Augmenting in vivo exposure with fear antagonistic actions: a preliminary test

Abstract

The current study investigated the efficacy of an exposure augmentation strategy in which the phobic individual is encouraged to enact actions that are in direct opposition to the fear action tendencies associated with acrophobia. Participants (N=88) meeting DSM-IV criteria for specific phobia (acrophobia) were randomized to (a) exposure with oppositional actions (E+OA), (b) exposure only (EO), (c) a credible placebo consisting of pulsed audio-photic stimulation (APS), or (d) a waitlist control (WLC). Treatment consisted of six, 6-min exposure trials. Participants were assessed with questionnaire, behavioral, and physiologic measures at pre- and posttreatment, and at a 1-month follow-up session. Participants receiving E+OA showed significantly greater improvement on behavioral and questionnaire measures than those in the other 3 conditions at both posttreatment and follow-up. Further, whereas treatment improvement generalized to an untrained context for those receiving E+OA, such was not the case for EO- and APS-treated participants. Findings suggest augmenting exposure with oppositional actions may enhance treatment outcome and thus warrant additional investigation with clinical samples.