension o f q u a lita tiv e or c u ltu r a lly
defined s im ila r ity o f cues.
k. The d e f in itio n o f avoidance is extended to
apply to the responses producing in h ib itio n and
re p re ssio n .
10
1. The d e f in itio n of approach is extended to
the responses th a t are in h ib ite d or re p re sse d .
M ille r and h is a s s o c ia te s c a rrie d out a s e rie s of
experim ents designed to t e s t the p o s tu la te s and the deduc
tio n s derived from them. Several o f th ese stu d ie s s h a ll be
described in the follow ing c h a p te r.
The c u rre n t em p irical in v e s tig a tio n o f M ille r 's
assumptions about approach and avoidance tendencies draws
i t s sample population from c o lleg e stu d e n ts scheduled fo r
a course exam ination. These stu d e n ts are assumed to be
experiencing an approach-avoidance c o n f lic t. Since t e s t
behavior, under the heading o f t e s t an x iety (TA), has
received co n sid erab le re se a rc h a tte n tio n w ith in the
general context o f re se a rc h on an x iety phenomenon, the
follow ing se c tio n b r ie f ly examines the h is to ry and th eo
r e t i c a l background o f some o f th is a c t i v i t y .
Anxiety
C lin ic a l i n te r e s t in an x iety phenomenon dates back
to Freud, who regarded i t as an unpleasant a f f e c tiv e
s t a t e , "something f e l t , " which is d istin g u is h a b le from
o th er unpleasant a f f e c tiv e s ta te s by a unique com bination
of phenomenological and psychological q u a l i t i e s . Freud
11
d istin g u ish e d between n e u ro tic a n x ie ty , which is e l i c i t e d
by dangerous in te r n a l im pulses, and o b je c tiv e a n x ie ty ,
which is a response to an e x te rn a l t h r e a t. Other and more
re c e n t p e rs o n a lity th e o r is ts hold v a rie d and opposing
th e o rie s o f a n x ie ty : Mowrer's " g u ilt th e o ry " contends th a t
n e u ro tic an x iety is a consequence o f irre s p o n s ib le and s e l f
indulgent b eh a v io r, and n o t, as Freud suggested, the
response to unacceptable impulses which are th re a te n in g to
escape re p re ssio n ; S u lliv a n perceives an x iety as an
u npleasant s t a t e o f te n sio n in response to d isapproval in
in te rp e rs o n a l r e la tio n s ; May, on the o th e r hand, views
an x iety as a response to a th r e a t involving a value
e s s e n tia l to the in te g r ity of the p e rs o n a lity (S p ielb erg e,
1966).
In a d d itio n to the absence of conceptual consensus
in an x iety th e o ry , no g en e ra l agreement e x is ts on what
c o n s titu te s necessary and s u f f i c ie n t evidence in em p irical
in v e s tig a tio n s from which to defin e the presence of
a n x ie ty . Krause (1961) found th a t tr a n s ito r y an x iety is
g e n e ra lly in fe rre d from any o f s ix d if f e r e n t in d ic e s,
in clu d in g in tro s p e c tiv e r e p o r t, c l i n i c a l i n tu i tio n ,
p h y sio lo g ic a l re p o r ts , ta sk perform ance, response to
12
s t r e s s , and "molar" b ehavior. In tro s p e c tiv e re p o rt is the
most w idely accepted o f these in d ic e s . For example,
Basow itz, e t a l . (1955) contend th a t the re p o rt o f
conscious experience o f an x iety is s u f f ic ie n t proof o f i t s
presence. Krause, however, q u estio n s the s u ffic ie n c y of
in tro s p e c tiv e re p o rt alo n e, on the one hand, or one or a
com bination of the o th e rs in the absence of in tro s p e c tiv e
r e p o r t, on the o th e r hand, and recommends some com bination
o f the two types o f evidence.
A m u ltitu d e of in v e s tig a to r s , o p eratin g w ith in
v a rie d conceptual frameworks, drawing in feren c es and using
methods c o n s is te n t w ith t h e i r p a r tic u la r th e o r e tic a l
o r ie n ta tio n s , have produced a l i t e r a t u r e on an x iety which
is c h a ra c te riz e d by semantic confusion, am biguity, and
c o n tra d ic to ry findings (S p ie lb e rg e r, 1966). A number of
contemporary in v e s tig a to rs have turned t h e i r a tte n tio n to
the more em p irical q u estio n of how an x iety a f f e c ts le a rn
in g , or ta sk perform ance, in normal s u b je c ts . Much of
th is a c t i v i t y was stim u la ted by a theory and methodology
which emerged from le a rn in g theory (T aylor, 1956). Spence
(1958) and h is a s s o c ia te s , who regard an x iety as an
em otionally based d riv e , developed Drive Theory, which is
13
based on b a sic assum ptions o f H u llian th eo ry . In the
H ullian system the s tre n g th o f a resp o n se, R, is the
m u ltip lic a tiv e fu n ctio n o f the t o t a l e f f e c tiv e drive
s t a t e , D, and h a b it s tr e n g th , H. The s tre n g th of D a t any
given moment is equal to the sum o f a l l the need s ta te s
(d riv e s) a c tiv a te d w ith in the in d iv id u a l. The number and
s tre n g th o f s p e c if ic h a b its e l i c i t e d in any given s i t u a
tio n depends on the in d iv id u a l's p ast experience in s im ila r
s itu a tio n s . An in c re ase in D in c re ase s the s tre n g th of
a l l h a b its e l i c i t e d in the s it u a ti o n . Consequently, Drive
Theory generates the e x p e c ta tio n th a t high anxious (HA)
su b je c ts w ill perform b e t t e r than low anxious (LA) su b je c ts
on sim ple ta s k s , which would e l i c i t few, i f any, ta s k
re le v a n t in te r f e r in g resp o n se s, b u t th a t the rev erse w ill
be tru e on complex ta s k s , because the m o tiv atio n al advan
tage o f H A su b je c ts would be negated by the e l i c i t a t i o n of
a g re a te r number o f ta s k -r e le v a n t, in te r f e r in g resp o n ses.
Taylor (1953) s p e c if ic a lly developed the Taylor
M anifest Anxiety Scale (MAS) as the instrum ent to defin e
in d iv id u a l d iffe re n c e s in an x iety le v e l. In v e stig a tio n s
generated by Drive Theory ty p ic a lly s e le c t out H A and LA
su b je c ts on the b a s is o f M A S sco res and the two groups are
14
compared on some le a rn in g ta s k . R esu lts o f such in v e s ti
g atio n s have been g en e ra lly c o n s is te n t w ith ex p ectatio n s
based on Drive Theory (Farber and Spence, 1953; Montague,
1953; Taylor and Spence, 1952). However, r e s u lt s incon
s i s t e n t w ith the theory have a ls o been obtained. For
example, in the Farber and Taylor study p reviously c ite d ,
i t was found th a t H A Ss. performed poorer than LA Ss on a
m aze-learning ta sk even a t the e a s ie s t choice p o in ts ,
where few in te r f e r in g competing responses could have been
e l i c i t e d . Taylor (1956) s ta te s th a t such evidence could
be in te rp re te d as d isc re p an t w ith Drive Theory.
In response to evidence d isc re p an t w ith Drive
Theory proper, Spence (1956) and h is a s s o c ia te s extended
Drive Theory to include a "response in te r f e r in g hypothe
s i s . " In order to do so , they invoked another asp ect o f
H u llian th eo ry , drive stim u lu s, or Sp, which, when i t is
a s so c ia te d w ith a n x ie ty , e l i c i t s in te r f e r in g ta sk
ir r e le v a n t resp o n ses, such as "heightened autonomic
re a c tio n s or covert v e rb a liz a tio n s r e f le c tin g s e l f
d e p re c ia tio n , anger, d e s ire to escape, e t c ." (Spence and
Spence, 1966). The extended d riv e theory thus proposes
th a t an x iety is a sso c ia te d w ith two types o f in te r f e r in g
15
resp o n se s, one type e l i c i t e d by the ta sk and the o th e r
type by SD, o r the an x iety i t s e l f . Mandler and Sarason
(1952) and Child (1954) are in s u b s ta n tia l agreement w ith
the expanded fo rm u latio n s, but in c o n tra s t to the le a rn in g
t h e o r i s t s , they place emphasis on an x iety produced, ta sk -
ir r e le v a n t responses as the primary cause of performance
decrement in H A s u b je c ts . Sarason and Gordon (1953)
introduced a t e s t an x iety sc a le (STAS) which is based on
th e assumption th a t in achievement s itu a tio n s high STAS
sc o re rs emit ta sk ir re le v a n t responses which a re d e t r i
m ental to perform ance. This "habit h y p o th e sis" holds th a t
in c e r ta in h ig h ly m otivating s itu a tio n s HA Ss a re a t a
disadvantage on both sim ple and complex ta s k s . The
authors m aintain th a t r e s u lt s which a re d isc re p a n t w ith
Drive Theory pro p er, such as those obtained in the Farber
and Taylor stu d y , can be explained by the "habit
h y p o th e s is ."
A number of stu d ie s generated by the ideas
describ ed above w ill be reviewed in the follow ing c h a p te r.
The follow ing hypotheses were based on the
preceding d isc u ssio n .
16
Hypothesis One
The tendency to approach an am bivalent goal
in c re a se s in stre n g th w ith in c re a sin g
nearness to i t .
Designed as a t e s t of M ille r 's p o s tu la te A, the
t e s t o f the hypothesis was based on o b serv atio n o f changes
in s tre n g th o f r a tin g s of ap p ro ach -asso ciated statem ents
on a s p e c if ic a lly co n stru c ted V erbal S c a le , obtained from
Ss immediately preceding the am bivalent goal (a p rev io u sly
scheduled course exam) and 1, 11, and 12 days preceding
i t . Changes in r a tin g s o f ap p ro ach -asso ciated statem ents
were compared to changes in r a tin g s of n e u tr a l statem ents
as a c o n tro l a g a in s t chance e f f e c t s .
Hypothesis Two
The tendency to avoid an am bivalent goal
in c re a se s in stre n g th w ith in c re a sin g
nearness to i t .
Designed as a t e s t of M ille r 's p o s tu la te B, the
t e s t of the hypothesis was based on o b serv atio n of changes
in s tre n g th o f r a tin g s of av o id an ce-asso ciated statem ents
on the s p e c if ic a lly co n stru c ted V erbal S c a le , obtained
from Ss, immediately preceding the am bivalent goal and 1,
17
11, and 12 days preceding i t . Changes in r a tin g s of
av o id an ce-asso ciated statem ents were compared to changes
in r a tin g s o f n e u tra l statem ents as a c o n tro l a g a in st
chance e f f e c t s .
Hypothesis Three
The tendency to avoid an am bivalent goal
w i l l in crease a t a lower r a te w ith d ecreasing
d ista n c e from the goal in a d e s e n s itiz a tio n
group than i t w ill in c re ase in a placebo
group, and in a n o -treatm en t c o n tro l group.
Designed as a t e s t of M ille r 's p o s tu la te D, the
hypothesis is based on the assum ption th a t d e s e n s itiz a tio n
lowers the d riv e , f e a r , upon which the avoidance tendency
is based. The t e s t o f the hypothesis was based on a
comparison of d iffe re n c e s in p ro g re ssiv e ly in c re a sin g
s tre n g th of avoidance w ith in c re a sin g tem poral closeness
to the goal between a d e s e n s itiz a tio n treatm ent group, a
placebo treatm ent group, and a no-treatm en t c o n tro l group.
While not p resented as a formal h y p o th e sis, i t was
a ls o p re d ic te d th a t the performance o f the d e s e n s itiz a tio n
group on the course exam, r e l a t i v e to the preceding course
exam, would be su p e rio r to the performance o f the two
o th e r groups. This ex p e cta tio n was based on the fa c t th a t
18
most experim ental evidence in d ic a te s th a t fe a r (an x iety )
o f t e s t ta k in g im pairs performance and th a t a decrease in
fe a r improves performance.
CHAPTER I I
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
S tudies on C o n flict
M iller and h is a s s o c ia te s performed a number of
in v e s tig a tio n s designed to t e s t the p o stu la te s and
deductions generated by h is co n c e p tu a liz a tio n of the
n a tu re of c o n f l i c t . In 1948 J . S . Brown measured approach
and avoidance g ra d ie n ts in four sep arate groups o f
anim als: a weak and a stro n g avoidance group receiv ed low
o r high in te n s ity o f shock a t the g oal; and two approach
groups were f i r s t tra in e d to run to the goal for food, and
subsequently d esignated weak or stro n g depending on
whether the anim als were te s te d under one or f o rty -e ig h t
hours of food d e p riv a tio n . S tren g th of the avoidance or
approach g ra d ie n ts was in fe rre d from stre n g th of p u ll on a
harness attac h ed to the anim als attem pting to escape or to
a t t a i n the g o a l, and was measured a t two p o in ts in space:
19
30 and 170 cen tim eters from th e g o al. R e su lts confirm ed
p o s tu la te s A through D: both the tendency to approach and
avoid a g o al In crease w ith nearness to I t ; s tr e n g th o f
avoidance In creases more ra p id ly than s tre n g th of
approach; s tre n g th o f tendency to approach o r avoid v a rie s
d ir e c tly w ith s tre n g th o f the d riv e upon which i t is
based.
S ev eral c r itic is m s have been made o f the Brown
stu d y . Maher (1966) o b je c ts because the g ra d ie n ts
measured by Brown were d eriv ed from the behavior of
anim als who were in e ith e r an approach or avoidance condi
t io n , thus the e f f e c t o f both approach and avoidance
tendencies in the same in d iv id u a l has not been stu d ie d .
Brown's im p lic it assum ption th a t approach g ra d ie n ts and
avoidance g ra d ie n ts obtained from d if f e r e n t in d iv id u a ls
may be d ir e c tly summated to d escrib e th e e f f e c t o f
approach and avoidance tendencies in th e same in d iv id u a l
re q u ire s e m p iric a l v e r i f i c a t i o n . F u rth er c r itic is m o f
the Brown study r e la te s to th e r e la tiv e steep n ess of the
approach and avoidance g ra d ie n ts . Maher and N u tta ll (1962)
suggest th a t the g r e a te r steepness of the slope o f the
p lo t of th e avoidance responses a g a in s t d ista n c e o f th e
21
anim al from th e goal might be caused by a fa tig u e e f f e c t .
They r e p lic a te d the Brown study and found th a t anim als who
were f i r s t te s te d a t the 30>centim eter p o in t produced
weaker p u lls a t the 170-centim eter p o in t than anim als run
in the re v e rse o rd er.
M ille r , Brown, and Lewis ( c ite d in M ille r, 1959)
confirm ed deductions 1, 2, and 4 in a study measuring
approach and avoidance tendencies sim ultaneously aroused
in the same anim al. Albino r a ts were f i r s t tra in e d to run
down an a lle y to food, and then were shocked a t the g o a l,
inducing a c o n f l i c t . Subsequently, the r a ts stopped
running b efo re reaching the g o al. In creasin g s tre n g th of
hunger caused the r a ts to sto p c lo s e r to the goal;
in c re a sin g s tr e n g th o f shock caused the r a ts to sto p
f a r th e r from the goal.
Kaufman and M iller (1949) confirmed deductions 3,
4 , and 5. C o n flic t was e s ta b lis h e d by re in fo rc in g w ith
food 1, 3, 9, 27, or 81 t r i a l s o f running to the end o f an
a lle y and th en ad m in isterin g th re e shock t r i a l s a t the
conclusion o f tr a in in g . S tre n g th o f shock was increased
w ith each shock t r i a l . The number o f reinforcem ents was
p o s itiv e ly r e la te d to the number o f anim als reaching the
22
goal in post c o n f lic t t r i a l s , follow ing any number of
shocks. A lso, the number o f anim als reaching the goal in
post c o n f lic t t r i a l s was n e g a tiv e ly r e la te d to the number
and in te n s ity o f shock t r i a l s . The e f f e c t o f number o f
shock t r i a l s cannot be sep arate d from the e f f e c t o f
in c re a sin g s tre n g th o f shock in t h i s stu d y , because the
in te n s ity of shock was s y ste m a tic a lly in creased on
successive t r i a l s .
Kempe and Brown (1956) te s te d the assum ption,
based on the M iller model, th a t o v e rtra in in g , by r a is in g
the approach g ra d ie n t, in c re ase s the amount o f m aladaptive
behavior which occurs in a c o n f lic t s it u a ti o n . Albino
r a t s were tra in e d to o b ta in t h e i r food in a s tr a i g h t - a l l e y
goal box fo r a period o f e ig h t weeks follow ing weaning. A
c o n tro l group was tr a in e d in an id e n tic a l manner during
the l a s t ten days o f the e ig h t week p erio d . Strong
e l e c t r i c shock was then introduced a t the goal box to
generate an in te n se approach-avoidance c o n f l i c t . A s ig
n if ic a n tly g re a te r number o f re a c tio n s in d ic a tiv e of
c o n f lic t and e m o tio n a lity on eig h teen measures o f mal
ad ap tiv e behavior was observed in the o v e rtra in e d group
during the c o n f lic t and subsequent te s tin g s e s s io n s ,
23
confirm ing the h y p o th e sis.
E lder (1962) p re d ic te d th a t i f , as M ille r 's model
p ro v id es, th e d ista n c e a r a t tra v e ls down an a lle y in an
approach-avoidance c o n f lic t s itu a tio n is determ ined by the
p o in t a t which approach and avoidance ten d en cies are of
equal s tre n g th (p o in t o f in te rs e c tio n o f the g r a d ie n ts ) ,
those Ss which run f a r th e s t down an a lle y a f t e r a c o n f lic t
has been e s ta b lis h e d should re q u ire the fewest number of
t r i a l s to reach a recovery c r i t e r i o n o f two completed and
successive goal resp o n ses. The obtained c o r r e la tio n of
.50 between mean d ista n c e tr a v e lle d and number o f recovery
t r i a l s confirmed the h y p o th esis.
S tudies on approach-avoidance c o n f lic t re p o rt th a t
a f t e r c o n f lic t has been e s ta b lis h e d in S£, they run p a rt
way to the goal and then s to p , point o f stopping approach
ing c lo s e r to the goal as s tre n g th of the d riv e which
m otivates approach is in c re ase d . T rapold, M ille r and
Coons (1960) conducted a study in o rder to determ ine
whether such data might be an a r t i f a c t of averaging
d istan ce tr a v e lle d toward the goal fo r a group. The
au th o rs e s ta b lis h e d a stro n g approach-avoidance c o n f lic t
in eleven an im als, and then a lte r n a te ly reduced and
in creased d riv e by te s tin g the anim als a f t e r four hours
and tw enty-four hours o f food d e p riv a tio n on su ccessiv e
d a ily t r i a l s u n t i l each S approached a l l the way to the
g o al. Each S . approached p a rt way to the goal and stopped,
moving c lo s e r on t r i a l s run under g re a te r hunger, as
p re d ic te d by the theory.
Some animal stu d ie s o f th e s p a t i a l responses of
organisms in c o n f lic t f a i l to support M ille r 's model. In
th e p rev io u sly c ite d Trapold e t a l . study the eleven
anim als were given n e a r- f a r t e s t s a f t e r the i n i t i a l
c o n f lic t was e s ta b lis h e d : on f a r te s t s they were placed
94.25 fe e t from the g o al; on n ea r t e s t s they were placed
7.25 fe e t from the g o al. The model re q u ire s th a t anim als
placed a t o r near the g o a l, in the avoidance zone, run
from i t to sto p a t the p o in t o f eq u ilib riu m ; w hile animals
placed a t the s ta r t in g p o in t, in the approach zone, are
expected to run toward the goal and sto p a t the p o in t o f
eq u ilib riu m . Contrary to e x p e c ta tio n s, the d ir e c tio n of
th e f i r s t movement by most Ss, was toward the goal under
b o th c o n d itio n s. The authors suggest th a t the anim als may
n o t have been placed n ear enough to the goal on the near
c o n d itio n to be in the avoidance dominant zone.
25
Rosenblum and Harlow (1963) te s te d the ded u ctio n ,
based on M ille r 's model, th a t in fa n t monkeys in an
approach-avoidance c o n f lic t would spend le ss time on the
am bivalent o b je c t than monkeys in whom incom patible
responses to the o b je c t had not been e s ta b lis h e d . The
rhesus monkeys were in te rm itte n tly b la s te d w ith compressed
a i r while c o n tactin g a c lo th s u rro g a te , during the f i r s t
fiv e and o n e -h a lf months of t h e i r liv e s . A c o n tro l group
of four in fa n ts had equal access to the c lo th s u rro g a te ,
but was not su b jected to the av ersiv e b la s ts o f a i r . The
experim ental animals spent s ig n if ic a n tly more time on the
su rro g a tes than the c o n tro l group, co n tra ry to ex pecta
tio n s based on M ille r 's form ulation.
M ille r (1963) ex p lain s the r e s u lt s obtained by
Rosenblum and Harlow in terms of the stro n g need fo r
co n tact support in the in fa n t monkey, which, M ille r
a s s e r t s , probably e l i c i t s a stro n g enough approach
response to the c lo th su rro g a te to l i f t the approach
g rad ie n t above the avoidance g ra d ie n t a t a l l p o in ts from
the g o al, e lim in a tin g the cro ssin g of g ra d ie n ts . F u rth e r
more, he adds th a t fe a r aroused by the b la s t o f a i r might
increase the tendency o f the monkey to c lin g to the
26
m o th e r-su rro g a te. Thus the tendency to approach is the
summation o f b oth a need for co n tact comfort and fe a r o f
the a v e rsiv e a i r b l a s t , making i t s tro n g e r n ear the goal
than the tendency to avoid, which is a ls o e l i c i t e d by the
b la s t o f a i r . M ille r cautions th a t the data in q u estio n
are no b a s is fo r concluding th a t the g ra d ie n t o f avoidance
is le ss ste e p than th a t of approach, sin ce h eig h t and
steepness a re two independent param eters o f each g ra d ie n t.
Most s tu d ie s re p o rte d in the l i t e r a t u r e use the
goal as the p o in t o f d eparture fo r p re d ic tin g the p o in t o f
eq u ilib riu m . I t is assumed th a t sin ce the h eig h t of the
g ra d ie n ts is determ ined by d ista n c e from the g o al, the
in te rs e c tio n of g ra d ie n ts is determ ined by the same
f a c to r. However, Maher and Noblin (1963) found th a t
animals placed in c o n f lic t ran a co n stan t d ista n c e before
they 8topped, re g a rd le ss of the d ista n c e o f the goal box
from the s t a r t p o in t. Maher and Noblin th e re fo re suggest
an a lte r n a te hypothesis to M ille r 's assum ption, which
holds th a t g ra d ie n ts are determ ined by the v a ria b le of
d istan ce from the goal: the fe a r which gen erates the
avoidance tendency is p a r t i a l l y a fu n ctio n o f the approach
response i t s e l f , sin ce the approach response, through
27
being punished in the p a s t, has become a conditioned
stim ulus fo r fe a r .
The p rin c ip le s embodied in the M ille r model are
th e o r e tic a lly a p p lic a b le to organisms behaving over tim e,
even though the o r ig in a l data were obtained from s tu d ie s
o f animals moving in space. Rigby (1954) designed a study
to t e s t the f i r s t th re e o f M ille r 's p o s tu la te s in a
tem poral c o n f lic t. R estrain ed in an apparatus devised by
B ijo u , four twenty-tw o-hour hungry r a t s were co nditioned
to p ress forward in response to a 10 second lig h t followed
by food, and p u ll backward in response to a 10 second
buzzer followed by shock. Measures o f s tre n g th o f p ress
or p u ll were recorded during the 10 second in te r v a l.
A fte r s ta b le c o n d itio n in g , c o n f lic t was e s ta b lis h e d by
p re se n tin g both CS sim u ltan eo u sly . G radients o f approach
and avoidance were in fe rre d from e f f o r ts to move forward
or backward as a fu n ctio n o f tem poral proxim ity to the
g o al. R esults confirmed the e x iste n c e of approach-
avoidance g ra d ie n ts in a tem poral c o n f lic t s i t u a t i o n , the
slope o f the g ra d ie n ts tending to in c re ase as r e in f o rc e
ment time drew n e a re r. M ille r 's assum ption th a t the
g ra d ie n t o f avoidance is s te e p e r than the g ra d ie n t o f
28
approach was not supported. In R igby's study the two
g ra d ie n ts were approxim ately p a r a l l e l , approach being
somewhat h ig h er than avoidance.
Maher (1964) suggests a hypothesis th a t £ its
R igby'8 d a ta . Maher sp e c u la te s th a t the e f f e c t o f e s ta b
lis h in g an approach-avoidance c o n f lic t in an organism may
produce approach and avoidance g ra d ie n ts th a t a re of the
same r e l a t i v e slope and shape, th e h eig h t o f the g ra d ie n ts
determ ined by the number o f tr a in in g t r i a l s and the
s tre n g th o f the re sp e c tiv e d riv e s . He proposes th a t w ith
in c re a sin g nearness to the goal in space or tim e, the
lo c a l p a tte r n o f s tim u la tio n augments approach and
avoidance tendencies e q u a lly . With approach and avoidance
tendencies in c re a sin g a t the same r a t e , the r e la tiv e
d iffe re n c e between them d ec re ase s. The organism is in a
s t a t e o f c o n f lic t and should r e t r e a t a t a p o in t o f
fu n c tio n a l e q u ilib riu m , when the organism is unable to
perceive the d iffe re n c e between the two te n d en cies.
A number o f c o n f lic t s tu d ie s have employed human
s u b je c ts . Wipf (1964) te s te d the assum ption th a t
stre n g th s of tendencies to respond to p o s itiv e and nega
tiv e asp e c ts o f a fu tu re am bivalent event vary in time in
29
the manner th a t approach and avoidance tendencies vary in
a s p a t i a l s itu a tio n . Human Ss. were tra in e d to make a
d is ju n c tiv e manual response to one o f two s tim u li. A
stim ulus was presented every 12 seconds on 16 ap e rio d ic
t e s t t r i a l s , when the s ig n a l occurred w ith reduced
in te n s ity a t 3 t 6, 9, or 12 seconds. Three groups each
experienced a d if f e r e n t com bination of experim ental
c o n d itio n s. The C o n flic t Group responded to to n e , the
s ig n a l fo r money, and shock, the s ig n a l fo r lo ss of money;
the P o sitiv e Group responded to to n e , sig n a l fo r money,
and l i g h t , a n e u tra l s ig n a l; the Negative Group responded
to shock, s ig n a l fo r lo ss of money, and l i g h t , n e u tra l
s ig n a l. Speed o f response was the measure of response
tendency. In a l l groups speed of response increased w ith
nearness to the g o al, evidencing a g rad ie n t e f f e c t . The
g ra d ie n t of avoidance was s te e p e r than the g rad ie n t of
approach in the c o n f lic t c o n d itio n .
Maher, W eisstein , and Sylva (1964) stu d ie d
o s c i l l a t i o n behavior in c h ild re n in a tem poral c o n f lic t.
Ss faced an apparatus on which was mounted a larg e tim er
and two le v e rs , one on each sid e and below the tim er. For
one group, p ressin g one of the le v ers a c tiv a te d the clock
30
and an o b je c t was d e liv e re d when the tim er ran back to
zero . For th is group the choice was between a more and a
le s s d e sire d o b je c t. For a second group the choice was
between a d e sire d o b je c t and no o b je c t a t a l l . Should the
su b je c t change h is mind once the tim er was a c tiv a te d , he
had only to depress the le v e r and s t a r t a l l over ag a in .
Clock s e ttin g s were 30, 60, or 120 seconds. Although the
Maher e t a l . study was designed to in v e s tig a te a double-
approach-avoidance model, the data are eq u ally re le v a n t to
the sin g le approach-avoidance c o n f lic t. The main p o in t in
time a t which o s c illa tio n s occurred was not a co n stan t
time in te r v a l from the time of reinforcem ent but was found
to be a co n stan t r a t i o of the t o t a l running tim e. The
im p lica tio n is th a t c o n f lic t behavior in time may be
determined by the t o t a l time the su b je c t w aits fo r the
am bivalent event as w ell as by how fa r away in time the
given event may be.
Simon (1965) stu d ie d approach-avoidance c o n f lic t
in pregnant women. S p ecial w o rd -asso ciatio n l i s t s were
co n stru c ted co n tain in g stim ulus words o f d if f e r e n t degrees
o f relevance to d e liv e ry and to ta k in g care o f a baby.
Responses measured on th re e o ccasio n s, two p r io r to
31
d eliv ery and one s ix weeks a f t e r d e liv e ry . A c o n tro l
group c o n s iste d o f non-pregnant women. R esu lts were as
follow s: pregnant women produced s ig n i f ic a n t ly s te e p e r
g ra d ie n ts o f GSR than c o n tro l Ss as a fu n ctio n o f in c re a s
ing stim ulus relev an ce to d e liv e ry ; pregnant women demon
s tr a te d s ig n i f ic a n t ly more em otional l a b i l i t y as measured
by GSR v a r i a b i l i t y than non-pregnant women; ste e p e r
g rad ie n ts o f GSR and RT were not observed in pregnant
women w ith d ecreasin g time to d e liv e r , as was p re d ic te d
from the M ille r model.
E p stein and Fenz (1962) in v e s tig a te d an approach-
avoidance c o n f lic t in p a r a c h u tis ts . S ubjects responded to
a word a s s o c ia tio n ta sk on the day o f the jump, and e i th e r
two weeks b efo re or two weeks a f t e r the jump. S tre n g th of
GSR, re a c tio n time to the s tim u li, and p e rc e p tu a l e r r o rs
were g re a te r on the day of the jump. The r e l a t i v e shapes
and slopes o f avoidance and approach tendencies cannot be
compared from th ese data because approach and avoidance
were not s e p a ra te ly measured. However, the c o n f lic t
s t a t e , as in fe rre d from in creased s tre n g th of response to
the measuring in stru m e n ts, in creased as th e time fo r the
am bivalent event drew c lo s e r.
32
While not d ir e c tly r e la tin g h is work to any p a r
t i c u l a r c o n f lic t mode, Ja n is (1958) conducted a number o f
in v e s tig a tio n s on s u r g ic a l p a tie n ts which a re o f i n te r e s t
r e la tiv e to the p resen t stu d y . In one such study he
in v e s tig a te d the r e la tio n s h ip between the le v e l o f a n t i c i
p atory fe a r and subsequent adjustm ent to s tr e s s in
h o s p ita liz e d s u r g ic a l p a tie n ts . Data were o b tained from
in te n siv e p reo p erativ e and p o sto p e ra tiv e sta n d ard ize d
in terv iew s and from d a ily h o s p ita l records o f b eh av io r.
Three hypotheses were te s te d : persons who d isp la y a
moderate degree o f a n tic ip a to ry fe a r before being exposed
to p h y sic al s tr e s s s tim u li (p ain , b o d ily d isco m fo rt, and
severe d e p riv a tio n ) w ill be le s s lik e ly to develop
em otional d istu rb a n ces during or a f t e r the exposure to
s tr e s s than those persons who d isp la y e ith e r a very high
or a very low degree of a n tic ip a to r y fe a r; persons who
d isp lay an extrem ely high le v e l o f a n tic ip a to ry fe a r or
an x iety during the " th r e a t" p erio d w i l l be more lik e ly
than o th e rs to d isp lay in te n se fe a r o f body damage during
the subsequent c r i s i s p e rio d , when exposed to a c tu a l
s tr e s s s tim u li; persons who d isp la y an extrem ely low
degree o f a n tic ip a to r y fe a r o r a n x ie ty during the " th r e a t"
33
p erio d w i l l be more lik e ly than o th e rs to d isp lay
re a c tio n s o f anger and resentm ent toward d an g e r-co n tro l
a u t h o r it ie s during the subsequent c r i s i s p e rio d , when
exposed to a c tu a l s tr e s s s tim u li. A ll th re e hypotheses
were confirm ed. The au th o r suggests th a t d e n ia l o f a
r e a l i s t i c th r e a t which prevents the n ecessary p reo p erativ e
worry work and the o p p o rtu n ity to develop r e a l i s t i c expec
ta tio n s and defenses may be re sp o n sib le fo r the angry and
r e s e n tf u l response o f the low fe a r p a tie n t to subsequent
s t r e s s . He fu rth e r suggests th a t one or two types of
p re o p e ra tiv e communications might be e f f e c tiv e in p rep ar
ing such a p a tie n t: fe a r-a ro u sin g statem en ts d e sc rib in g
the impending danger so as to evoke a m ental re h e a rs a l of
subsequent events and reduce the chance th a t such events
w ill be frig h te n in g ly ambiguous or s u rp ris in g ; fe a r reduc
ing statem ents which r e a l i s t i c a l l y d e scrib e the favorable
or m itig a tin g asp ects o f the s i t u a t i o n , c a llin g the
in d iv id u a l's a tte n tio n to ways in which a u th o rity fig u re s
w i l l help him and ways in which he can h elp h im self. The
moderate group is r e a l i t y o rie n te d and the behavior of
th ese in d iv id u a ls can be fu rth e r re in fo rc e d by communica
tio n s reg ard in g the n atu re o f the p o te n tia l danger, how
th e danger can be surmounted, and the m itig a tin g or
p ro te c tiv e fe a tu re s o f the environm ent. Case h is to ry data
show th a t the p a tie n ts in the high fe a r group have
s u ffe re d from severe n e u ro tic symptoms, in clu d in g acute
a n x iety re a c tio n s , p rio r to the scheduled su rg ery . For
th ese p ersons, the c e n tr a l problem in p reo p erativ e com
m unications is not to stim u la te the work of w orrying, but
to reduce em otional excitem ent so th a t the work of worry
ing can lead to the development o f adequate defenses.
When m isinform ation is involved, i t should be c o rre c te d .
B rie f p reo p erativ e therapy may be h e lp fu l.
Ja n is a ls o conducted a q u e stio n n a ire survey among
149 male ad o lescen ts who had experienced surgery w ith in
the p ast fiv e y e a rs . This survey data a ls o in d ic a te d a
c u r v ilin e a r r e la tio n s h ip between magnitude o f a n tic ip a to ry
fe a r and subsequent adjustm ent to s t r e s s , w ith the low
group expressing g re a te s t amount o f anger toward h o s p ita l
a u th o rity . An a d d itio n a l fin d in g was the p o s itiv e r e l a
tio n s h ip between low a n tic ip a to r y fe a r and a p e r s is te n t
derogatory and c r i t i c a l a t t i t u d e toward the surgeon a t the
time o f the in v e s tig a tio n .
35
G ille r (1961) f a ile d to co rro b o rate the c u rv i
lin e a r r e la tio n s h ip Ja n is found between in te n s ity o f fe a r
and recovery from su rg ery . He conducted a study on the
psychological c o r r e la te s o f recovery from su rg ery . F ifty
male p a tie n ts aw aitin g surgery responded before and a f t e r
surgery to the follow ing p sychological measures: the K
s c a le , derived from the Minnesota M ultiphasic P e rso n a lity
Inventory (MMPI); the Ego S tren g th S cale, co n stru c ted by
Barron, using MMPI item s; an A ttitu d e Toward Surgery
S cale; and a Fear o f Surgery R eport. The main c r i t e r i o n
fo r recovery was the number of pain reducing and sleep
inducing m edications receiv ed during the f i r s t fiv e p o st
o p erativ e days. A d d itio n al c r i t e r i a fo r recovery were:
the t o t a l number o f pain reducing and sle e p inducing
m edications received during the e n tir e p o sto p e ra tiv e
period in the h o s p ita l; the t o t a l number o f days spent in
the h o s p ita l p o sto p e ra tiv e ly ; n u rs e s ' ra tin g s o f recovery;
and g lo b al c h a rt ra tin g s o f recovery. The follow ing were
the main fin d in g s: a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ig n if ic a n t m u ltip le
c o r r e la tio n was obtained between the independent v a ria b le s
and the main c r i t e r i o n ; the Ego S tren g th Scale accounted
fo r most o f the p re d ic tiv e a b i l i t y o f the independent
36
v a r ia b le s , Che rem aining measures serv in g to in crease
p r e d ic ta b il ity ; a s ig n if ic a n t n eg a tiv e c o r r e la tio n was
obtained between the A ttitu d e Scale scores and the t o t a l
number of days spent in the h o s p ita l follow ing su rg ery ;
th e re was a lack of r e la tio n s h ip between degree of
expressed fe a r and the main c r i t e r i o n measure for
recovery.
S tudies on Anxiety
The follow ing stu d ie s dem onstrate the e f f e c t of
high an x iety on performance in r e la tiv e l y complex s i t u a
tio n s . Green (1967) c l a s s i f i e d a group of ju n io r high
school boys LA or H A on the b a s is of scores on the Test
Anxiety Scale fo r C h ild re n . LA S£, conditioned f a s te r on
a v erb al co n d itio n in g ta sk than H A S s. Greer (1966)
in v e stig a te d the e f f e c t of t e s t anxiety on the t e s t
performance of f i r s t graders w ith IQ's between 100 and
125. S£ were designated H A or LA according to scores on
the Test Anxiety Scale fo r C h ild ren . Subsequently, the
performance of LA Ss was su p e rio r to H A Ss on the
P ic to r ia l Test of I n te llig e n c e . S p ielb erg er and Smith
(1966) found th a t c o n s is te n t w ith Drive Theory, H A Ss
performed more poorly than LA S£ a t the beginning of a
37
s e r ia l- le a r n in g ta s k . L ater in le a rn in g , a f t e r c o rre c t
responses were stren g th en ed and the d e trim e n ta l e f f e c t of
ta s k -re le v a n t in te r f e r in g responses minimized, the
performance o f H A Ss. was su p e rio r to th a t o f LA S s.
A number o f s tu d ie s , in v e s tig a tin g the "h ab it
h y p o th e s is ," have dem onstrated the e f f e c t o f eg o -in v o lv in g ,
th r e a t inducing in s tr u c tio n s , which a c tiv a te ta sk -
ir r e le v a n t responses in H A Ss. (Mandler and Sarason, 1952;
Sarason, 1961; Sarason, M andler, and C r a ig h ill, 1952;
Sarason and P a lo la , I960). Sarason, Mandler, and
C r a ig h ill p o stu la te d th a t eg o -in v o lv in g , s tre s s -in d u c in g
in s tru c tio n s preceding an in te llig e n c e t e s t would have a
d i f f e r e n t i a l e f f e c t on S£ who d i f f e r in i n i t i a l an x iety
le v e l. High and low anxious Ss were each subdivided in to
a s tr e s s and n o n -s tre s s group. S tre ss was induced by
in s tr u c tin g Ss. th a t they were expected to complete an
in te llig e n c e t e s t w ith in a given p erio d of tim e; in s tr u c
tio n s to n o n -stre ss Ss were not designed to induce a time
s e t , did not r e f e r to the ta sk as an in te llig e n c e t e s t ,
and emphasized th a t in d iv id u a l performance was im portant
only in s o fa r as i t c o n trib u te d to t o t a l performance o f the
group. H A Ss. performed le s s adequately than LA Sis in the
38
s tr e s s s i t u a t i o n , and the rev erse was tru e in the non
s tr e s s s i t u a t i o n , c o n s is te n t w ith ex p e c ta tio n s based on
the "h ab it h y p o th e s is ."
S p ie lb e rg e r, G oodstein, and Dahlstrom (1958)
f a ile d to confirm ex p e cta tio n s based on the "habit
h y p o th e sis" in a study designed to compare H A and LA Ss on
a s e r ie s o f sh o rt term r e c a l l ta s k s . S ubjects were asked
to copy a s e r ie s o f nine geom etric p a tte rn s w ith in a
s p e c ifie d time lim it. A fte r a sh o rt time in te r v a l they
were asked to reproduce as many of the p a tte rn s as they
could r e c a l l . Task d i f f i c u l t y was defined according to
s e r i a l p o s itio n : d i f f i c u l t ta sk s were those presen ted
e a rly in the s e r ie s ; sim ple ta sk s were those p resen ted
l a t e r in the s e r ie s . Contrary to e x p e cta tio n s based on
the "habit h y p o th e s is ," but c o n s is te n t w ith Drive Theory
p ro p er, the performance o f H A Ss in the "same" s itu a tio n
was su p e rio r to th a t o f LA Ss on sim ple ta sk s and in f e r io r
on d i f f i c u l t ta s k s . The authors p o in t out th a t i f ta sk -
ir r e le v a n t competing responses were a c tiv a te d in H A Ss
they had e x a c tly the same e f f e c t as ta s k -re le v a n t compet
ing re sp o n se s, p re d ic te d by Drive Theory.
A number o f stu d ie s have been concerned w ith the
r e la tio n s h ip o f a n x ie ty , in te llig e n c e , and ta sk
39
perform ance. S p ie lb e rg e r e t a l . (1959) found th a t grade
p o in t average o f a group of c o lle g e stu d e n ts was u n re la te d
to an x iety le v e l in high in te llig e n c e and low in te llig e n c e
s u b je c ts , but th a t grades v a rie d in v e rse ly w ith an x iety
le v e l in average in te llig e n c e s u b je c ts . Denny (1963)
p re d ic te d th a t an x iety and in te llig e n c e would have i n t e r
a c tiv e e f f e c ts on a complex concept form ation ta s k . The
au th o r assumed th a t ta sk d i f f i c u l t y i s a fu n ctio n o f the
in te llig e n c e o f a su b je c t as w ell as the i n t r i n s i c
com plexity o f the ta s k . Consequently, i f ta sk d i f f i c u l t y
is h eld c o n s ta n t, h igh an x iety should f a c i l i t a t e the
performance of high in te llig e n c e Ss, and im pair the p e r
formance o f low in te llig e n c e Ss. A group o f c o lle g e
stu d e n ts was c l a s s i f i e d H A or LA according to scores on
the MAS. Each an x iety group was subdivided in to high and
low in te llig e n c e groups. High a n x ie ty f a c i l i t a t e d the
performance o f high in te llig e n c e Sjs and im paired the
performance o f low in te llig e n c e S s, as p re d ic te d .
Sarason e t a l . (1964, 1966) re p o rt two lo n g itu d in a l
s tu d ie s on the re la tio n s h ip between a n x ie ty , d efen siv e
n e s s , and co g n itiv e perform ance. A group o f f i r s t grade
c h ild re n responded to th re e m easures, which had been
40
co n stru c ted by the a u th o rs , the Test Anxiety Scale fo r
C hildren (TASC), the Lie Scale fo r C hildren (LSC), and the
Defensiveness Scale fo r C hildren (DSC), and four years
l a t e r responded again to the same th re e m easures. An IQ
t e s t was a ls o ad m in istered on b oth o ccasions. A n eg ativ e
c o r r e la tio n was found between IQ scores and TASC sc o re ,
the s iz e o f the n eg ativ e c o r r e la tio n in c re a sin g w ith the
use o f the LSC and the DSC. Furtherm ore, those c h ild re n
whose TASC score decreased most in the time in te r v a l
between measurements gained more in IQ score than those
c h ild re n who in creased most in TASC sco re. The second
study covered a period o f s ix y e a rs , grades 1-5, and
stro n g ly confirm ed the e a r l i e r fin d in g s.
A number o f in v e s tig a to rs have attem pted to
decrease th e le v e l of an x iety in H A su b je c ts and compare
them w ith a c o n tro l group, who rece iv e no tre a tm e n t, on
some subsequent performance c r i t e r i o n . S p ielb e rg e r e t a l .
(1962, 1964) re p o rt the r e s u lt s of two such in v e s tig a
tio n s of c o lle g e freshmen a t Duke U n iv e rsity . H alf o f a
group of HA e n te rin g freshmen were in v ite d to p a r tic ip a te
in a group counseling program designed to "help them make
more e f fe c tiv e adjustm ent to co lleg e l i f e " ; the o th e r h a lf
41
were put on a w a itin g l i s t and served as a c o n tro l. The
experim ental and c o n tro l groups were matched on a number
of v a ria b le s which have previously been found to c o rr e la te
w ith academic achievem ent. Counseling se ssio n s were held
once a week. Change in grade point average between mid
term and the end o f the sem ester served as the c r i t e r i o n
of academic perform ance. Those stu d e n ts who atten d ed
counseling se ssio n s re g u la rly showed g re a te r improvement
than those who were not counseled o r those who did not
a tte n d r e g u la rly . The l a t e r study was s im ila rly designed
and co rro b o rated the findings of the e a r l i e r study. The
counseling procedure a lso appeared to have produced more
long term e f f e c t s , sin ce a two year follow -up study
revealed th a t those freshmen who atten d ed counseling
sessio n s r e g u la rly tended to have a lower drop-out r a te
than those who did not a tte n d r e g u la rly , or those who did
not v o lu n te er fo r the program.
Katahn e t a l . (1966) i n s t itu te d a treatm en t
procedure fo r a group of v o lu n te er te st-a n x io u s under
graduates a t V an d erb ilt U n iv ersity . S ubjects met w ith a
th e r a p is t e ig h t tim es fo r hour-long counseling and
d e s e n s itiz a tio n s e s s io n s . Counseling c o n siste d o f group
d isc u ssio n , w ith a th e r a p is t p re s e n t, concerning the
development o f n ecessary s k i l l s fo r improved academic
achievem ent. W olpe's (1958) procedures fo r d e s e n s itiz a
tio n w ith deep muscle r e la x a tio n comprised the second p a rt
o f the treatm en t hour. Grade p o in t average o f p a r t i c i
pants in creased and TAS scores decreased a f t e r com pletion
o f the program. S ubjects subsequently in d ic a te d on a
w ritte n q u e stio n n a ire th a t they considered the group
counseling se ssio n s the most e f f e c tiv e p a rt o f t h e i r
trea tm en t.
Emery e t a l . (1967) in v e s tig a te d the r e la tiv e
p ro fic ie n c y o f in d iv id u a liz e d versus sta n d ard ize d
h ie ra rc h ie s in the sy stem atic d e s e n s itiz a tio n of t e s t -
anxious c o lle g e freshmen a t S tanford U n iv e rsity . S ubjects
were randomly assig n ed to the one of th re e experim ental
groups: D e s e n s itiz a tio n w ith in d iv id u a liz e d h ie r a r c h ie s ;
d e s e n s itiz a tio n w ith a sin g le stan d ard h ie ra rc h y ; or a no
treatm ent c o n tro l. S ubjects met w ith counselors 16 tim es
u n t i l d e s e n s itiz a tio n was com pleted. S ubjects in the two
d e s e n s itiz a tio n groups ra te d them selves s ig n i f ic a n t ly le ss
anxious a f t e r treatm en t compared w ith the n o -treatm en t
c o n tro l group; f in a l exam ination grades o f the treatm ent
43
groups were s l i g h t l y h ig h er than of the c o n tro l group; no
d iffe re n c e was found between the r e la tiv e e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f
sta n d ard ize d v ersu s in d iv id u a liz e d h ie ra rc h ie s .
CHAPTER I I I
M ETH O D
An approach-avoidance c o n f lic t was in v e s tig a te d in
stu d en ts scheduled fo r a course exam ination. The m oti
v a tio n a l process labeled t e s t an x iety in the experim ental
l i t e r a t u r e was assumed to d i f f e r in no im portant aspect
from the m o tiv a tio n a l process M iller c a lls f e a r ; a view
which is supported by Izard and Tomkins (1966), who s t a t e ,
"Fear and a n x ie ty are terms we s h a ll use interchangeably
on the co n v ictio n th a t th e re are no th e o r e tic a lly u se fu l
d is tin c tio n s between them ." C onsistent w ith M ille r 's
p a r t i a l d e f in itio n j (page 9 ), which extends M ille r 's
assum ptions about approach and avoidance tendencies to a
tem poral dim ension, i t was a lso assumed th a t the e f f e c ts
of stim ulus g e n e ra liz a tio n and the g ra d ie n t o f r e in fo rc e
ment, which produce the b eh a v io ral changes observed in
anim als placed in a s p a t i a l c o n f lic t, a re equally
44
45
o p erativ e in a tem poral c o n f lic t o f human behavior tenden
c ie s . I t was fu rth e r assumed th a t a course exam evokes
incom patible response tendencies in the stu d e n ts scheduled
to be examined. A fe a r of events a s so c ia te d w ith the
te s tin g s it u a ti o n , such as the p o s s i b ilit y o f f a ilu r e and
lowered s e l f esteem , conditioned by p ast experiences in
s im ila r s it u a ti o n s , m otivates the tendency to avoid the
am bivalent g oal; a d e s ire fo r the achievement of s o c ia l
and economic s ta tu s through the c u ltu r a lly designated
channel o f ed u c atio n al attain m en t m otivates the tendency
to approach.
Design o f the Study
Students were randomly assigned to an experim ental
group (D e se n sitiz a tio n Group), a placebo c o n tro l (Placebo
Group), and a n o -treatm en t c o n tro l (Control Group). An
in te rv e n tio n treatm ent designed to decrease fe a r o f ta k in g
an exam was performed in the D e se n sitiz a tio n Group; an
in te rv e n tio n procedure designed to produce l i t t l e or no
e f f e c t on fe a r o f ta k in g an exam, but r a th e r to c o n tro l
for placebo e f f e c t s , was performed in the Placebo Group;
and no in te rv e n tio n was performed in the C ontrol Group.
The Sarason Test A nxiety Scale (TAS) provided a measure o f
general t e s t an x iety before c o n f lic t in the §£ was
e l i c i t e d , and was ad m in istered to a l l Ss on the day
preceding scheduling of the exam. Changes in s tre n g th of
approach and avoidance tendencies w ith in c re a sin g nearness
to the scheduled exam were assessed on the b a s is of
changes in s tr e n g th of response to ap p ro ach -asso ciated and
a v o id an ce-asso ciated statem ents on a s p e c if ic a lly con
s tr u c te d V erbal S c a le , which was adm inistered four tim es
in the time in te r v a l between in s tig a tio n of c o n f lic t
(scheduling o f the course exam) and the occurrence of the
am bivalent event (course exam). Comparisons were p lo tte d
o f stre n g th o f response to re le v a n t statem ents w ith
decreasing tem poral d istan ce from the course exam.
Changes in s tr e n g th o f response to n e u tra l sta te m e n ts,
included in the V erbal Scale as a c o n tro l fo r chance
e f f e c t s , were a ls o p lo tte d and compared to changes in
response to re le v a n t statem en ts. D ifferences among groups
in change o f s tre n g th to avoidance statem ents as a
fun ctio n of in c re a sin g closeness to the course exam were
observed and p lo tte d .
47
Measurement Instrum ents
The TAS c o n s is ts of th re e s e c tio n s , measuring
d if f e r e n t types o f t e s t an x iety : group in te llig e n c e t e s t ;
in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t ; and course exam ination.
General norms fo r the TAS have been p u b lish ed , but lo c a l
norms were e s ta b lis h e d (Appendix A, page 117). The sc ale
is divided in to te n u n its fo r sc o rin g purposes, each u n it
measuring one and one h a lf c e n tim e te rs. Raw scores range
from 0-9. The median score marked by a l l Sis fo r each item
was c a lc u la te d , and the f in a l score on any item was d e te r
mined by the r e la tio n of the raw score to the median: 0
was scored i f the raw score f e l l on or below the group
median; 1 was scored i f the raw score f e l l above the group
median. The t o t a l score fo r an in d iv id u a l was equal to
the number o f tim es h is raw score f e l l above the group
median. F in a l scores ranged from 0-35. The d is t r ib u tio n
o f f in a l TAS scores was p lo tte d (Appendix A, Table 11).
The s p e c if ic a lly c o n stru c te d u n ip o la r Approach-
Avoidance V erbal Scale comprises tw en ty -eig h t item s:
twelve re le v a n t sta te m e n ts, c o n s is tin g of s ix a sso c ia te d
w ith the tendency to approach, and s ix a s so c ia te d w ith the
tendency to avoid the course exam; and s ix te e n n e u tr a l
48
statem ents ir r e le v a n t to ta k in g an exam. S p e c ific s t a t e
ments were s e le c te d fo r the sc a le on the b a s is o f the
i n v e s tig a to r 's assessm ent reg ard in g t h e i r relev an ce or
irre le v a n c e to ta k in g an exam. Three independent judges
were asked to arrange each statem ent in to one o f th re e
p i l e s , approach, avoidance, or n e u tr a l, on the b a s is of
i t s r e la tio n s h ip to ta k in g an exam. P e rfe c t agreement
between the judges and the in v e s tig a to r confirmed the
r e l i a b i l i t y o f the assessm ent. Four se p a ra te m odified
random ord ers o f the l i s t o f statem ents were derived
through a procedure designed to prevent the consecutive
s e r i a 1- p o s itio n o f two or more re le v a n t sta te m e n ts , i . e . ,
each re le v a n t statem ent is preceded and followed by one or
more n e u tra l sta te m e n ts, a procedure designed to minimize
p e rse v e ra tiv e e f f e c t s . Statem ents were ra te d by su b je c ts
on a graduated sc a le w ith a range o f from 0-16, v e rb a lly
la b e lle d a t four p o in ts (Appendix B, page 137). An inde
pendent r e l i a b i l i t y study on a s im ila r sc a le w ith a range
o f from 0- 10, u t i l i z i n g tw en ty -fiv e S£ who responded twice
w ith in a f o rty - e ig h t hour p e rio d , y ie ld ed s t a b i l i t y co e f
f ic ie n ts o f .94 and .93 re s p e c tiv e ly fo r approach and
avoidance sta te m e n ts.
In te rv e n tio n Instrum ents
The experim ental tape re c o rd in g , designated
Tape E, c o n s is ts o f tr a in in g in muscle r e la x a tio n accord
ing to Jacobson (1938) and system atic d e s e n s itiz a tio n to
the course exam, u t i l i z i n g a method s im ila r to Wolpe's
(1958) method.
Six scenes judged by the in v e s tig a to r as r e la te d
to tak in g an exam were ordered by th re e independent judges
according to t h e i r fe a r evoking stim ulus v alu e. Scenes
judged le s s fe a r evoking were placed toward the bottom of
the l i s t ; those judged more fear evoking were placed
toward the top o f the l i s t . The f i n a l h ie ra rc h a l o rder
re p re se n ts unanimous agreement among jud g es. S ubjects
were f i r s t tr a in e d to re la x th e ir m uscles, and th en , while
in a relax ed s t a t e , were in s tru c te d to v is u a liz e each
scene fo r 10M , th re e times in consecutive o rd e r, s ta r t in g
w ith the le a s t fe a r evoking. The p re se n t technique
d if f e r s from Wolpe in s e v e ra l re s p e c ts : a stan d ard ized
in ste a d o f in d iv id u a liz e d h ierarch y was employed in a
group in ste a d o f in d iv id u a l trea tm en t; in a d d itio n , no
attem pt was made to insure th a t su b je c ts were e n tir e ly
fre e o f fe a r during v is u a liz a tio n s . The experim ental
50
l i t e r a t u r e supports the e x p e c ta tio n th a t the p resen t
m odified technique can be e f f e c tiv e : Lazarus (1961)
re p o rts su c c e s sfu l d e s e n s itiz a tio n u t i l i z i n g group t r e a t
ment; Emery (1967) found no d iffe re n c e in the e f f e c t iv e
ness of in d iv id u a liz e d and stan d ard ized h ie ra rc h ie s ;
Wolpin (1966) was su c c e s sfu l in a d e s e n s itiz a tio n procedure
w ith te n sio n p resen t in the su b je c ts during v is u a liz a tio n s .
The f i r s t p a rt o f the placebo tape (Tape P)
c o n s is ts o f muscle r e la x a tio n tr a in in g and is id e n tic a l to
Tape E. The second p a rt c o n s is ts o f a sh o rt d isc u ssio n on
the h is to ry o f modern ed u catio n . Tape E and Tape P are o f
equal len g th (Appendix B, pages 120 and 128).
Subjects
The su b je c ts were a l l stu d en ts e n ro lle d and
a tte n d in g a beginning psychology c la ss a t the U n iv ersity
o f Southern C a lif o rn ia , and were randomly assigned to a
D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group, a Placebo Group, or to a Control
Group. P a r tic ip a tio n was v o lu n tary and earned two hours
re se a rc h c r e d it fo r each p a r tic ip a n t. S eventy-eight
s tu d e n ts , tw en ty -six in each group, out of a c la ss o f one
hundred and f iv e , comprised the f in a l sample p o p u latio n .
The Control Group i n i t i a l l y contained th irty -tw o Sa, but
the data o f s ix Ss were randomly d iscarded in order to
secure an equal number in each group. The data o f two Ss,
one in the D e se n sitiz a tio n Group and one in the C ontrol
Group, a re not included because the Ss f a ile d to appear
for the f in a l experim ental se ssio n and fo r the course
exam. I t was assumed th a t the p o p u latio n was homogenous
w ith re sp e c t to sex, age, and economic background.
Procedure
A ll Ss responded once to the TAS b efo re the course
exam was scheduled and four tim es to the Approach-
Avoidance V erbal Scale in the time in te r v a l between
scheduling of the course exam and i t s occurrence. The
four forms of the Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale were
arranged in random order on each of th e four t e s t t r i a l s .
Each group met in a se p a ra te experim ental room fo r the
f i r s t and second t e s t t r i a l s . None o f these rooms was the
re g u la r classroom . The D e se n sitiz a tio n Group responded to
Tape E tw ice in the time in te r v a l between the f i r s t two
te s t t r i a l s , the f i r s t time immediately follow ing response
to the Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale and the second time
immediately preceding response to the Approach-Avoidance
Verbal S cale; the Placebo Group responded to Tape P in the
52
same te s t- ta p e sequence during the same time in te r v a l.
Three ex p erim en ters, h e r e a fte r r e fe rre d to as E^, E j, and
E^, were randomly assigned to groups for the f i r s t two
t e s t t r i a l s . E^ d e liv e re d the in s tru c tio n s preceding
response to the Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale to a l l
groups on a l l four t e s t t r i a l s , and order of d e liv e ry on
the f i r s t two t e s t t r i a l s was randomly determ ined. Groups
were not se p arated fo r the l a s t two te s t t r i a l s , th e re fo re
the t r i a l s were conducted in the re g u la r classroom w ith
a l l th re e experim enters p re s e n t. A more d e ta ile d day by
day d e s c rip tio n of the procedure follow s:
Day One
One day p r io r to scheduling of the course exam the
in s tr u c to r d is trib u te d TAS forms, each of which was
la b e lle d w ith a coded symbol (X, Y, or Z) re p re s e n tin g one
of th e th ree experim ental groups, and arranged in co u n te r
balanced o rd e r. Assignment o f a su b je c t to a group c o rr e
sponded to the symbol on h is form. The in s tr u c to r
informed the stu d e n ts th a t the procedure was p a rt of a
re se a rc h p r o je c t, and th a t they would be given a d d itio n a l
inform ation when they re tu rn e d the forms to the next c la s s
meeting a f t e r com pleting them a t home.
53
Day TW o
The in s tr u c to r announced the date o f the course
exam a t the beginning o f the c la s s m eeting, one day
follow ing d is t r ib u t io n o f the TAS. Ten m inutes p r io r to
the end o f the c la s s period the th ree experim enters were
introduced to the c l a s s . E^ d e liv e re d a sh o rt statem ent
b r ie f ly ex p lain in g th e study and assig n in g Ss to one o f
th re e s p e c ia l experim ental rooms fo r the f i r s t two
experim ental se ssio n s (Appendix B, page 150).
Day Three
TW o days follow ing scheduling of th e exam, a l l Ss
rep o rted to t h e i r assig n ed experim ental rooms a t t h e i r
re g u la r c la s s hour. The procedure in each group w i l l be
described in the o rd er in which i t receiv ed in s tru c tio n s
fo r the w ritte n ta s k .
C ontrol Group. A fte r E3 d is tr ib u te d the Approach-
Avoidance V erbal S c a le , E^ d e liv e re d the v e rb a l in s tr u c
tio n s (Appendix B, page 1 5 1 ).
E3 remained w ith the C ontrol Group u n t i l comple
tio n of the w ritte n ta s k , when these Ste were fre e to
leav e.
54
Placebo Group. A fte r Ej d is tr ib u te d the Approach-
Avoidance V erbal S cale, E -^ d e liv e re d the same v e rb a l
in s tru c tio n s th a t were d e liv e re d to the C ontrol Group.
Following com pletion o f th e w ritte n ta sk E2
informed the Ss_ th a t they would now l i s t e n to a tape
reco rd in g c o n s is tin g o f muscle r e la x a tio n tr a in in g
followed by a sh o rt d isc u ssio n on the h is to ry o f modern
ed u catio n . E2 performed the r e la x a tio n e x e rc ise s along
w ith the group in order to provide a v is u a l dem onstration
o f th e i r proper perform ance.
D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group. A fte r d is t r ib u t in g the
Approach-Avoidance V erbal S c a le , E^ d e liv e re d the same
in s tru c tio n s which had been d e liv e re d to the two o th e r
groups.
Following com pletion of the w r itte n ta s k , E^
informed the Ss th a t they would now l i s t e n to a tape
reco rd in g c o n s is tin g of muscle r e la x a tio n tr a in in g ,
followed by s ix sh o rt scenes r e la te d to ta k in g an exam,
which they were to v is u a liz e according to in s tru c tio n s on
the ta p e . E^ performed the r e la x a tio n e x e rc ise s along
w ith the group. At the end o f the se ssio n Ss. were asked
i f they had s u c c e s s fu lly v is u a liz e d each o f the scenes.
55
A ll Sis answered a f f irm a tiv e ly .
Day Four
The day follow ing T ria l 1 S£ again met in t h e i r
re s p e c tiv e experim ental rooms a t the u su a l hour.
D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group. S ubjects in th is group
f i r s t experienced Tape E ag a in , and the re la x a tio n
e x e rc ise s were dem onstrated by A fter com pletion of
th is procedure, Ss were asked i f they had su c c e s sfu lly
v is u a liz e d each of the scen es. A ll S£ answered
a f f irm a tiv e ly .
Following com pletion of Tape E, Ej d is tr ib u te d the
Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale and E^ d e liv e re d the
v e rb a l in s tru c tio n s (Appendix B, page 152).
Placebo Group. These Si3 experienced Tape P ag a in ,
and the r e la x a tio n e x e rc ise s were dem onstrated by E^.
Immediately follow ing com pletion of Tape P, E^
d is trib u te d the Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale and
d e liv e re d the same in s tru c tio n s th a t were d e liv e re d to the
D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group preceding response to the w ritte n
ta sk .
56
C ontrol Group. d is tr ib u te d the Approach-
Avoidance V erbal Scale and E^ d e liv e re d the same in s tr u c
tio n s th a t were d e liv e re d to the two o th e r groups preced
ing response to the w ritte n ta s k . E^ remained w ith the
group u n t i l com pletion o f the w ritte n ta s k .
Day Five
Ten days follow ing the second t e s t t r i a l S£ in a l l
groups met in th e i r re g u la r classroom and immediately
preceding re g u la r c la s s time responded to the Approach-
Avoidance V erbal Scale for the th ir d tim e. A ll th ree
experim enters were p resen t and E^ d e liv e re d the same
in s tru c tio n s which had preceded response to the Approach-
Avoidance V erbal Scale on T r ia l 2.
Day Six
One day follow ing T ria l 3, and fo u rteen days
follow ing scheduling of the course exam, Ss^ in a l l groups
again met in th e ir re g u la r classroom . Immediately
preceding the course exam Ss responded to the Approach-
Avoidance V erbal Scale for the fo u rth tim e. The
experim ental procedure was id e n tic a l to th a t on T r ia l 3.
CHAPTER IV
RESULTS
The p o s s i b ilit y o f b ia se d sampling in assignm ent
o f Ss, to experim ental co n d itio n s was examined in two
independent com parisons: d iffe re n c e s in sco res on the
Sarason Test Anxiety Scale between the D e s e n s itiz a tio n
Group, the Placebo Group, and the C ontrol Group were
computed by means of a sim ple a n a ly sis of v a ria n c e ;
d iffe re n c e s between groups in i n i t i a l avoidance sco res
(T ria l 1) on the Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale were
s im ila rly computed. The groups did not d i f f e r s i g n i f i
c a n tly on e ith e r m easure, as in d ic a te d in Table 1. A
t - t e s t comparing the h ig h e st i n i t i a l avoidance mean (6 .02)
w ith the lowest i n i t i a l avoidance mean (4.40) generated a
n o n -s ig n ific a n t t o f 1.97 (df - 5 0 ), p > .0 5 , tw o -ta ile d .
S t a t i s t i c a l an aly ses o f d iffe re n c e s between group means on
n e u tr a l statem ents and on approach statem ents on the
58
TABLE 1
VALUES OF F FROM TW O INDEPENDENT COMPARISONS: DIFFERENCES
BETW EEN M EA N S ON THE SARASON TEST ANXIETY SCALE;
DIFFERENCES BETW EEN GROUP M EA N S IN INITIAL
AVOIDANCE (TRIAL 1) SCORES O N THE
APPROACH-AVOIDANCE VERBAL SCALE
Measure Group
Sarason D e s e n s itiz a tio n Placebo C ontrol
Mean 14.92 13.23 13.23
F - 0.38
p .05 - 3.15
V erbal Scale
(T r ia l 1)
Mean 5.37 6.02 4.40
F ■ 1.76
p .05 ■ 3.15
59
Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale were not computed because
i t was c le a r ly evident th a t th ese d iffe re n c e s were not
s ig n if ic a n t.
A comparison o f TAS scores and i n i t i a l avoidance
sco res generated a concurrent v a l id ity c o r r e la tio n co e f
f ic ie n t o f .56. A comparison o f i n i t i a l avoidance scores
and f in a l avoidance sco res (T ria l 4) generated an r of
.58. Both comparisons are s ig n if ic a n t a t beyond the .001
le v e l.
Mean response s tr e n g th on the Approach-Avoidance
V erbal Scale over groups, t r i a l s , and statem ents
(approach, avoidance, and n e u t r a l ) , as w ell as t o t a l means
over t r i a l s and statem ents w ith groups combined are given
in Table 2. The t o t a l means over t r i a l s and statem ents
fo r the combined sample is p lo tte d in Figure 1. The
tem poral d ista n c e between t r i a l s was not e q u id is ta n t, as
might be in f e rre d from Figure 1: T ria l 2 occurred one day
follow ing T r ia l 1, and T r ia l 3 and T ria l 4 were a lso
sep arated by one day, but te n days elapsed between T r ia l 2
and T ria l 3. P lo ttin g the data on a d a ily b a s is did not
change the shapes o f the g ra d ie n ts . A 3 X 3 X 4 a n a ly sis
of v a ria n c e , between groups and w ith in t r i a l s and
60
TABLE 2
M EA N SCORES O N APPROACH-AVOIDANCE, A N D NEUTRAL
STATEMENTS O N THE VERBAL SCALE OVER TRIALS,
GROUPS AND TOTAL M EA N S OVER THE
THREE GROUPS
Groups T ria ls
D e s e n s itiz a tio n 1 2 3 4
Ap 11.75 11.52 11.19 11.47
Av 5.37 5.45 7.15 7.69
N 6.77 6.82 6.40 6.22
Placebo
Ap 11.32 10.98 10.96 11.14
Av 6.02 6.00 7.54 7.90
N 6.76 6.73 6.55 6.20
C ontrol
Ap 10.93 10.83 10.65 10.90
Av 4.40 4.81 7.14 7.51
N 6.19 5.97 5.84 5.49
T o tals
Ap 11.33 11.11 10.92 11.17
Av 5.26 5.42 7.28 7.70
N 6.57 6.51 6.26 5.97
Response Strength/Approach-Avoidance Verbal Scale
61
14 ,
13 -
Approach o
Avoidance x
Neutral *
1 2 -
10 -
9 -
8 -
7 -
6 -
x
*
x-
5 -I
T ria ls
~r
2
F ig . 1 .--T o ta l mean response s tre n g th of a l l
groups to approach, avoidance, and n e u tra l statem ents on
the v erb al s c a le .
sta te m e n ts, based on the preceding means, generated the
two re le v a n t and highly s ig n if ic a n t e f f e c ts in Table 3.
The t r i a l s e f f e c t , F « 8.93 (df - 3 ,2 2 5 ), which in d ic a te s
th a t response magnitude was g r e a te r on some t r i a l s than on
o th e rs , was s ig n if ic a n t a t w ell beyond the .001 le v e l.
The t r i a l s by statem ents in te ra c tio n e f f e c t , F ■ 32.14
(df - 6 ,4 5 0 ), which in d ic a te s th a t response to the th ree
types of statem ents d iffe re d on one or more t r i a l s , was
a ls o s ig n if ic a n t a t beyond the .001 le v e l.
The hypotheses w ill be ev alu ated on the b a s is of
the foregoing data.
Hypothesis One
This hypothesis s ta te d th a t the tendency to
approach an am bivalent goal (course exam) in c re ase s in
s tre n g th w ith in c re asin g nearness to i t . The data p lo tte d
in Figure 1 from the combined means o f a l l groups f a i l to
support the h y p o th esis. Response s tre n g th to approach
statem ents decreased s li g h tly on most successive t r i a l s ,
in ste a d of in c re a sin g , as expected. An exception to th is
tren d occurred on the f in a l t r i a l , which in creased in
s tre n g th r e la tiv e to the preceding t r i a l . The curves
p lo tte d from response s tre n g th to approach statem ents and
63
TABLE 3
SU M M A R Y TABLE OF THREE-W AY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE BETW EEN
GROUPS; WITHIN TRIALS; WITHIN STATEM ENTS
(APPROACH-AVOIDANCE VERBAL SCALE)
Source SS d f M S F
Between
Groups 76.73 2 38.36 .73
E rror 3929.21 75 52.39
W ithin
T ria ls 64.50 3 21.50 8.93*
Statem ents 4725.82 2 2362.91 115.73*
Groups
X T ria ls 6.54 6 1.09 .45
Groups
X Statem ents 20.27 4 5.07 .25
T ria ls
X Statem ents 326.46 6 54.41 32.14*
T ria ls
X S ubjects
W ithin Groups 541.47 225 2.41
Statem ents
X S ubjects
W ithin Groups 3062.68 150 20.42
* p < .0 0 1
64
TABLE 3—Continued
Source SS d f M S
Groups
X T ria ls
X Statem ents 11.36 12 .95 .56
T ria ls
X Statem ents
X S ubjects
W ithin Groups 761.68 450 1.69
n e u tr a l statem ents are s im ila r fo r the f i r s t th re e t r i a l s ;
on T r ia l 4, however, they d iv e rg e , the approach curve
tu rn in g up and the n e u tr a l curve continuing i t s downward
tre n d . The shape of these curves is s tr ik in g ly c o n s is te n t
acro ss groups, as in d ic a te d in the approach curves
s e p a ra te ly p lo tte d fo r each group in Figure 2, and the
n e u tra l curves s im ila rly p lo tte d in Figure 3.
The post-hoc comparisons of group means (Scheffe'',
1959) in Table 4 , based on the a n a ly sis of variance data
in Table 3, in d ic a te th a t changes in approach means on
successive t r i a l s were o f in s u f f ic ie n t magnitude to
c o n trib u te to the s ig n if ic a n t t r i a l s e f f e c t which was
obtained from the o v e r - a ll d a ta . The e r ro r term fo r the
s p e c if ic post-hoc comparisons fo r a t r i a l s e f f e c t was
taken from the e r r o r term fo r the o v e r - a ll t r i a l s e f f e c t
in Table 3. The p o ssib le c o n trib u tio n of approach
responses to the s ig n if ic a n t t r i a l s by statem ents i n t e r
a c tio n e f f e c t generated from the o v e r - a ll data was a lso
examined in post-hoc comparisons o f group means shown in
Table 5 (Scheffe^, 1959). The e r r o r term fo r the s p e c ific
t r i a l s by statem ents post-hoc comparisons was taken from
the e r r o r term fo r the o v e r - a ll t r i a l s by statem ents
66
Q >
H
e g
u
in
e g
x >
< u
>
< u
u
c
( 0
•o
•H
o
is
o
e g
O
V 4
O u
a
<
« o
u
c o
C
o
a .
C O
3 )
ei
x:
u
C O
o
H
a
a
<
13 -i
12 -
11 - *
10 -
Desensitization Group o
Placebo Group x
Control Group *
i
3
T
2
T ria ls
Fig. 2 . —Response stre n g th to approach
statem ents w ith su c c e ssiv e ly c lo se r t r i a l s to the
course exam, in the d e s e n s itiz a tio n group, the placebo
group, and the c o n tro l group.
1 4 -I
13
12
11
10
9 -
8 -
7 -
6 -
Desensitization Group o
Placebo Group x
Control Group *
~r
2
T ria ls
F ig. 3 .--Response s tre n g th to n e u tra l s t a t e
ments w ith su c cessiv ely c lo s e r t r i a l s to the course
exam, in the d e s e n s itiz a tio n group, the placebo
group, and the c o n tro l group.
68
TABLE 4
POST-HOC COMPARISONS OF TOTAL M EA N S O N THE VERBAL SCALE:
APPROACH (Ap), AVOIDANCE (Av), NEUTRAL (N)
STATEM ENTS SEPARATELY CO M PA RED
OVER FOUR TRIALS
T ria ls
T ria ls 2 3 4
1
Ap Av N Ap Av N Ap Av N
Ap - - -
Av
-
* *
N
- - -
2
Ap
- -
Av
-
*
N
- -
3
Ap
-
Av
-
N
-
* p < .0 5
- not s ig .
An a b so lu te d iffe re n c e g re a te r than
1.91 re q u ire d fo r s ig n ific a n c e
69
TABLE 5
POST-HOC COMPARISONS OF TOTAL GROUP M EA N S O N THE
APPROACH-AVOIDANCE VERBAL SCALE: TRIALS
(1, 2, 3, 4) BY STATEMENTS (Ap, Av, N)
INTERACTIONS
Comparison
AVOIDANCE- NEUTRAL: The Sum o f the D ifferen ce in
Avoidance and N eutral Group Means on
T r ia l 3 and T ria l 4 Deducted from
the Sum of the D ifferen ce on T r ia l 1
and T ria l 2
[ - <
Absolute D ifference
p< .01 (df - 12,450)
5.26 + 5.42)
6.57 + 6.51)
f| I" ( 7.28 + 7.70)1
' [-( 6.26 + 5.97)J
-2.57
AVOIDANCE-APPRQACH: The Sum o f the D ifferen ce in
Avoidance and Approach Group Means
on T ria l 3 and T ria l 4 Deducted
from the Sum o f the D ifferen ce on
T r ia l 1 and T r ia l 2
5.26 + 5.42
(11.33 + 11.11)
28
92
Absolute D ifference - 1 .9 4
7.70)
11.17)
p C .0 1 (df - 12,450)
70
TABLE 5 --Continued
Comparison
APPROACH-NEUTRAL: The Sum o f the D ifference in
Approach and N eutral Group Means on
T ria l 4 Deducted from the Sum o f the
D ifference on T r ia l 3
r (io.92)i . r (ii.i7)i
|_ -(6 .2 6 )J [_ -( 5 .9 7 ) J
A bsolute D ifference -0 .5 4
p > .05 (df - 12,450)
in te r a c tio n e f f e c t in Table 3. The value o f the
Avoidance-Approach comparison was obtained by deducting
the mean s tre n g th of approach from avoidance responses on
T r ia l 3 and T r ia l 4, and then deducting the sum of th a t
d iffe re n c e from the sum obtained when mean s tre n g th of
approach responses were deducted from mean s tre n g th of
avoidance responses on T ria l 1 and T ria l 2. The ab so lu te
d iffe re n c e of -2.57 between these two s e ts o f t r i a l s is
s ig n if ic a n t a t beyond the .01 le v e l, and r e f l e c t s the
in c re a sin g s tre n g th of successive avoidance responses and
the decreasing s tre n g th of successive approach resp o n ses,
c o n s is te n t w ith the general lack of support for Hypothesis
One. The Approach-Neutral comparison was obtained by
deducting the mean s tre n g th o f n e u tra l from approach
responses on T ria l 4, and then deducting the sum o f th a t
d iffe re n c e from the sum obtained when mean s tre n g th of
n e u tr a l responses was deducted from mean stre n g th of
approach responses on T ria l 3. The ab so lu te d iffe re n c e of
-0 .5 4 is not s ig n if ic a n t.
Hypothesis Two
This hypothesis s ta te d th a t the tendency to avoid
an am bivalent goal in creases in s tre n g th w ith in c re asin g
nearness to i t . The data in Figure 1 (page 6 1 ), p lo tte d
from the combined means o f a l l groups in Table 2 (page
60), c le a r ly support th is h y p o th esis: s tre n g th o f
response to avoidance statem ents on the Approach-Avoidance
V erbal Scale sy ste m a tic a lly increased on successive
t r i a l s . S tre n g th of response to n e u tr a l statem ents showed
no such in c re a s e , as prev io u sly in d ic a te d in r e l a t i o n to
Ifypothesis One. The in crease in s tre n g th o f avoidance
occurred in each group, as in d ic a te d by the s e p a ra te ly
p lo tte d curves in Figure 4.
S t a t i s t i c a l support for Hypothesis Two came from
the data in Table 4 (page 68) and Table 5 (page 69) , which
in d ic a te th a t avoidance means c o n trib u te d to the s i g n i f i -
cant t r i a l s and t r i a l s by statem ents in te r a c tiv e e f f e c ts
in Table 3 (page 63). C o ntribution of avoidance means to
the t r i a l s e f f e c t , as shown in Table 4, came from s i g n i f i -
cent d iffe re n c e s between the avoidance means on T r ia l 1
and T ria l 3; T r ia l 1 and T ria l 4; and T r ia l 2 and T ria l 4.
A ll d iffe re n c e s between t r i a l s were s ig n if ic a n t a t beyond
the .05 le v e l. The d iffe re n c e between T r ia l 2 and T ria l 3
alm ost reached s ig n ific a n c e . Table 5 shows th a t avoidance
means a ls o c o n trib u te d to the in te ra c tio n e f f e c t in a t
73
1 4 H
Desensitization Group
Placebo Group
Control Group
CO
o
c o
13-
c o
•8
u
>
1 2 -
o
c
CD
•O
•H
11 -
0
1 io-
■
&
V
< 0
o
V i
a
a
<
C O
Q>
a
G
O
O u
CO
0 )
p c i
8~
a >
o
c
CD
T J
•H
O
5 >
<
4 3 2 1
T ria ls
F ig. 4 . —Response s tre n g th to avoidance
statem ents w ith su c cessiv ely c lo s e r t r i a l s to the
course exam, in the d e s e n s itiz a tio n group, the
placebo group, and the c o n tro l group.
74
le a s t two post-hoc com parisons: The A voidance-N eutral
com parison, which compared the d iffe re n c e between s tr e n g th
o f avoidance and n e u tr a l responses on the f i r s t two t r i a l s
to the d iffe re n c e between s tre n g th of avoidance and
n e u tr a l responses on the la s t two t r i a l s r e f le c te d the
in c re a sin g s tr e n g th o f avoidance and the decreasing
s tre n g th o f the n e u tr a l response w ith closeness to the
go al; The Avoidance-Approach comparison was computed in
the same manner but involved the d iffe re n c e s in s tre n g th
o f approach and avoidance responses w ith in c re a sin g
tem poral nearness to the g o al. A ll in te ra c tiv e d i f f e r
ences were s ig n if ic a n t a t beyond the .01 le v e l.
Hypothesis Three
This hypothesis s ta te d th a t the tendency to avoid
the am bivalent goal would in c re ase a t a lower r a te w ith
decreasing d ista n c e from the goal in the D e se n sitiz a tio n
Group than i t would in c re ase in the Placebo Group and the
n o -treatm en t C ontrol Group. The p re d ic tio n was based on
the ex p e cta tio n th a t the treatm en t experienced by the
D e se n sitiz a tio n Group would e f f e c tiv e ly lower the d riv e ,
fe a r , upon which the avoidance tendency is based, w hile
the treatm ent experienced by the Placebo Group would have
l i t t l e or no e f f e c t on fe a r . The a n a ly sis of v aria n ce
data in Table 3 (page 63) f a i l to support the h y p o th e sis.
The tren d of d iffe re n c e s between the th re e group means,
w hile not s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ig n i f ic a n t , m e rits some con-
s id e r a tio n . The s tre n g th o f the avoidance tendency,
se p a ra te ly p lo tte d fo r the th re e groups over four t r i a l s
in Figure 4 (page 68), shows th a t while the avoidance curve
was ste e p e r in the C ontrol Group than in the o th e r two
groups, i t was somewhat ste e p e r in the D e s e n s itiz a tio n
Group than in the Placebo Group. In o th e r words, the
Placebo Group's responses in d ic a te a sm aller in c re ase in
the tendency to avoid the course exam w ith in c re a sin g
tem poral clo sen ess to i t , than do the responses o f the
D e se n sitiz a tio n Group, co n tra ry to e x p e c ta tio n s. Thus the
placebo treatm en t appears to have been s li g h t l y more
e f f e c tiv e in reducing the avoidance tendency than the
d e s e n s itiz a tio n tre a tm e n t. As fu rth e r evidence o f the
d iffe re n c e between the two treatm ent groups on the one
hand and the n o -treatm en t c o n tro l on the o th e r, a s p e c if ic
comparison of s tre n g th o f avoidance on the p re -tre a tm e n t
t r i a l (T ria l 1) and the p o st-tre a tm e n t t r i a l (T ria l 2)
shows th a t the Placebo Group decreased .02 sc a le p o in ts
and the D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group increased .08 sc a le p o in ts ,
a minute d if fe re n c e , compared to a .41 in c re ase in the
C ontrol Group (Table 2, page 60). Consequently, w hile
d iffe re n c e s between groups are not s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i
cant , and w hile the d iffe re n c e in tren d between the
D e se n sitiz a tio n Group and the Placebo Group is not in the
expected d ir e c tio n , the data do suggest a d i s t i n c t d i f f e r
ence between the two l a t t e r groups and the C ontrol Group.
I t was a ls o p re d ic te d th a t su b je c ts in the
D e se n sitiz a tio n Group would perform more adequately on the
course exam than su b je c ts in the Placebo Group or in the
C ontrol Group. A s t a t i s t i c a l comparison of the r e la tiv e
performance of the th re e groups confirmed the ex p e c ta tio n .
Group means, c a lc u la te d from d iffe re n c e s between scores on
the c u rre n t course exam and the preceding one, and planned
comparisons (Scheffe', 1959) based on th ese means are shown
in Table 6. T ra n sla tin g the p re d ic tio n o f su p e rio r
performance in the D e se n sitiz a tio n Group in to Comparison I
w ith the c o e ff ic ie n ts shown in Table 6, generated a t of
1.77 (df - 75) s ig n if ic a n t a t the .05 le v e l, o n e -ta ile d .
Planned comparisons provide the only in stan ce in which a t
s t a t i s t i c can be derived from a comparison o f more than
77
TABLE 6
PLANNED COMPARISONS OF DIFFERENCES IN M EA N PERFORM ANCE
BETW EEN GROUPS O N THE COURSE EX A M RELATIVE
TO THE PREVIOUS COURSE EX A M
Group
Mean
D e se n sitiz a tio n
-0 .3 4
Placebo
-2.31
C ontrol
-2 .5 4
Comparison I
C o e ffic ie n ts
t - 1.77*
1 -1/2 -1/2
Comparison I I
C o e ffic ie n ts
t - 1.74
4 -1 -3
*p < .0 5 One-Tailed
78
two group means (Hays, 1963, page 465). The p re d ic tio n
a ls o im p lic itly assumes an expected order o f group p e r
formance on the exam, based on d iffe re n c e s in experim ental
trea tm en t. A ccordingly, the D e se n sitiz a tio n Group should
perform b e t t e r than the o th e r two groups; the Placebo
Group should perform a t a le v e l in term ed iate between the
D e se n sitiz a tio n Group and the C ontrol Group; and the
performance o f the C ontrol Group should be in f e r io r to
both o f the treatm en t groups. T ra n sla tin g the assum ption
of expected o rd er o f group d iffe re n c e s in to Comparison I I
w ith the c o e f f ic ie n ts shown in Table 6, generated a t of
1.74 (df ■ 75), s ig n if ic a n t a t the .05 le v e l, o n e -ta ile d
(Scheffe^, 1959). The d is t r ib u tio n o f raw scores on the
exam was a ls o p lo tte d (Appendix A, Table 10). The
su p e rio r performance in the D e se n sitiz a tio n Group is
r a th e r p arad o x ical, however, since the p re d ic tio n was
based on the ex p e cta tio n th a t the d e s e n s itiz a tio n t r e a t
ment would e f f e c tiv e ly decrease fe a r , and thus s tre n g th of
the avoidance response. Contrary to th a t e x p e c ta tio n , as
previously in d ic a te d , the Placebo Group a c tu a lly increased
le ss in s tre n g th of response to avoidance statem ents on
successive t r i a l s on the Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale
than the D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group.
CHAPTER V
DISCUSSION
Hypothesis One
Hypothesis One s ta te d th a t the tendency to
approach an am bivalent goal in creases in s tre n g th w ith
in c re a sin g nearness to i t . The evidence f a ile d to support
the h y p o th e sis. S tren g th o f the approach response
decreased s li g h tly w ith prog ressiv e te s tin g from the f i r s t
to the th ir d t r i a l , but increased on the fo u rth t r i a l
r e la tiv e to the two preceding t r i a l s . The response
p a tte rn was c o n s is te n t in a l l th re e groups, and was a lso
s tr ik in g ly s im ila r to the response p a tte rn e l i c i t e d by
n e u tra l statem ents on the f i r s t th ree t r i a l s , but d i f f e r
ent on the fo u rth t r i a l : w hile the approach response
increased in s tre n g th on the l a t t e r t r i a l , response to
n e u tra l statem ents continued i t s downward tre n d . A s t a
t i s t i c a l a n a ly sis o f the d iffe re n c e in response s tre n g th
80
81
.to the two types o f statem ents on the fo u rth t r i a l f a ile d
to reach s ig n ific a n c e . However, the co n sisten cy o f the
response p a tte r n to b oth types o f statem ents observed in
a l l th re e groups is non eth eless im pressive and m e rits some
c o n s id e ra tio n .
The c o n s is te n t downward tre n d in observed s tre n g th
o f response to n e u tr a l sta te m e n ts, and the same p a tte r n in
the f i r s t th re e approach responses may r e f l e c t a te s tin g
e f f e c t , a phenomenon d iscussed in the l i t e r a t u r e as a
necessary c o n tro l v a ria b le in experim ental design
(Campbell, 1966; Solomon, 1949). Bruner, Jacobs, Orlando,
and Meehan (1966), in a paper d e liv e re d b efo re a meeting
o f the Western Psychological A sso c iatio n , re p o rte d th a t
response s tre n g th to a f f e c tiv e s tim u li tends to decrease
w ith rep ea ted te s tin g . The p o s s i b ilit y th a t a te s tin g
e f f e c t depressed the s tre n g th of the observable response
r a is e s the p o s s i b ilit y th a t the tendency to approach the
exam did in fa c t p ro g re ssiv e ly in c re ase in the manner
p re d ic te d , but th a t in te r a c tio n w ith the d epressing e f f e c t
o f rep ea ted te s tin g produced a n e t d eclin e in the observa
b le s tre n g th of approach. Since the approach response, as
c o n tra ste d w ith the n e u tra l response, increased in
82
s tre n g th on the fo u rth t r i a l , the in te ra c tio n hypothesis
su ggests th a t the in c re a sin g s tre n g th of the approach
tendency w ith closeness to the goal changed the r e l a t i v e
w eights of the two components o f the in te r a c tio n , produc
ing a gain in the observable approach response.
S everal p o s s i b i l i t i e s fo r c o n tro l ag a in st an
in te r a c tiv e te s tin g e f f e c t suggest them selves. An e x p e ri
m ental design which elim in a ted repeated te s tin g o f
s u b je c ts by subdividing each main group in to a number of
subgroups, each subgroup te s te d only once, would e f f e c
tiv e ly c o n tro l a g a in st r e t e s t i n g . A second p o s s i b ilit y
c o n s is ts of adding a c o n tro l group to the present desig n ,
one which is te s te d only on the f i r s t and f in a l t r i a l s .
A th ir d p o s s i b ilit y , which would probably serve as a more
e f f e c tiv e c o n tro l a g a in st r e te s tin g e f f e c t s , c o n s is ts of
adding two c o n tro l groups, one te s te d on the f i r s t t r i a l
o n ly , and the o th e r te s te d on the f in a l t r i a l only.
An a d d itio n a l ex p lan atio n o f the f a ilu r e to
observe a p ro g re ssiv e ly stro n g e r approach response to the
am bivalent goal is r e la te d to the in c en tiv e value o f the
s p e c if ic goal employed in the p rese n t in v e s tig a tio n .
In cen tiv e v a lu e , defined in terms of amount of
reinforcem ent and delay in reinforcem ent (Logan, 1959), is
known to a f f e c t the s tre n g th of a response. The p o s s i
b i l i t y th e re fo re e x is ts th a t the in c en tiv e value of the
goal in te r a c ts w ith h a b it s tre n g th and s tre n g th of d riv e
to determine the exact slope of response tendencies in a
c o n f lic t s it u a ti o n , g re a te r in c en tiv e value in c re a sin g the
slope o f the g ra d ie n ts . The M ille r, Brown, and Lewis
stu d y , p rev io u sly c ite d in th is paper (page 2 1 ), which
rep o rted th a t r a ts who rece iv ed g re a te r amounts o f shock
a t the goal subsequently stopped running a t a p o in t
f a r th e r removed from the g o a l, tends to support the fo re
going r a tio n a le , although i t r e la te s to lower organisms
behaving in a s p a t i a l dimension and involves the shape of
the avoidance g ra d ie n t in ste a d o f the approach g ra d ie n t.
The s p e c ific in c en tiv e value o f the course exam which
served as the am bivalent goal in the p resen t s it u a ti o n was
r e la tiv e l y low, i . e . , i t was le s s s ig n if ic a n t to the
d e sire fo r academic achievem ent, which is assumed to
m otivate the approach resp o n se, than a f in a l or m id-term
course exam would have been, consequently i t would p re
sumably produce a f l a t t e r approach curve than e i th e r of
the l a t t e r ev e n ts. Given the p o s s i b ilit y th a t low
in c e n tiv e value in the p rese n t s it u a ti o n tended to produce
a r e l a t i v e l y f l a t approach response curv e, i t can be seen
how an in te r a c tiv e and p ro g re ssiv e ly stro n g e r te s tin g
e f f e c t could more e a s ily depress the observed response
s tr e n g th , thereby masking a p ro g re ssiv e ly stro n g e r
tendency to approach the g o al. D ifferen ces in r e la tiv e
r a te o f change in the two components o f the in te ra c tio n
could e v e n tu a lly r e s u l t in an observable in c re ase in
s tre n g th of approach, as p rev io u sly s ta te d and as observed
on T r ia l 4 in the p resen t study. An experim ental design
which reduced or elim in ated te s tin g e f f e c ts and a ls o
employed a goal w ith r e l a t i v e l y high in c e n tiv e value would
provide the n ecessary co n d itio n s fo r a more adequate
e v a lu a tio n of Hypothesis One, and M ille r 's Assumption A,
which was the th e o r e tic a l b a s is o f the h y p o th esis.
Hypothesis Two
Hypothesis Two s ta te d th a t the tendency to avoid
an am bivalent goal in c re ase s in s tre n g th w ith in c re a sin g
nearness to i t . Graphic evidence, p lo tte d from group
means, in d ic a te d th a t in a l l th re e groups the avoidance
response p ro g re ssiv e ly in creased in s tre n g th w ith tem poral
n earness to the g o al. An a n a ly s is o f the changes in
s tr e n g th of avoidance in d ic a te d th a t th re e o f them were o f
s u f f i c ie n t magnitude to reach s t a t i s t i c a l s ig n ific a n c e ,
and th a t a fo u rth was n e a rly s ig n i f ic a n t . S t a t i s t i c a l
a n a ly s is fu rth e r in d ic ated a h ig h ly s ig n if ic a n t d iffe re n c e
between the p ro g re ssiv e ly stro n g e r responses e l i c i t e d by
avoidance statem ents on successive t r i a l s and the p ro g res
s iv e ly weaker responses e l i c i t e d by n e u tra l statem ents on
su ccessiv e t r i a l s . The evidence thus stro n g ly confirms
Hypothesis Two, which can be construed as experim ental
support fo r M ille r 's Assumption B.
Hypothesis Three
Hypothesis Three s ta te d th a t the tendency to avoid
the am bivalent goal would in c re ase a t a lower r a te w ith
decreasin g d ista n c e from the goal in the D e se n sitiz a tio n
Group than i t would in crease in the Placebo Group and the
n o -treatm en t C ontrol Group. The evidence f a ile d to
support the hypothesis: no s ig n if ic a n t d iffe re n c e s in
s tr e n g th of avoidance were observed between groups. While
f a i l i n g to reach s ig n ific a n c e , a s u b s ta n tia l d iffe re n c e was
found between the two treatm ent groups, the D e se n sitiz a
tio n Group and the Placebo Group, on the one hand, and the
n o -treatm en t Control Group, on the o th e r, which can be
in te rp re te d as in d ic a tin g a tren d in the expected d ir e c
tio n . The p re d ic tio n th a t the D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group's
avoidance responses would in crease a t a lower r a te re s te d
on the e x p e c ta tio n th a t the d e s e n s itiz a tio n treatm ent
would e f f e c tiv e ly decrease s tre n g th o f fe a r in th a t group.
S ince, in f a c t , Placebo Group avoidance responses
in creased a t a somewhat lower r a te than D e s e n s itiz a tio n
Group avoidance re sp o n se s, i t appears th a t the s p e c if ic
d e s e n s itiz a tio n procedure may have produced e ith e r l i t t l e
e f f e c t , or a p arad o x ical e f f e c t which in creased fe a r of
ta k in g the exam in ste a d of decreasing i t . A more d e ta ile d
a n a ly s is of the data in d ic a te d th a t when p re -tre a tm e n t
(T ria l 1) response s tre n g th to Statem ent 20 on the
Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale (Appendix B, page 138),
which is a d ir e c t measure o f f e a r , was compared to p o st
treatm en t (T ria l 2) response s tre n g th , the Placebo Group
mean decreased .50 sc a le p o in ts but the D e se n sitiz a tio n
Group mean in creased .57 sc a le p o in ts . The d iffe re n c e is
im pressive although not s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ig n i f ic a n t . I t
th e re fo re follow s th a t the s tre n g th of the avoidance
response in the D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group may have been the
r e s u lta n t o f an in te ra c tio n between the s p e c ific e f f e c t
87
£rom the d e s e n s itiz a tio n treatm en t and the n o n -sp e c ific
(placebo) a sp ects in the s i t u a t i o n , the former tending to
in c re ase and the l a t t e r to decrease fe a r o f the course
exam. The lack of e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f the p rese n t d e s e n s it i
z a tio n procedure may be a t t r i b u t a b l e to lack of system atic
c o n tro l a g a in st fe a r and te n sio n e l i c i t e d in the su b je c ts
during v is u a liz a tio n s by the scenes they were asked to
v is u a liz e . Contrary to re c e n t experim ental evidence Wolpe
(1958) could be r ig h t in h is co n ten tio n th a t such lack of
c o n tro l in creases the s tre n g th o f fe a r o f the th re a te n in g
event r a th e r than d ecreasin g i t .
D espite the fa c t th a t a tre n d in the data is
c o n s is te n t w ith the th e o r e tic a l assum ptions b a sic to
Hypothesis Three, lack o f s t a t i s t i c a l support leaves the
h ypothesis unsupported.
An em p irical p re d ic tio n , which could be regarded
as a c o ro lla ry to Hypothesis Three, s ta te d th a t the
performance o f the D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group on the course
exam r e la tiv e to the preceding course exam would be
s u p e rio r to the performance o f the two c o n tro l groups. A
s t a t i s t i c a l a n a ly sis of group means supported the p re d ic
tio n . An im p lic it assum ption of an expected descending
88
o rd er of r e l a t i v e s tre n g th o f performance in the D esensi
t i z a t i o n Group, the Placebo Group, and the C ontrol Group
was a ls o s t a t i s t i c a l l y confirm ed.
S everal in te r e s tin g tren d s in the d a ta , w hile not
c e n tr a l to the s ta te d hypotheses in th is paper, are
re le v a n t to M ille r 's c o n f lic t model. M ille r 's Assumption
F, which s ta te s th a t when two incom patible responses are
in c o n f lic t the stro n g er one w ill occur, would appear to
have received confirm ation from the o b serv atio n in the
p re se n t data th a t the ab so lu te s tre n g th o f group approach
responses exceeded the ab so lu te s tre n g th of group
avoidance responses a t a l l p o in ts along the g ra d ie n ts ,
sin c e a l l of these su b je c ts approached a l l the way to the
g o a l, i . e . , took the course exam. Out o f the t o t a l sample
p o p u latio n of sev en ty -eig h t s u b je c ts , th e re were only ten
whose avoidance responses were stro n g e r than approach
responses on one or more t r i a l s . Two su b je c ts who volun
te e re d to p a r tic ip a te in the study f a ile d to appear for
the la s t t r i a l and the course exam: one su b je c t in the
D e s e n s itiz a tio n Group, whose approach responses on the
previous t r i a l s were stro n g e r than h is avoidance
resp o n ses; and one su b je c t in the C ontrol Group, whose
89
avoidance response on the th ir d t r i a l only was stro n g e r
than h is approach response. The p resen t data a ls o c le a r ly
support M ille r 's Assumption C, which s ta te s th a t the
g ra d ie n t o f avoidance is s te e p e r than the g ra d ie n t o f
approach.
CHAPTER VI
SU M M A R Y AN D CONCLUSION
Summary
The purpose of the p resen t study was to t e s t the
follow ing hypotheses: (1) the tendency to approach an
am bivalent goal in c re a se s in s tre n g th w ith in c re a sin g
closeness to i t ; (2) the tendency to avoid an am bivalent
goal in c re ase s in s tre n g th w ith in c re asin g clo sen ess to
i t ; (3) the tendency to avoid an am bivalent goal in c re ase s
a t a lower r a t e , w ith in c re a sin g c lo se n e ss, in d e se n si
tiz e d su b je c ts than in c o n tro l s u b je c ts . An a d d itio n a l
em p irical p re d ic tio n observed th a t the d e s e n s itiz a tio n
procedure would f a c i l i t a t e performance on a course exam
(the am bivalent g o a l).
Three groups o f su b je c ts who were scheduled fo r a
course exam responded once to the Sarason Test Anxiety
Scale p r io r to sch ed u lin g , and to a s p e c if ic a lly
90
91
co n stru c ted Approach-Avoidance V erbal S c a le , which was
designed to measure a t t i t u d e s toward the course exam, four
tim es in the time in te r v a l subsequent to scheduling and
preceding the occurrence o f the exam. TVo o f the groups
experienced an in te rv e n tio n treatm ent in the time in te r v a l
between the f i r s t and second t r i a l on the Approach-
Avoidance V erbal S cale; the th ir d group experienced no
in te rv e n tio n . Treatment fo r su b je c ts in the experim ental
group c o n siste d o f follow ing tape recorded in s tru c tio n s
fo r procedures designed to d e s e n s itiz e th ese s u b je c ts to
tak in g the course exam; treatm en t fo r the s u b je c ts in the
placebo c o n tro l group c o n siste d of follow ing tape recorded
in s tru c tio n s fo r procedures designed to have no s i g n i f i
cant e f f e c t on a t titu d e s toward ta k in g the exam.
The data were su b je cte d to s t a t i s t i c a l a n a ly sis
and em p irical c o n s id e ra tio n w ith the follow ing r e s u l t s :
1. The e x p e c ta tio n th a t s tr e n g th o f approach
would in c re ase w ith in c re a sin g tem poral clo sen ess to the
exam was not confirm ed.
2. The e x p e c ta tio n th a t s tre n g th o f avoidance
would in c re ase w ith in c re a sin g clo sen ess to the exam was
stro n g ly confirm ed.
92
3. The ex p e cta tio n th a t d e s e n s itiz a tio n would
lower stre n g th * o f avoidance was not s t a t i s t i c a l l y
confirm ed. However, the p ro g re ssiv e in crease in stre n g th
o f avoidance responses of the two treatm ent groups was
lower than the in crease in s tre n g th of avoidance responses
o f the no-treatm ent c o n tro l group. Contrary to expecta
ti o n , the placebo treatm ent appeared to have been s lig h tly
more e f f e c tiv e in lowering the s tre n g th o f the avoidance
tendency than the d e s e n s itiz a tio n trea tm en t.
4. C onsistent w ith the em p irical p re d ic tio n th a t
the d e s e n s itiz a tio n treatm ent would improve performance on
the course exam r e la tiv e to the preceding course exam, the
d e s e n s itiz a tio n group performed a t a s ig n if ic a n tly higher
le v e l than the c o n tro l groups. An im p lic it assumption in
the em p irical p re d ic tio n th a t the d e s e n s itiz a tio n group,
the placebo group, and the n o -treatm en t c o n tro l group
would perform in th a t re s p e c tiv e descending o rd e r, was
a ls o s t a t i s t i c a l l y v e r if ie d .
Conclusions
The stre n g th o f the tendency to approach an
am bivalent g o a l, as measured by the p resen t instrum ents
and in the p resen t s it u a ti o n , did not in crease w ith
93
in c re a sin g tem poral clo sen ess to the g o al. Suggestions
fo r le s s ambiguous re se a rc h designs and more a p p ro p ria te
experim ental co n d itio n s for te s tin g th is problem were
o ffe re d in the d isc u ssio n s e c tio n .
The s tre n g th o f the tendency to avoid an ambiva
le n t goal in c re ase s w ith in c re a sin g tem poral clo sen ess to
the goa1.
The evidence on the p re d ic tio n th a t d ecreasin g the
s tre n g th of fe a r in a c o n f lic t s it u a ti o n decreases the
s tre n g th of the avoidance response is in co n clu siv e.
While the data were not s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ig n i f ic a n t , th e i r
tre n d was in the p re d ic te d d ir e c tio n . A p o ssib le explana
tio n fo r the apparent in e ffe c tiv e n e s s of the d e s e n s itiz a
tio n treatm en t was suggested.
The em p irical p re d ic tio n th a t the d e s e n s itiz a tio n
treatm en t would improve performance on the course exam was
s t a t i s t i c a l l y confirm ed, as was the im p lic it assum ption
th a t th e d e s e n s itiz a tio n tre a tm e n t, the placebo tre a tm e n t,
and no-treatm ent would improve performance in th a t
descending o rd e r. However, sin ce the d e s e n s itiz a tio n
treatm en t group in d ic a te d g r e a te r s tre n g th o f avoidance on
th e Approach-Avoidance V erbal Scale than the placobo
treatm en t group, i t would appear th a t the d e s e n s itiz a tio n
treatm en t a ffe c te d performance in some way o th e r than by
decreasing fe a r o f the exam. I t was suggested in the
d isc u ssio n se c tio n th a t the s p e c ific e f f e c t o f the
d e s e n s itiz a tio n treatm ent might have been to stim u la te a
g re a te r amount o f studying fo r the exam.
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group counseling approach to the prevention of
under achievem ent. Psychol. Monogr. . 1964, 78.
No. 13.
63. _________, W eitz, H. , and Denny, J . P. Group
counseling and the academic performance of
anxious co lleg e freshmen. J . counsel. Psychol. ,
1962, 9, 195-204.
64. T aylor, J . A. A p e rs o n a lity sc a le o f m anifest
a n x ie ty . J . abnorm. soc. Psychol. . 1953, 48.
285-290.
65. _________. Drive theory and m anifest a n x iety .
Psychol. B u ll. . 1956, 53, 303-320.
66. _________, and Spence, K. W . The r e la tio n s h ip of
an x iety le v e l to performance in s e r i a l le a rn in g .
J . exp. Psychol. . 1952, 44, 61-64.
67. T rapold, M . S ., M ille r, N. E ., and Coons, E. E.
A ll-or-none versus p ro g ressiv e approach in the
approach-avoidance c o n f lic t. J . comp, p h y s io l.
Psychol. . 1960, 53, 293-296.
68. Wipf, J . L. P o sitiv e and n eg ativ e g rad ie n ts of
response stre n g th in a tem poral c o n f lic t
s itu a tio n . J . exp. Psychol. . 1964, 62, 234-241.
103
69. Wolfe, J . B. The e f f e c t o f delayed reward upon
le arn in g in the w hite r a t . J . comp. Psychol. .
1934, 17, 1-24.
70. Wolpe, J . Psychotherapy by re c ip ro c a l in h ib i tio n .
S tanford: S tanford U n iv ersity P re ss, 1958.
71. Wolpin, M., and R aines, J . V isual imagery, expected
r o le s , and e x tin c tio n as p o ssib le fa c to rs in
reducing fe a r and avoidance b eh av io r. J .
Behavior Research and Therapy. 1966, 4, 25-37.
A P P E N D I C E S
APPENDIX A
STATISTICAL D A TA
106
TABLE 7
R A W SCORES OF THE DESENSITIZATION G R O U P (VERBAL SCALE:
APPROACH; AVOIDANCE; NEUTRAL)
T R I A L S
Is 1 2 3 4
1 Ap 7.83 5.83 5.50 6.00
Av 5.83 4.67 3.83 4.50
N 4.50 5.67 5.50 5.25
2 Ap 14.82 12.50 12.83 12.33
Av .67 4.00 5.33 11.83
N 3.75 4.60 5.94 5.31
3 Ap 12.83 12.50 12.67 12.50
Av 7.67 9.33 14.00 11.33
N 8.00 8.44 5.56 4.44
4 Ap 8.50 5.33 7.50 5.50
Av 5.83 4.17 4.67 3.00
N 7.37 2.81 2.50 2.81
5 Ap 13.00 13.67 13.67 14.00
Av 5.67 5.50 5.00 4.50
N 7.44 8.50 8.44 8.56
6 Ap 11.33 13.17 13.17 12.00
Av 3.17 3.83 4.67 3.17
N 6.75 7.88 8.31 6.75
7 Ap 13.00 12.50 13.00 13.00
Av 1.67 2.33 1.83 3.83
N 6.50 6.06 5.88 5.44
8 Ap 10.83 11.67 10.00 11.33
Av 3.17 3.33 11.33 8.00
N 7.12 7.12 6.19 7.19
TABLE 7 - -C on tin u ed
107
T R I A L S
Ss
9 Ap 11.83 12.50 12.83 11.33
Av 7.50 12.17 14.00 16.00
N 9.69 10.38 6.75 6.88
10 Ap 14.67 14.67 13.50 13.83
Av 3.00 5.00 4.67 7.00
N 6.38 4.69 4.50 3.00
11 Ap 14.00 12.17 12.67 13.00
Av 12.17 12.00 9.67 9.50
N 9.00 8.94 8.94 8.62
12 Ap 10.83 13.00 11.00 13.17
Av 6.00 7.50 10.00 11.83
N 3.00 3.38 6.75 6.31
13 Ap 12.17 13.50 13.33 13.17
Av 4.67 5.67 10.00 13.00
N 7.38 7.62 7.50 5.75
14 Ap 4.67 4.17 5.00 5.00
Av 1.67 1.17 1.83 4.17
N 3.19 4.38 3.44 3.38
15 Ap 15.50 14.50 13.83 11.33
Av 1.50 .83 1.67 8.00
N 5.94 6.38 6.25 6.88
16 Ap 13.00 14.00 12.50 13.50
Av 3.83 4.83 5.50 10.67
N 5.75 6.56 5.50 2.93
17 Ap 5.43 6.50 3.83 4.83
Av 3.33 5.00 3.17 2.83
N 6.69 5.88 5.06 6.38
Ss
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
TABLE 7— C ontinued
Ap 12.67 12.33 9.83
Av 2.83 3.00 7.50
N 7.25 6.64 6.00
Ap 12.83 13.50 13.50
Av 5.17 6.33 6.00
N 5.75 6.50 3.25
Ap 12.00 8.33 10.00
Av 15.83 10.50 15.50
N 8.75 7.94 8.44
Ap 9.83 8.17 9.17
Av 4.50 3.50 4.17
N 6.57 5.44 5.12
Ap 13.83 13.67 13.00
Av 4.33 2.33 3.33
N 8.25 8.75 8.31
Ap 10.83 12.50 12.83
Av 3.50 2.67 2.83
N 6.69 8.44 6.75
Ap 13.50 12.50 11.17
Av 10.33 8.50 10.17
N 7.69 7.38 8.25
Ap 13.00 12.83 13.00
Av 9.00 11.17 13.33
N 7.88 8.12 8.88
Ap 12.67 13.50 11.67
Av 6.83 2.33 11.33
N 8.62 8.94 8.38
109
TABLE 8
R A W SCORES OF THE PLACEBO G R O U P (VERBAL SCALE:
APPROACH; AVOIDANCE; NEUTRAL)
T R I A L S
Ss 1 2 3 4
1 Ap 13.33 14.67 13.67 13.50
Av 1.50 1.33 2.50 4.17
N 7.19 7.25 8.50 8.62
2 Ap 10.33 11.17 12.17 13.00
Av 5.00 4.17 7.83 5.83
N 4.50 3.81 4.06 3.81
3 Ap 12.33 9.33 12.00 12.83
Av 3.00 1.00 1.33 1.67
N 5.88 4.81 5.75 6.00
4 Ap 13.33 13.50 13.83 13.83
Av 6.50 6.83 9.50 7.83
N 8.81 9.69 10.44 9.75
5 Ap 9.83 9.00 7.83 8.00
Av 6.33 5.83 6.17 10.33
N 5.12 5.25 4.00 3.25
6 Ap 14.00 11.83 11.83 11.50
Av 6.17 4.83 5.33 4.67
N 6.64 5.93 5.62 5.12
7 Ap 13.33 13.83 13.33 13.67
Av 12.67 10.33 10.33 12.67
N 6.12 6.12 4.31 4.38
8 Ap 10.83 10.50 10.33 12.33
Av 3.00 3.33 6.17 3.67
N 9.62 10.62 10.31 10.19
TABLE 8— C ontinued
110
T R I A L S
Ss 1 2 3 4
9 Ap 11.33 11.33 11.50 12.00
Av 9.67 12.50 14.00 14.83
N 5.56 4.94 4.44 3.94
10 Ap 12.17 12.83 12.67 10.50
Av 8.00 7.83 8.33 7.17
N 5.69 4.62 3.88 2.81
11 Ap 12.17 12.67 12.83 13.17
Av 11.00 11.50 9.33 9.67
N 8.81 9.25 8.62 6.44
12 Ap 11.00 8.83 11.50 11.83
Av 8.82 15.33 15.17 15.83
N 9.50 11.56 13.25 12.12
13 Ap 10.50 10.50 12.50 10.17
Av 4.67 3.50 4.67 4.00
N 7.31 6.56 7.31 7.31
14 Ap 10.50 10.33 6.50 9.67
Av 13.33 13.00 9.00 15.67
N 8.69 8.38 7.94 7.69
15 Ap 7.33 4.33 3.33 2.83
Av 3.00 1.83 2.33 1.67
N 3.94 2.44 2.19 1.19
16 Ap 12.17 12.50 12.00 12.17
Av 8.17 9.17 10.67 11.00
N 8.19 8.25 7.12 8.38
17 Ap 13.50 13.33 13.33 13.17
Av 10.67 8.00 15.17 14.83
N 8.75 7.75 5.94 6.50
TABLE 8— C ontinued
111
T R I A L S
Ss 1 2 3 4
18 Ap 13.83 14.00 13.83 14.50
Av 4.62 6.33 8.00 7.00
N 9.25 8.19 9.19 8.75
19 Ap 13.17 13.00 11.50 13.33
Av 6.83 5.33 6.83 9.67
N 6.69 6.06 5.88 5.19
20 Ap 10.33 9.50 8.67 9.00
Av .83 .50 .33 .67
N 2.50 2.88 1.88 2.25
21 Ap 7.82 6.33 5.00 5.00
Av 3.50 .83 1.67 1.17
N 3.00 1.88 1.12 .81
22 Ap 7.50 8.13 8.33 10.33
Av 6.67 5.67 7.33 7.33
N 10.25 10.81 9.25 9.88
23 Ap 10.83 11.83 12.00 10.00
Av 2.50 6.33 7.50 5.83
N 7.25 9.62 9.69 9.12
24 Ap 4.00 4.17 6.33 6.17
Av 6.00 5.00 3.67 7.67
N 4.00 4.62 5.19 5.56
25 Ap 13.50 13.50 13.33 13.33
Av 1.17 1.00 11.33 8.83
N 4.81 5.81 6.88 5.88
26 Ap 15.32 14.67 14.83 13.83
Av 3.00 4.83 11.17 11.67
N 7.62 8.00 7.56 6.19
112
TABLE 9
R A W SCORES OF TH E CONTROL GROUP (VERBAL SCALE:
APPROACH; AVOIDANCE; NEUTRAL)
T R I A L S
s 1 2 3 4
1 Ap 11.67 11.00 9.83 9.67
Av 4.83 3.83 8.17 8.33
N 4.75 3.75 4.06 3.50
2 Ap 11.67 10.67 12.50 12.50
Av 3.00 4.00 10.67 12.17
N 8.00 7.75 7.50 7.81
3 Ap 5.50 5.17 4.50 3.83
Av 4.00 2.50 3.67 3.50
N 4.06 3.81 3.44 3.25
4 Ap 14.17 14.17 14.00 13.67
Av 1.00 1.33 1.17 2.17
N 2.69 1.94 2.00 1.81
5 Ap 11.17 9.83 8.17 11.00
Av 6.17 7.50 6.17 6.00
N 4.69 4.19 3.88 3.62
6 Ap 10.50 12.67 12.83 13.17
Av 4.83 5.50 13.50 13.83
N 5.50 7.31 8.94 7.69
7 Ap 6.00 7.33 5.17 6.33
Av 6.83 8.50 12.50 11.83
N 5.75 7.81 6.12 6.44
8 Ap 6.67 8.50 11.17 10.50
Av 1.50 1.00 6.83 8.33
N 3.44 3.38 2.62 2.00
TABLE 9— C ontinued
113
T R I A L S
Ss 1 2 3 4
9 Ap 14.33 14.00 12.50 14.83
Av 4.33 7.33 8.00 1.33
N 8.94 9.75 8.94 9.00
10 Ap 13.50 14.00 13.67 12.83
Av 8.50 11.33 9.33 12.33
N 6.12 6.06 2.31 1.25
11 Ap 13.50 12.83 12.33 13.00
Av 5.33 6.83 6.83 9.33
N 6.69 7.44 7.88 6.69
12 Ap 12.33 9.67 9.83 9.17
Av 2.00 3.50 5.67 6.33
N 6.19 5.81 5.62 5.56
13 Ap 11.67 10.67 9.67 9.50
Av .17 .17 .17 .17
N 6.00 6.12 4.87 5.69
14 Ap 13.00 13.17 13.00 14.83
Av 5.83 5.17 12.50 7.67
N 9.31 10.25 9.88 10.25
15 Ap 7.67 6.83 8.83 8.67
Av 2.00 1.00 3.00 3.17
N 6.44 5.50 6.31 6.00
16 Ap 9.00 7.83 7.58 7.33
Av 4.83 3.67 4.83 6.00
N 3.75 2.62 2.18 1.75
17 Ap 6.33 6.50 6.33 4.50
Av 6.83 4.00 7.50 3.83
N 5.25 4.94 5.25 4.44
114
TABLE 9 - -C on tin ued
T R I A L S
Ss 1 2 3 4
18 Ap 9.67 11.33 12.50 13.00
Av 2.50 3.00 6.83 8.33
N 7.56 6.25 8.38 7.60
19 Ap 14.17 14.00 13.50 13.00
Av 4.83 5.00 6.17 6.67
N 9.19 7.69 9.12 8.44
20 Ap 10.67 13.00 12.33 12.50
Av 7.67 11.50 9.00 12.00
N 10.38 10.50 10.62 9.88
21 Ap 13.50 11.83 12.16 12.50
Av 6.17 8.17 9.59 11.00
N 6.64 4.88 4.52 5.56
22 Ap 8.17 6.83 6.91 7.00
Av 4.17 2.50 4.75 6.50
N 6.81 6.19 6.03 5.88
23 Ap 10.67 10.83 11.33 12.17
Av 9.17 10.17 10.00 12.67
N 8.50 8.50 9.19 9.25
24 Ap 11.67 12.33 13.33 12.33
Av 3.83 3.83 4.83 4.67
N 4.38 6.06 6.00 6.00
25 Ap 12.33 11.00 11.00 13.50
Av .67 1.17 3.00 7.17
N 2.88 2.93 2.33 2.93
26 Ap 14.67 15.67 12.00 12.17
Av 3.33 2.50 11.00 10.00
N 7.06 3.88 3.81 .50
115
TABLE 10
GROUP STANDINGS O N THE COURSE EX A M (GOAL)
RELATIVE TO THE PRECEDING COURSE EX A M
G R O U P
D e se n sitiz a tio n Placebo C ontrol
18 6 9
9 4 4
6 4 4
5 2 2
4 1 1
4 1 1
3 1 1
2 0 0
1 0 0
1 - 1 - 1
1 - 1 - 1
0 - 2 - 1
0 - 2 - 1
0 - 3 - 2
0 - 3 - 2
0 - 3 - 3
- 1 - 3 - 4
- 1 - 3 - 5
- 2 - 4 - 5
- 3 - 6 - 6
- 6 - 6 - 8
- 6 - 7 - 8
- 7 - 7 - 9
- 8 - 8 - 9
-10 - 9 -10
-11 -11 -13
116
TABLE 11
R A W SCORES O N THE SARASON TEST ANXIETY SCALE
Desens i t iza t ion Placebo C ontrol
34 30 29
33 27 27
31 23 25
29 23 20
28 22 18
24 21 17
19 17 16
16 17 16
15 16 15
15 15 14
15 14 14
14 14 13
13 14 12
13 13 12
12 13 10
11 11 10
10 10 9
10 9 9
9 8 9
8 6 9
7 6 9
7 6 8
5 4 7
5 2 7
3 2 5
2 1 4
117
TABLE 12
POINTS IN R A W SCORE UNITS BETW EEN
W HICH MEDIAN SCORES FELL
(SARASON)
\
Q uestion Local Yale
4 5-6 3-4
5 4-5 3-4
6 3-4 3-4
7 6-7 4-5
8 4-5 2-3
9 4-5 4-5
10 4-5 2-3
11 5-6 3-4
12 3-4 2-3
13 2-3 0-1
14 3-4 2-3
15 6-7 3-4
17 5-6 4-5
18 5-6 4-5
19 4-5 4-5
20 5-6 4-5
21 6-7 4-5
22 4-5 4-5
23 5-6 4-5
24 5-6 3-4
25 6-7 4-5
26 4-5 3-4
27 3-4 1-2
28 4-5 2-3
29 6-7 6-7
30 4-5 4-5
31 5-6 5-6
The assigned number is th a t which the q u estio n
a c tu a lly has in the q u e s tio n n a ire . Question 1, 2, 3,
and 16 were " f i l l e r " items and not scored.
118
TABLE 12--C ontinued
Q uestion Local Yale
32 4-5 4-5
33 4-5 4-5
34 5-6 4-5
35 5-6 4-5
36 7-8 6-7
37 3-4 3-4
38 3-4 2-3
39 3-4 3-4
APPENDIX B
RESEARCH INSTRUM ENTS
TAPE E
I'm going to s t a r t teaching you to r e la x your
m uscles. L iste n . Muscle re la x a tio n c o n s is ts o f doing
nothing w ith your m uscles—making them com pletely fre e
o f te n sio n . You know what te n sio n in a muscle i s - -
re la x a tio n is the o p p o site— freedom from muscular te n sio n .
You can le a rn to r e la x your muscles through your
own conscious e f f o r t . F ir s t you must le a rn where the
muscles are which you wish to r e la x . You w i l l le a rn to
lo c ate these muscles by te n sin g them, or c o n tra c tin g
them, and then co n c en tratin g on where the m uscular
te n sio n is and what i t fe e ls lik e . Once you have learned
to lo c ate the muscle and to recognize the te n sio n in i t ,
I then want you to co n cen trate on the fe e lin g of r e la x a
tio n which you w ill produce by doing nothing w ith the
given muscle—j u s t l e t t i n g i t go com pletely limp. Most
people d o n 't r e a liz e th a t when they th in k they are
re la x e d , they a re capable o f consciously producing an
even g r e a te r degree o f muscular r e la x a tio n by j u s t l e t t i n g
th e ir muscles g o - - le ttin g them become limp by doing
nothing. W e w ill be working w ith a number o f d if f e r e n t
muscle groups, ta k in g them one a t a tim e. Our goal is a
s ta te of g en e ra l b o d ily re la x a tio n .
W e w ill s t a r t the re la x a tio n tr a in in g w ith the
l e f t forearm .
1. Turn your palm down and bend i t back a t the
w r is t; m aintain th is fo r 30", and when I say
Now I want you to l e t your hand f a l l rela x ed .
(30") Now (30") D on't put i t down. Pretend
your hand is held up by a s tr in g . I cut the
s tr in g and your hand f a l l s limp.
2. A ll r i g h t , l e t 's re p e a t th a t w ith your l e f t
hand. Turn the palm down and bend the hand
back a t the w r is t. M aintain th is fo r 30"
and when I say Now l e t your hand f a l l rela x ed .
120
121
Remember not to put i t down, but to pretend
your hand is held up by a s t r i n g , and when I
cu t the s tr in g your hand f a l l s limp. (30")
Now (30")
A ll r i g h t , now l e t ' s do i t w ith the e n tir e l e f t
arm.
1. Turn your palm up th is tim e. Extend your
l e f t arm and make i t s t i f f . Gradually b u ild
up the te n sio n fo r about 30", and when I say
Now r e la x the arm com pletely. (30") Now (30")
2. A ll r i g h t , l e t ' s re p e a t th a t. Extend your
l e f t arm, palm up. Make i t s t i f f , g rad u ally
b u ild in g up te n sio n fo r about 30". (30") Now
(30")
A ll r i g h t , now w e 'l l work w ith the r ig h t forearm .
1. Bend your r ig h t hand back a t the w ris t and
m aintain th is fo r 30". When I say Now I want
you to l e t your hand f a l l re la x e d . D on't put
i t down, j u s t l e t i t f a l l . Pretend your hand
is h eld up by a s t r i n g . 1 cut the s tr in g and
your hand f a l l s lim p. (30") Now (30")
2. A ll r i g h t , l e t ' s re p e a t th a t. Bend your r ig h t
hand back a t the w r i s t, and m aintain th is for
30", and when I say Now, l e t your hand f a l l
re la x e d . (30") Now (30")
A ll r i g h t , l e t ' s work w ith the e n tir e r ig h t arm
now.
1. Turn your palm up, and make your r ig h t arm
s t i f f —r ig id a l l over. G radually b u ild up the
te n sio n fo r 30" and when I say Now. I want you
to r e la x the arm com pletely. (30") Now (30")
2. A ll r i g h t , l e t ' s tr y th a t ag ain . Make your
r ig h t arm s t i f f . G radually b u ild up te n s io n ,
and when I say Now, r e la x the arm com pletely.
(30") Now (30")
122
le g .
A ll r i g h t , now w e're going to work w ith the l e f t
1. I want you to c re a te te n sio n in the l e f t
muscle ( t h a t 's the muscle group a t the fro n t
o f the le g , below the knee) by bending the
l e f t foot back toward the knee. Bend i t
back fo r 30", and when 1 say Now, j u s t l e t
the foot r e la x . I want you to j u s t re le a s e
the foot a b ru p tly , and l e t i t go limp. (30")
Now (30")
2. OK, l e t ' s rep ea t th a t. C reate te n sio n in the
l e f t muscle by bending the l e f t foot back
toward the knee. (30") Now (30")
A ll r i g h t , now l e t ' s work on the r ig h t le g .
1. C reate te n sio n in the r ig h t muscle (the muscle
group a t the fro n t of the leg below the knee)
by bending your r ig h t foot back toward the
knee, and when I say Now 1 want you to l e t
the foot re la x . I want you to j u s t re le a s e
the foot ab ru p tly and l e t i t go limp. (30")
Now (30")
2. L e t's rep ea t th a t w ith the r ig h t le g . Create
te n sio n in the r ig h t muscle by bending your
r ig h t foot back toward the knee. (30") Now
(30")
Now l e t ' s work on the abdominal m uscles.
1. I want you to draw in the abdominal muscles
slowly and m aintain fo r 30", and when I say
Now. I want you to l e t go com pletely. Relax
the stomach com pletely. (30") Now (30")
2. A ll r i g h t , draw in the abdominal muscles
ag a in , m aintain u n t i l I say Now. (30") Now-
l e t go co m p letely -relax the stom ach-relax
even more—ju s t l e t y o u rs e lf go com pletely
lim p. (30") Now (30")
123
Now l e t ' s work on the forehead.
1. I want you to w rinkle up your forehead and
m aintain u n t i l 1 say Now. W rinkle. (30")
Now (30")
2. OK, w rinkle the forehead again and m aintain
u n t i l I say Now. (30") Now (30")
A ll r i g h t , now w e're going to work on the neck.
1. I want you to lean your head back u n t i l
te n sio n is f e l t a t the fro n t o f the neck in
the th r o a t. M aintain fo r 30" and when I say
Now I want you to r a is e your head to i t s
normal p o s itio n and co n c en trate on the f e e lin g
o f re la x a tio n . (30") Now (30")
2. OK, l e t ' s tr y th a t once more. Bend the head
back u n t i l te n sio n is f e l t a t the fro n t of
the neck, in the th r o a t, and when I say Now
1 want you to r a is e your head to i t s normal
p o s itio n . (30") Now (30")
Next w e 'l l co n c en trate on the muscles in the back
o f the neck.
1. 1 want you to bend your head forward u n t i l
te n sio n is f e l t in the muscles in the back o f
the neck, and when 1 say Now I want you to
r a is e your head to i t s normal p o s itio n and
enjoy the fe e lin g o f r e la x a tio n through the
back of the neck. (30") Now (30")
2. OK, l e t 's tr y th a t one ag ain . Bend your neck
forward u n t i l te n sio n is f e l t in the neck in
the back. (30") Now (30”)
A ll r i g h t , we've gone through a l l the muscle
groups now, and 1 want you to tr y to re la x a l l the muscle
groups you've p ra c tic e d on. So when I say Now. I want
you to clo se your eyes and j u s t l e t go—r e la x com pletely
a l l the muscle groups you've been working on. Now (30")
124
And when I say Now again 1 want you to r e la x even more
com pletely, j u s t go limp. Now (30")
Now as you are s i t t i n g h e re , deeply re la x e d , I am
going to give you some scenes to imagine and you w ill
imagine them very c le a r ly and calm ly.
1. F i r s t , p ic tu re y o u r s e lf , on the day o f your
psychology exam, g e ttin g up in the morning,
having your u su a l b r e a k f a s t, and then going
o f f to c la s s e s . (10") Stop imagining and
concen trate on the r e la x a tio n in your m uscles.
(30")
Again, p ic tu re y o u rs e lf on the day of your
psychology exam, g e ttin g up in the morning,
having your u su a l b r e a k f a s t, and going o ff
to c la s s e s . (10") Stop imagining and enjoy
the re la x a tio n in your m uscles. (30")
Once more, y o u 're g e ttin g up in the morning
o f the day o f your psychology exam. You have
your u su al b re a k fa s t and then go o ff to
c la s s e s . (10") Stop imagining and concen
t r a t e on the re la x a tio n in your muscles.
(30")
2. Now p ic tu re y o u rs e lf walking down the c o rrid o r
to the psychology le c tu re room. You approach
the door, tu rn the knob, and e n te r. (10")
Stop imagining and co n cen trate on the re la x a
tio n in your m uscles. (30")
Again, v iv id ly , y o u 're walking down the
c o rrid o r to the psychology le c tu re room. You
approach the door, tu rn the knob, and e n te r.
(10") Stop imagining and concen trate on the
re la x a tio n in your m uscles. (30")
Once more, calmly and v iv id ly , p ic tu re your
s e l f walking down th e c o rrid o r to the
psychology le c tu re room. You approach the
door, tu rn the knob, and e n te r. (10") Stop
imagining and enjoy the re la x a tio n in your
m uscles. (30")
125
3. Now calmly imagine y o u rs e lf in your s e a t , pen
on the desk in fro n t o f you, ready fo r the
exam, lik e o th e r stu d en ts around you. (10")
Stop imagining th a t scene and co n c en trate on
the re la x a tio n in your m uscles. (30")
Once more, imagine y o u rs e lf in your s e a t, pen
on the desk in fro n t o f you, ready for the
exam, lik e o th e r stu d en ts around you. (10")
Stop imagining and enjoy the re la x a tio n in
your m uscles. (30")
Again, imagine y o u rs e lf in your s e a t, pen on
the desk in fro n t o f you, ready fo r the exam,
lik e o th e r stu d e n ts around you. (10") Stop
im agining and co n cen trate on the re la x a tio n
in your m uscles. (30")
4. Now imagine, very calmly and v iv id ly , your
in s tr u c to r e n te rs the le c tu re room ca rry in g
the exam papers. He s t a r t s handing them o u t.
(10") Stop imagining th a t scene and concen
t r a t e on the re la x a tio n in your m uscles.
(30")
Again. Imagine, very calmly and v iv id ly ,
your in s tr u c to r e n te rs the le c tu re room
c a rry in g the exam papers. He s t a r t s handing
them o u t. (10") Stop imagining and enjoy
the r e la x a tio n in your m uscles. (30")
Once more. Imagine, calmly and v iv id ly , your
in s tr u c to r e n te rs the le c tu re room ca rry in g
the exam papers. He s t a r t s handing them o u t.
(10") Stop imagining and co n cen trate on the
re la x a tio n in your m uscles. (30")
5. Now p ic tu re y o u rs e lf g e ttin g your exam paper.
Y ou're very calm and r e la x e d - - le t your muscles
go even more. You read the in s tru c tio n s and
proceed to answer the f i r s t q u e stio n . (10")
Stop imagining and enjoy the re la x a tio n in
your m uscles. (30")
126
L e t's re p e a t th a t. P ic tu re y o u rs e lf g e ttin g
your exam paper. You read the in s tru c tio n s
and proceed to answer the f i r s t q u e stio n .
(10") Stop imagining and co n c en trate on the
r e la x a tio n in your m uscles. (30")
Once more. Calmly p ic tu re y o u rs e lf g e ttin g
your exam paper. You read the in s tru c tio n s
and proceed to answer the f i r s t q u e stio n .
(10") Stop imagining and co n c en trate on
the re la x a tio n in your m uscles. (30")
6. Now p ic tu re y o u rs e lf com pleting your answer
to the l a s t q u e stio n . You've fin ish e d the
exam. You pick up your books and leave the
le c tu re room. (10") Stop imagining th a t
scene and co n c en trate on the r e la x a tio n in
your m uscles. (30")
Again. P ic tu re y o u rs e lf com pleting your
answer to the l a s t q u estio n . You've fin ish e d
the exam. You pick up your books and leave
the le c tu re room. (10") Stop imagining th a t
scene and co n c en trate on the r e la x a tio n in
your m uscles. (30")
Once more. P ictu re y o u rs e lf com pleting your
answer to the l a s t q u estio n . You've fin ish e d
the exam. You pick up your books and leave
the le c tu re room. (10") Stop imagining th a t
scene and co n c en trate on the r e la x a tio n in
your m uscles. (30")
Now we are through imagining sc e n e s, but I want
you to keep your eyes closed u n t i l I t e l l you to open
them. You a re fe e lin g very re la x e d , and a f t e r you open
your eyes you w ill continue to f e e l re la x e d . (10") Open
your eyes.
We've completed re la x a tio n tr a in in g and v is u a liz a
tio n e x e rc ise s fo r today, but I 'd lik e you to p ra c tic e
re la x in g your muscles a t home before our next m eeting.
127
D on't c o n tra c t your m uscles when you p ra c tic e a t home,
sim ply r e la x them. Find y o u rs e lf a com fortable c h a ir away
from d is t r a c ti o n , where you can be alone fo r f i f t e e n to
twenty m inutes and p ra c tic e re la x in g your muscles in the
same o rd er you have learn ed to re la x them h ere.
128
TAPE P
I'm going to s t a r t teach in g you to r e la x your
m uscles. L iste n . Muscle re la x a tio n c o n s is ts o f doing
nothing w ith your m uscles—making them com pletely fre e o f
te n sio n . You know what te n sio n in a muscle is - - r e la x a tio n
is the o p p o site — freedom from m uscular te n sio n .
You can le a rn to r e la x your muscles through your
own conscious e f f o r t . F i r s t you must le a rn where the
muscles are which you wish to r e la x . You w ill le a rn to
lo c a te these muscles by te n sin g them, or c o n tra c tin g
them, and then c o n c e n tra tin g on where the muscular te n sio n
is and what i t fe e ls lik e . Once you have learned to
lo c a te the muscle and to recognize the te n sio n in i t , I
then want you to co n c en trate on the fe e lin g of re la x a tio n
which you w i l l produce by doing nothing w ith the given
muscle—j u s t l e t t i n g i t go com pletely limp. Most people
d o n 't r e a liz e th a t when they th in k they a re re la x e d , they
a re capable o f consciously producing an even g re a te r
degree o f m uscular re la x a tio n by j u s t l e t t i n g th e i r
muscles g o - - le tti n g them become limp by doing n o th in g . W e
w i l l be working w ith a number of d if f e r e n t muscle groups,
tak in g them one a t a tim e. Our goal is a s ta te o f g en e ra l
b o d ily re la x a tio n .
W e w i l l s t a r t the r e la x a tio n tr a in in g w ith the
l e f t forearm .
1. Turn your palm down and bend i t back a t the
w r is t; m aintain th is fo r 30", and when 1 say
Now I want you to l e t your hand f a l l re la x e d .
(30") Now (30") D on't put i t down. Pretend
your hand is held up by a s t r i n g . I cut the
s t r i n g and your hand f a l l s limp.
2. A ll r i g h t , l e t ' s re p e a t th a t w ith your l e f t
hand. Turn the palm down and bend the hand
back a t the w r i s t. M aintain th is fo r 30" and
when I say Now l e t your hand f a l l re la x e d .
Remember not to put i t down, but to pretend
your hand is held up by a s t r i n g , and when I
129
cu t the s tr in g your hand f a l l s limp. (30")
Now (30")
A ll r i g h t , now l e t 's do i t w ith the e n tir e l e f t
arm.
1. Turn your palm up th is tim e. Extend your
l e f t arm and make i t s t i f f . Gradually b u ild
up the te n sio n fo r about 30", and when I say
Now re la x the arm com pletely. (30") Now (30")
2. A ll r i g h t , l e t ' s re p e a t th a t. Extend your
l e f t arm, palm up. Make i t s t i f f , g rad u ally
b u ild in g up te n sio n fo r about 30". (30") Now
(30")
A ll r i g h t , now w e 'l l work w ith the r ig h t forearm .
1. Bend your r ig h t hand back a t the w rist and
m aintain th is fo r 30". When 1 say Now 1
want you to le t your hand f a l l re la x e d . D on't
put i t down, j u s t l e t i t f a l l . Pretend your
hand is held up by a s t r i n g . I cut the s tr in g
and your hand f a l l s lim p. (30") Now (30")
2. A ll r i g h t , l e t 's re p e a t th a t . Bend your r ig h t
hand back a t the w ris t and m aintain th is fo r
30", and when I say Now, l e t your hand f a l l
re la x e d . (30") Now (30")
A ll r i g h t , l e t 's work w ith the e n tir e r ig h t arm
now.
1. TUrn your palm up, and make your r ig h t arm
s t i f f —r ig id a l l over. G radually b u ild up
the te n sio n for 30" and when I say Now. I
want you to re la x the arm com pletely. (30")
Now (30")
2. A ll r i g h t , l e t 's tr y th a t ag ain . Make your
r ig h t arm s t i f f . G radually b u ild up te n sio n ,
and when I say Now, r e la x the arm com pletely.
(30") Now (30")
130
l e g .
A ll r i g h t , now w e're going to work w ith the l e f t
1. I want you to c re a te te n sio n in th e l e f t
muscle ( t h a t 's the muscle group a t the fro n t
o f the le g , below the knee) by bending the
l e f t foot back toward the knee. Bend i t
back fo r 30", and when I say Now, j u s t l e t
the foot r e la x . I want you to j u s t re le a s e
the foot a b ru p tly , and l e t i t go lim p. (30")
Now (30")
2. OK, l e t ' s re p e a t th a t. Create te n sio n in the
l e f t muscle by bending the l e f t fo o t back
toward the knee. (30") Now (30")
A ll r i g h t , now l e t ' s work on the r ig h t le g .
1. C reate te n sio n in the r ig h t muscle (the
muscle group a t the fro n t of the leg below
the knee) by bending your r ig h t fo o t back
toward the knee, and when I say Now 1 want
you to l e t th e foot r e la x . 1 want you to
j u s t re le a s e the foot ab ru p tly and le t i t
go limp. (30") Now (30")
2. L e t's re p e a t th a t w ith the r ig h t le g . Create
te n sio n in th e r ig h t muscle by bending your
r ig h t foot back toward the knee. (30") Now
(30")
Now l e t ' s work on the abdominal m uscles.
1. I want you to draw in the abdominal muscles
slow ly and m aintain fo r 30", and when I say
Now. I want you to l e t go com pletely. Relax
the stomach com pletely. (30") Now (30")
2. A ll r i g h t , draw in the abdominal muscles
a g a in , m aintain u n t i l I say Now. (30") Now-
l e t go c o m p letely -re lax the stom ach-relax
even more—j u s t l e t y o u rse lf go com pletely
lim p. (30")
131
Now l e t ' s work on the forehead.
1. I want you to w rinkle up your forehead and
m aintain u n t i l I say Now. W rinkle. (30")
Now (30").
2. OK, w rinkle the forehead again and m aintain
u n t i l I say Now. (30") Now (30")
A ll r i g h t , now w e're going to work on the neck.
1. I want you to lean your head back u n t i l
te n sio n is f e l t a t the fro n t o f the neck in
the th r o a t. M aintain fo r 30" and when I say
Now I want you to r a is e your head to i t s
normal p o s itio n and co n cen trate on the fe e lin g
o f r e la x a tio n . (30") Now (30")
2. OK, l e t 's tr y th a t once more. Bend the head
back u n t i l te n sio n is f e l t a t the fro n t o f the
neck, in the th r o a t, and when I say Now I
want you to r a is e your head to i t s normal
p o s itio n . (30") Now (30")
Next w e 'l l co n cen trate on the muscles in the back
o f the neck.
1. I want you to bend your head forward u n t i l
te n sio n is f e l t in the muscles in the back
o f the neck, and when I say Now I want you
to r a is e your head to i t s normal p o s itio n
and enjoy the fe e lin g o f r e la x a tio n through
the back of the neck. (30") Now (30")
2. OK, l e t ' s tr y th a t one ag ain . Bend your
neck forward u n t i l te n sio n is f e l t in the
neck in the back. (30") Now (30")
A ll r i g h t , we've gone through a l l the muscle
groups now, and I want you to try to r e la x a l l the muscle
groups you’ve p ra c tic e d on. So when I say Now. I want you
to close your eyes and j u s t l e t go—re la x com pletely a l l
the muscle groups you've been working on. Now (30"). And
when I say Now again I want you to re la x even more
132
com pletely, j u s t go limp. Now (30")
As you a re s i t t i n g h e re , w ith your eyes closed
and deeply re la x e d , I'm going to t e l l you a l i t t l e about
the h is to r y o f modern ed ucation.
During the 19th and e a rly 20th c e n tu r ie s , educa
tio n became one of the most im portant fu n ctio n s o f every
w estern s t a t e . Every movement and change, p o l i t i c a l ,
i n t e l l e c t u a l , s o c ia l, or s c i e n t i f i c , in flu en ced the
s tru c tu re or c u r ric u la of ed u c atio n al system s. The
fundamental fa c to rs which have determ ined the n a tu re of
modern ed ucation have been o f two k inds: p o l i t i c a l and
s o c io lo g ic a l, and in d iv id u a l. The f i r s t o f th ese fa c to rs
is the sum o f the circum stances which determ ined the
o rg a n iz a tio n and b a s ic purpose o f the e d u c a tio n a l
s tr u c tu re s s e t up by d if f e r e n t c o u n trie s . Thus,
g e n e ra lly , the in te n se n a tio n a lism of European c o u n trie s
re s u lte d in the c e n tr a liz a tio n of th e i r school system s; in
the United S ta te s , on the o th e r hand, no n a tio n a l c o n tro l
was a u th o riz e d , and each o f the 50 s ta te s c o n tro ls the
schools w ith in i t s b o rd e rs. Furtherm ore, in most
European c o u n trie s , one legacy o f h is to ry was the p e r s i s t
ence o f dual e d u c a tio n a l systems c o n s is tin g , in th e main,
o f one kind o f schooling (u su ally elem entary and p r a c t i
c a l) fo r the lower c la s s e s and another kind (in clu d in g
secondary and h ig h e r) fo r the upper c la s s e s . In England,
as la te as 1944, only one out o f ten c h ild re n was given
the o p p o rtu n ity fo r secondary education and even fewer for
hig h er ed u catio n . In F rance, fees fo r secondary education
were not e n t ir e ly ab o lish ed u n t i l 1939. American educa
t io n , however, has r e f le c te d the dem ocratic development of
the United S ta te s and has achieved a complete p u blic-school
system which is organized to provide e q u a lity of oppor
tu n ity fo r a l l a t p u b lic expense.
The second determ ining fa c to r d eals w ith the needs
o f the m aturing in d iv id u a l, both in them selves and in
r e la tio n to the so c ie ty o f which he is a p a r t. This
in d iv id u a l f a c to r has been an e d u c a tio n a l c o n s id e ra tio n
sin ce the r i s e o f Greece, but i t was o f n e g lig ib le impor
tance u n t i l the la te 18th cen tu ry . P e s ta lo z z i, F ro eb el,
and H erbart gave the study o f the in d iv id u a l c h ild a
133
paramount place in th e i r e d u c a tio n a l th e o rie s ; H erb art, in
p a r t i c u l a r , prepared the way fo r the modern development of
s o -c a lle d p ro g ressiv e education w ith h is in v e s tig a tio n s
in to the n atu re o f in te r e s t and h is p sychological a n a ly s is
o f the teach in g method. The mind, however, was s t i l l
regarded by many as alm ost e n tir e ly se p arate from the
body. In the middle o f the 19th ce n tu ry , H erbert Spencer
became the f i r s t g re a t fig u re to put f o rth the theory th a t
the mind was an in te g r a l p a rt o f the t o t a l anim al organism
and, th e re fo r e , re a c ts w ith i t to environm ental in flu e n c e s.
This th e o ry , c a lle d the b io lo g ic a l view of psychology, was
the foundation o f behaviorism , which, in tu rn , gave way to
the G e sta lt psychology, which r e s ts on the b a sic p rin c ip le
th a t a concept is understood as a whole and not as a mere
summation o f i t s p a r ts .
These new th e o rie s became the foundation o f what
is termed the science o f ed u c atio n , or the use o f exact
and sy stem atic methods fo r organized study o f the educative
p ro cess. As psychology became more in te n s iv e ly stu d ied
and e v e n tu a lly developed i t s b ranches, p sy c h iatry and
p sy c h o -a n aly sis, educators turned t h e i r a tte n tio n to the
g re a t importance o f the e a rly childhood years on p e rso n a l
i t y development, in c re a sin g ly a concern o f the sch o o ls.
The in v e s tig a tio n of psychology in i t s a p p lic a tio n to
education r e s u lte d in the s p e c if ic science o f ed u c atio n al
psychology, which deals w ith the form ulation of th e o rie s
r e la tiv e to the development o f ta s te and c h a ra c te r,
methods of in s tr u c tio n , the a b i l i t y of the in d iv id u a l to
acquire knowledge, and the n atu re o f the le a rn in g process.
Education since the la te 19th century has been profoundly
a ffe c te d by these th e o rie s and, in most c a se s , has been
based on them.
At the beginning o f the 20th ce n tu ry , the work of
th re e men, a l l o f whom were influenced by S pencer's view
o f the mind as a p a rt o f the b io lo g ic a l organism , began to
have a determ ining e f f e c t on American ed ucation. A ll
th re e b eliev e d th a t education must involve the sim u lta
neous development o f mind and body as an organic u n i t , and,
th u s , th a t anything which re s te d on one would r e a c t on the
o th e r. G ran v ille S tanley H all turned the a tte n tio n of
educators to the need fo r c a re fu l study of c h ild develop
ment in a l l i t s a s p e c ts . H all founded the c h ild -s tu d y
134
movement, which concerned i t s e l f w ith the p h y sic a l,
m ental, and s o c ia l growth of c h ild re n and, fo r th e ir
b e tte rm e n t, a tta c k e d such problems as ju v e n ile d e lin
quency, school hygiene, and c h ild la b o r; th is movement
a ls o gave r i s e to the c h ild -w e lfa re movement, an in te g ra l
p a rt o f the American school system. A g re a te r influence
on American education was the work o f John Dewey, who was
h im self in flu en ced by the American philosopher William
James. Dewey re b e lle d a g a in st the moral and r e lig io u s aim
and s t r i c t d is c ip lin e which had c h a ra c te riz e d education
from the 17th to the 19th cen tu ry . He b e lie v e d th a t the
school was p rim a rily a s o c ia l i n s t i t u t i o n w ith a duty to
give the c h ild , ra p id ly and e f f e c t iv e ly , a share in the
accumulated s k i l l s and knowledge o f humanity. The
te a c h e r, in Dewey's view, must in v e s tig a te the in te r e s ts
o f the in d iv id u a l c h ild and then d ir e c t h is a c t i v i t i e s
in to s o c ia l channels, not by enforced and a r b itr a r y
d is c ip lin e , b u t by choosing the s p e c ific in flu en c es th a t
w ill a f f e c t him. Dewey advised an ed u c atio n al method in
which the c h ild learn s by experience and hence, should be
given the chance to te s t ideas and prove t h e i r v a lid ity
before he a p p lie s them as f a c ts ; th is theory was c a lle d
the "learn by doing" theory. A th ir d in flu en ce was the
work of Edward Lee Thorndike, who s t i r r e d the ed u catio n al
world w ith h is work Educationa1 Psychology. On the b a s is
of c a re fu lly c o n tro lle d experim ents, Thorndike developed
s c i e n t i f i c th e o rie s concerning the n atu re o f the le arn in g
p ro cess. He re fu te d the a n c ie n t concept th a t the study of
i n t e l l e c t u a l su b je c ts such as mathematics and languages
d is c ip lin e d the mind; th u s, Thorndike helped to b rin g
about the in c lu sio n of such in fo rm atio n al su b je c ts as the
p h y sical and s o c ia l sciences in the c u rric u la o f elemen
ta ry and secondary schools.
A s ig n if ic a n t r e s u l t of the growth of education as
a science was the development of te s tin g . The work of
A lfred B inet and Theodore Simon in the d ev isin g of
in te llig e n c e t e s t s was adopted and so g re a tly am plified by
American ed u c atio n al p sy ch o lo g ists th a t the te s tin g move
ment became an o u tstan d in g c h a r a c te r is tic o f American
education in the 1920's and 1930's ; t e s t s fo r i n t e l l i
gence, achievem ent, and a p titu d e became elem ents of educa
tio n a l technique.
135
These developments and movements found th e i r most
f r u i t f u l a p p lic a tio n in the U nited S ta te s fo r two reaso n s:
f i r s t , because in the U nited S ta te s the e d u c a tio n a l system
was developing sim ultaneously w ith e d u c a tio n a l psychology
and science and could, th e re fo r e , be c o n tin u a lly m odified;
and second, because the lo c a l c o n tro l o f S ta te school
systems perm itted Bind encouraged experim entation in order
to in crease r e la tiv e e ffic ie n c y .
E ducational experim ents a lso were c a rrie d on in
the United S ta te s by many p r iv a te , s o -c a lle d p ro g ressiv e
sc h o o ls, and the r e s u lt s o f t h e i r fin d in g s o fte n were
adopted by the public sch o o ls. Experim entation in schools
was g re a tly encouraged and promoted by the P rogressive
Education A sso c iatio n , founded in 1918, the members of
which included b oth te ach e rs and laymen. The o rg an iza
tio n , which changed i t s name in 1944 to the American
Education Fellow ship, concerned i t s e l f a ls o w ith dissem i
n a tin g inform ation on p ro g re ssiv e education.
Few public elem entary-school systems have whole
h e a rte d ly endorsed the th e o rie s o f Dewey and o th e r modern
ed u c atio n al p h ilo so p h ers, but s c a rc e ly any have escaped
the prog ressiv e influence a lto g e th e r. Largely because of
th is in flu en ce many p u b lic -sch o o l systems in the United
S ta te s have introduced new types of c o u rs e s , and some
systems have e s ta b lish e d s p e c ia l schools fo r subnormal,
g if te d , and p h y sic a lly handicapped c h ild re n , and fo r the
development o f s p e c ific t a l e n t s .
To a le s s e r ex ten t new th e o rie s have been i n f lu
e n t i a l a ls o a t c e rta in in s t i t u t i o n s o f higher le a rn in g ,
n otably the U niversity o f Chicago, in Chicago, I l l i n o i s ,
and S t. Jo h n 's C ollege, in A nnapolis, Maryland. These
i n s t itu ti o n s have adopted s im ila r methods of in su rin g th a t
a c e r ta in w e ll-d e lin e a te d t r a d i t i o n a l body of knowledge
forms the b a s is of a l i b e r a l - a r t s education. At the
U n iv ersity o f Chicago the stu d e n t is examined in compre
hensive areas of study r a th e r than in p a r tic u la r co u rses.
I f he passes these exam inations he is adjudged to have
acquired the b a sic fund of knowledge r e q u is ite to a
l i b e r a l - a r t s education, and he may then go on to the study
136
o f more s p e c ia liz e d s u b je c ts . At S t. Jo h n 's College the
curriculum is based alm ost e x c lu siv e ly on the study o f
about one hundred c a re fu lly se le c te d books, which are
regarded as man's g re a te s t achievements in the f ie ld s of
l i t e r a t u r e , philosophy, and h is to r y .
Although the American system o f education became
the su b je c t o f widespread c r itic is m and concern in the
la te 1950's , i t has ex erted a g re a t in flu en ce on European
ed u c atio n al system s; a f t e r World War I I , France, for
example, and Great B r ita in , to a le s s e r e x te n t, began to
re v is e th e ir ed u catio n al systems on the b a s is of American
methods (Morse, 1959).
Name (P r in t)
#
VERBAL SCALE
Please in d ic a te , using the sc a le a t the top of
the page, to what ex ten t you agree w ith each of the
statem ents l i s t e d below, by w ritin g the number between
the p a ra n th e sis a t the end o f each statem ent which b e s t
d e scrib es the s tre n g th o f your agreement w ith the s t a t e
ment. Note th a t the higher the number the more you
ag ree.
There are no " rig h t" or 'Vnrong" responses to
th ese sta te m e n ts. W e are in te r e s te d in your frank
re a c tio n s to these statem ents now, not in how you imagine
you may have f e l t yesterd ay or may f e e l tomorrow, but in
how you fe e l now, a t the moment of r a tin g .
Without tak in g too long on any one word, match
the number very c a re fu lly to the s tre n g th o f your a g re e
ment, avoiding the autom atic use o f the extremes of the
s c a le . I t is a good idea to work a t a f a i r l y rap id
speed.
In summary, to the b e s t of your a b i l i t y , be
fra n k , a c c u ra te , and f a i r l y speedy.
SCALE
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
neu- agree agree agree
t r a l stro n g ly very most
stro n g ly stro n g ly
imaginable
1. I enjoy watching te le v is io n . ( )
2. I w ish the psychology exam were over. ( )
3. I d is lik e crowded r e s ta u r a n ts . ( )
138
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
neu- agree agree agree
t r a l stro n g ly very most
stro n g ly stro n g ly
im aginable
4. Academic success is im portant to me. ( )
5. I lik e the sand a t the beach. (
)
6. I wish I d id n 't have to take the psychology exam.
( )
7. 1 d o n 't lik e m athem atics. ( )
8. I lik e the ocean. ( )
9. I hope to do w ell on the psychology exam. ( )
10. I am not fond of le fto v e r food.
( )
11. G etting good grades is im portant to my fu tu re . (
)
12. I d is lik e cloudy days. ( )
13. 1 d is lik e um brellas. ( )
14. I enjoy w atching fleecy clouds.
( )
15. I want to be a good s tu d e n t. (
)
16. I am not fond of s p id e rs . ( )
17. I lik e ceram ics. ( )
18. I want to take the psychology exam. ( )
19. I lik e modem p a in tin g . ( )
20. I am f e a r f u l of ta k in g the psychology exam. ( )
21. I d is lik e t r a f f i c jams. ( )
22. Taking exams makes me nervous.
( )
139
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
23. I lik e mahogany. ( )
24. I f I could, I 'd lik e to avoid the psychology
exam. ( )
25. I lik e anim als. ( )
26. The thought o f ta k in g the psychology exam is
un p leasan t. ( )
27. I'm not fond of e le v a to rs . ( )
28. G etting a good grade on the psychology exam means a
lo t to me. ( )
neu
t r a l
agree agree
stro n g ly very
stro n g ly
agree
most
stro n g ly
imaginable
140
SARASON TEST ANXIETY SCALE QUESTIONNAIRE
O N ATTITUDES TO W A R D THREE KINDS OF
TESTING SITUATIONS
N A M E (Please P r in t) :
This q u e stio n n a ire is designed to give you an
opportunity to in d ic a te how and what you f e e l in reg ard to
th ree types o f te s tin g s itu a tio n s :
(a) the group in te llig e n c e o r a p titu d e t e s t .
(b) the course exam ination.
(c) the in d iv id u a l (fa c e -to -fa c e ) type of
in te llig e n c e t e s t .
One of the main reasons for c o n s tru c tin g th is
q u estio n n aire is the fa c t th a t very l i t t l e is known about
p eo p le's fe e lin g s toward the tak in g o f various kinds of
t e s t s . W e can assume th a t people d i f f e r in the degree to
which they are a ffe c te d by the fa c t th a t they are going to
take a t e s t or by the fa c t th a t they have taken a t e s t .
What we are p a r tic u la r ly in te re s te d in here is how w idely
people d i f f e r in t h e i r opinions of and re a c tio n s to the
various kinds o f te s tin g s itu a tio n s . The value o f th is
q u estio n n aire w ill depend in larg e p a rt on how frank you
are in s ta tin g your o p in io n s, f e e lin g s , and a t t i t u d e s .
W e are re q u e stin g you to give your name only because i t may
be necessary fo r re se a rc h purposes.
Each o f you has taken a course exam ination and a
group in te llig e n c e or a p titu d e t e s t , but not a l l o f you
have taken an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t . Those of you
who have not taken such a t e s t are requested to answer in
terms of how you th in k you would r e a c t to them. W e want
to know what you th in k your a t titu d e s and fe e lin g s toward
taking such a t e s t would be and not what you th in k i t
ought to be. Those o f you who have taken an in d iv id u a l
in te llig e n c e t e s t w i l l , o f co u rse, answer the q u estio n s in
terms o f what you a c tu a lly experienced.
141
For each q u estio n th e re is a lin e or sc a le on the
ends o f which are statem ents of opposing fe e lin g s or
a t t i t u d e s . In the middle o f the lin e you w ill find e ith e r
the word "M idpoint" or a phrase, b oth o f which are
intended to r e f l e c t a fe e lin g or a t t i t u d e which is in -
between the statem ents o f opposing fe e lin g described
above. You are re q u ired to put a mark (X) on th a t p o in t
of the lin e which you th in k b e s t in d ic a te s the s tre n g th of
your fe e lin g or a t t i t u d e about the p a r tic u la r q u estio n .
The m idpoint is only fo r your guidance. Do not h e s ita te
to put a mark on any point on the lin e as long as th a t
mark r e f l e c t s the s tre n g th o f your fe e lin g or a t t i t u d e .
THERE ARE N O "CATCH" QUESTIONS IN THIS QUESTIONNAIRE.
PLEASE READ EACH QUESTION AN D EACH SCALE VERY CAREFULLY.
THERE IS N O TIME LIMIT
SECTION I
The follow ing questions r e la te to your a t titu d e toward and
experience w ith group in te llig e n c e o r a p titu d e t e s t s . By
group in te llig e n c e t e s t s we r e f e r to te s ts which are
adm inistered to se v e ra l in d iv id u a ls a t a tim e. These
te s t s co n tain d if fe re n t items and are u su a lly f i l l - i n s or
choices o f se v e ra l p o ssib le answ ers. Scores on these
t e s t s are given w ith re feren ce to the stan d in g of the
in d iv id u a l w ith in the group te s te d or w ith in s p e c ific age
and ed u c atio n al norms. Please tr y to remember how you
u su a lly reac ted to these te s t s and how you f e l t while
tak in g them.
142
THE MIDPOINT IS O N LY FOR Y OU R GUIDANCE. D O N O T HESITATE
TO PUT A M A R K (X) O N A N Y POINT O N THE LINE AS LONG AS THAT
M A R K REFLECTS THE STRENGTH OF Y OU R FEELING O R ATTITUDE.
1. How v aluable do you th in k group in te llig e n c e t e s t s are
in determ ining a p e rso n 's a b i lity ?
Very v alu ab le Valuable in some re sp e c ts V alueless
and v a lu e le ss in o th ers
2. Do you th in k th a t group in te llig e n c e te s t s should be
used more w idely than a t p resen t to c la s s if y stu d en ts?
Should be used Should be used Should be used
le s s w idely as a t p resen t more w idely
3. Would you be w illin g to sta k e your continuance in
co lleg e on the outcome o f a group in te llig e n c e t e s t
which has previously p re d ic te d success in a highly
r e lia b le fashion?
Very w illin g U ncertain Not w illin g
4. I f you know th a t you are going to take a group
in te llig e n c e t e s t how do you fe e l beforehand?
F eel very Feel very
unconfident Midpoint confident
5. A fter you have taken a group in te llig e n c e t e s t , how
co n fid en t do you f e e l th a t you have done your b e st?
Feel very
unconfident M idpoint
Feel very
co nfident
143
6. When you are ta k in g a group in te llig e n c e t e s t , to
what ex ten t do your em otional fe e lin g s in te r f e r e w ith
or lower your performance?
Do not in te r f e r e I n te rfe re a
a t a l l Midpoint g re a t deal
7. Before ta k in g a group in te llig e n c e t e s t , to what
e x te n t a re you aware o f an uneasy feelin g ?
A m very much A m not aware
aware o f i t Midpoint o f i t a t a l l
8. While ta k in g a group in te llig e n c e t e s t , to what
ex te n t do you experience an a c c e le ra te d h e a rtb e a t?
H eartbeat does not H eartbeat n o tice-
a c c e le ra te a t a l l Midpoint ably a c c e le ra te d
9. Before ta k in g a group in te llig e n c e t e s t , to what
e x te n t do you experience an a c c e le ra te d h e a rtb e a t?
H eartbeat does not H eartbeat n o tice-
a c c e le ra te a t a l l Midpoint ably a c c e le ra te d
10. While tak in g a group in te llig e n c e t e s t , to what
ex ten t do you worry?
Worry a lo t Midpoint Worry not a t a l l
11. Before ta k in g a group in te llig e n c e t e s t , to what
e x te n t do you worry?
Worry a l o t M idpoint Worry n o t a t a l l
144
12. While ta k in g a group in te llig e n c e t e s t , to what
e x te n t do you p ersp ire?
P ersp ire not a t a l l Midpoint P ersp ire a lo t
13. Before tak in g a group in te llig e n c e t e s t , to what
e x te n t do you p e rsp ire ?
P ersp ire not a t a l l Midpoint P ersp ire a lo t
14. In comparison w ith o th e r s tu d e n ts , how o fte n do you
th in k o f ways of avoiding a group in te llig e n c e te s t?
Less o fte n than More o fte n than
o th e r stu d e n ts Midpoint o th e r stu d en ts
15. To what e x te n t do you f e e l th a t your performance on
the entrance t e s t , i f tak en , was a ffe c te d by your
em otional fe e lin g s a t the time?
A ffected a
g re a t d eal Midpoint Not a ffe c te d
SECTION I I
The follow ing paragraph r e l a t e s to your a t titu d e
towards in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t s and your experience
w ith them. By in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e we t e f e r to t e s t s
which a re ad m in istered to one in d iv id u a l a t a time by an
examiner. These t e s t s co n tain d if f e r e n t types of items
and thus p rese n t a v a rie ty o f ta s k s . These task s can be
both v e rb a l and m an ip u lativ e, i . e . , v e rb a l o r w ritte n
answers to q u estio n s or m anipulation of o b je c ts such as is
involved in p u z z le s, form b o ard s, e t c e te r a . Examples of
t e s t s o f th is type would be the S tan fo rd -B in et t e s t and
the W echsler-B ellevue t e s t . Please tr y to remember how
you have u su a lly re a c te d towards th ese t e s t s or how you
would expect to r e a c t to them.
145
16. Have you ever taken any in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e
te s ts ? Yes No (C ircle a p p ro p ria te answer)
I f your answer to the above q u estio n is YES,
in d ic a te in the follow ing q u estio n s how you did or do
re a c t to in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t s .
I f your answer to the above q u estio n is NO,
in d ic a te in the follow ing q u estio n s how you th in k you
would r e a c t to or fe e l about in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e
t e s t s .
17. When you a re tak in g an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t ,
to what ex ten t do (or would) your em otional fe e lin g s
in te r f e r e w ith your performance?
Would not in te r f e r e Would in te r f e r e
w ith i t a t a l l Midpoint a g re a t d eal
18. I f you know th a t you are going to take an in d iv id u a l
in te llig e n c e t e s t , how do you fe e l (or expect th a t
you would fe e l) beforehand?
Would f e e l very Would f e e l very
unconfident Midpoint confident
19. While ta k in g an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t , how
co n fid en t do you f e e l (or expect th a t you would
fe e l) th a t you have done your b est?
Would f e e l very Would f e e l very
co n fid en t Midpoint unconfident
20. A fte r you have taken an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t ,
how co n fid en t do you fe e l (o r expect you would fe e l)
th a t you have done your b est?
Would f e e l very
unconfident M idpoint
Would f e e l very
co nfident
146
21. Before caking an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t , to
what e x te n t are you (or would you be) aware o f an
"uneasy fe e lin g ? "
A m not aware Very much
of i t a t a l l Midpoint aware o f i t
22. While ta k in g an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t , to
what ex ten t do you (would you) experience an
a c c e le ra te d h ea rtb eat?
H eartbeat does not H eartbeat n o tic e -
a c c e le ra te a t a l l Midpoint ably a c c e le ra te d
23. Before ta k in g an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t , to
what e x te n t do you (would you) experience an
a c c e le ra te d h e a rtb e a t?
H eartbeat does not H eartbeat n o tic e
a c c e le ra te a t a l l Midpoint ably a c c e le ra te d
24. While ta k in g an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t , to
what e x te n t do you (would you) worry?
Worry a lo t Midpoint Worry not a t a l l
25. Before ta k in g an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t , to
what e x te n t do you (would you) worry?
Worry a lo t Midpoint Worry not a t a l l
26. While ta k in g an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t , to
what e x te n t do you (would you) p e rsp ire ?
Never p e r sp ir e M idpoint P e r sp ir e a l o t
147
27. Before ta k in g an in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e t e s t , to
what e x te n t do you (would you) p e rsp ire ?
Never p e rsp ire Midpoint P ersp ire a lo t
28. In comparison w ith o th e r s tu d e n ts , how o fte n do you
(would you) th in k o f ways o f avoiding tak in g an
in d iv id u a l in te llig e n c e te s t?
More o fte n than As o fte n as Less o fte n than
o th e r stu d e n ts o th e r stu d e n ts o th e r stu d e n ts
SECTION I I I
The follow ing q u estio n s r e l a t e to your a t titu d e
toward and experience w ith course exam inations. W e r e f e r
to major exam inations, such as mid-term s and f i n a l s , in
a l l c o u rse s, not s p e c if ic a lly in any one course. Try to
re p re se n t your u su a l fe e lin g s and a t titu d e s toward these
exam inations in g en eral and not toward any s p e c ific
exam ination you have taken. W e r e a l iz e th a t the compara
tiv e ease or d i f f i c u l t y o f a p a r tic u la r course and your
a t t i t u d e toward the su b je c t m a tte r o f the course may
in flu en ce your a t titu d e toward the exam inations; however,
we would lik e you to tr y to express your fe e lin g s toward
course exam inations g e n e ra lly .
THE MIDPOINT IS O N LY FOR GUIDANCE. DO NOT HESITATE TO PUT
A M A RK (X) O N AN Y POINT O N THE LINE AS LON G AS THAT POINT
REFLECTS THE STRENGTH OF YOUR FEELING O R ATTITUDE.
29. Before tak in g a course exam ination to what ex ten t
are you aware o f an "uneasy fe e lin g ? "
A m not aware
o f i t a t a l l Midpoint
A m very much
aware o f i t
148
30. When you are ta k in g a course exam ination, to what
ex ten t do you f e e l your em otional re a c tio n s in te r f e r e
w ith or lower your performance?
Do not in te r f e r e I n te r fe r e a
w ith i t a t a l l Midpoint g re a t d eal
31. I f you know th a t you are going to take a course
exam ination, how do you fe e l beforehand?
Feel very Feel very
unconfident Midpoint co nfident
32. A fter you have taken a course exam ination, how
co n fid en t do you f e e l th a t you have done your b est?
Feel very Feel very
co n fid en t Midpoint unconfident
33. While ta k in g a course exam ination, to what ex ten t
do you experience an a c c e le ra te d h ea rtb eat?
H eartbeat does not H eartbeat n o tice-
a c c e le ra te a t a l l Midpoint ably a c c e le ra te d
34. Before ta k in g a course exam ination, to what ex ten t
do you experience an a c c e le ra te d h ea rtb eat?
H eartbeat does not H eartbeat notice*
a c c e le ra te a t a l l Midpoint ably a c c e le ra te d
35. While ta k in g a course exam ination, to what ex ten t
do you worry?
Worry a l o t M idpoint Worry n o t a t a l l
149
36. Before tak in g a course exam ination, to what e x te n t
do you worry?
Worry a lo t Midpoint Worry not a t a l l
37. While tak in g a course exam ination, to what ex ten t
do you p e rsp ire ?
Never p e rsp ire Midpoint P ersp ire a lo t
38. Before ta k in g a course exam ination, to what ex ten t
do you p e rsp ire ?
Never p e rsp ire Midpoint P ersp ire a lo t
39. When, in your o p inion, you f e e l w ell prepared fo r a
course exam ination, how do you u su a lly fe e l j u s t
before the examination?
Confident Midpoint Anxious
150
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
(DAY TW O )
With your help we w i l l be attem p tin g to fin d out
more about the fe e lin g s and a t titu d e s o f people who a re
scheduled to take an exam. You w ill be asked to do
s e v e ra l th in g s . The f i r s t o f these you've alre ad y done—
the take-home measure of t e s t an x iety which you brought
w ith you today. The second th in g which you w ill be asked
to do is a sh o rt paper and p e n c il ta s k . You w ill do th is
ta sk on four se p a ra te o ccasio n s, a l l o f them during
re g u la r c la s s hours: Thursday and Friday o f th is week;
one day preceding your course exam; and immediately
preceding your course exam. Please put your take-home
an x iety sc a le where you can see i t . Those o f you whose
sc a le bears the symbol X followed by a number, please
re p o rt to Room #102, Founders H all a t re g u la r c la s s tim e,
Thursday and Friday o f th is week. Those whose sc a le bears
the symbol Y followed by a number please re p o rt to Room
#108, Founders H a ll, same time and d a te s. Those whose
sc a le bears the symbol Z followed by a number, please
re p o rt to Room #121, Founders H a ll, same time and d a te s.
Make a note o f your symbol, number, and assig n ed room
number and pass your sc a le s to your r i g h t . When you get
to your assigned room Friday and Thursday, please s i t
toward the fro n t o f the room in every o th e r s e a t- -le a v e
one empty s e a t between each p a ir o f in d iv id u a ls .
Now I ' l l give you a b r i e f d e s c rip tio n o f what e lse
you w ill be asked to do. People in Group Z w ill do the
sh o rt paper and p e n c il ta sk only. Those in Groups X and
Y w ill do the s h o rt paper and p e n c il ta s k , and in a d d itio n
w ill l i s t e n to a sh o rt tape reco rd in g and follow in s tr u c
tio n s on i t . You w i l l be to ld more about the tapes when
we next meet. S e le c tio n of groups was purely by chance,
depending on which take-home sc a le you happened to g e t.
One l a s t word—your responses to the ta sk s involved in
th is study w ill in no way a f f e c t your grade on the course
exam or in the course.
151
ORAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE APPROACH-AVOIDANCE
VERBAL SCALE
(DAY THREE)
I ' l l read the in s tru c tio n s a t the top of the page
w ith you. Please read s i l e n t l y along w ith me. (A fter
in s tru c tio n s have been r e a d .) Note th a t the sc a le has 17
p o in ts on i t . Some o f these p o in ts are la b e lle d : under
zero i t says n e u t r a l ; under number fiv e i t says agree
s tr o n g ly ; under number nine i t says agree very s tr o n g ly ;
and under number s ix te e n i t says agree most stro n g ly
im aginable. The la b e lle d p o in ts are fo r your guidance.
Feel fre e to w rite any number along the sc a le between the
p a ren th esis a t the end o f a sta tem en t, as long as th a t
number r e f l e c t s the s tre n g th of your agreement w ith the
statem en t. Make sure your name and number a re on your
paper and s t a r t .
152
ORAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE APPROACH-AVOIDANCE
VERBAL SCALE
(DAYS FOUR, FIVE, AND SIX)
Now I 'd lik e you to do the paper and p e n c il ta sk
ag a in . Please remember to respond to each statem ent
according to the way you fe e l now, a t the moment o f
r a tin g . Avoid the autom atic use o f the extremes o f the
s c a le , and be fra n k , a c c u ra te , and f a i r l y speedy.
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Lieberman, Sara Mary
(author)
Core Title
A Temporal Approach-Avoidance Conflict In An Academic Test Situation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree Program
Psychology
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
OAI-PMH Harvest,Psychology, clinical
Language
English
Contributor
Digitized by ProQuest
(provenance)
Advisor
Jacobs, Alfred (
committee chair
), Peterson, James A. (
committee member
), Tiber, Norman (
committee member
)
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-700748
Unique identifier
UC11361130
Identifier
6913069.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-700748 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
6913069.pdf
Dmrecord
700748
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Lieberman, Sara Mary
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA