Youssef Shiban1, Martina B Fruth2, Paul Pauli2, Max Kinateder3, Jonas Reichenberger4, Andreas Mühlberger4. 1. Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), University of Regensburg, Germany. Electronic address: Youssef.Shiban@psychologie.uni-regensburg.de. 2. Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Germany. 3. Department of Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States. 4. Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), University of Regensburg, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The current study investigates biases in size estimations made by spider-phobic and healthy participants before and after treatment. METHOD: Forty-one spider-phobic and 20 healthy participants received virtual reality (VR) exposure treatment and were then asked to rate the size of a real spider immediately before and, on average, 15days after the treatment. During the VR exposure treatment skin conductance response was assessed. RESULTS: Prior to the treatment, both groups tended to overestimate the size of the spider, but this size estimation bias was significantly larger in the phobic group than in the control group. The VR exposure treatment reduced this bias, which was reflected in a significantly smaller size rating post treatment. However, the size estimation bias was unrelated to the skin conductance response. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the hypothesis that size estimation by spider-phobic patients is biased. This bias is not stable over time and can be decreased with adequate treatment.
BACKGROUND: The current study investigates biases in size estimations made by spider-phobic and healthy participants before and after treatment. METHOD: Forty-one spider-phobic and 20 healthy participants received virtual reality (VR) exposure treatment and were then asked to rate the size of a real spider immediately before and, on average, 15days after the treatment. During the VR exposure treatment skin conductance response was assessed. RESULTS: Prior to the treatment, both groups tended to overestimate the size of the spider, but this size estimation bias was significantly larger in the phobic group than in the control group. The VR exposure treatment reduced this bias, which was reflected in a significantly smaller size rating post treatment. However, the size estimation bias was unrelated to the skin conductance response. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the hypothesis that size estimation by spider-phobic patients is biased. This bias is not stable over time and can be decreased with adequate treatment.
Authors: Jonas Reichenberger; Michael Pfaller; Diana Forster; Jennifer Gerczuk; Youssef Shiban; Andreas Mühlberger Journal: Front Psychol Date: 2019-07-18