A comparison of group vs. individual desensitization of test anxiety

Abstract

The present study represents an attempt to examine the influence of three variables on systematic desensitization. The first of these is whether or not desensitization administered in a group is as effective as when administered individually. The results of studies by Lazarus (1961) and by Paul and Shannon (1966), taken together, indicate that group desensitization may be as effective as individual desensitization. However, such conclusions are limited by the lack of comparability between treatment groups (e.g. Paul and Shannon, 1966, compared groups treated during different school semesters). Therefore, one of the purposes of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of individual versus group desensitization where the treatments were administered concurrently. The other two variables investigated, in conjunction with the individual versus group treatment, dealt with the nature of the anxiety hierarchy and the amount of generalization involved in the desensitization. Research by Emery and Krumboltz (1967) indicates that emphasis on careful serial ordering and presentation of items in the anxiety hierarchy may not be as important as initially stated by Wolpe (1958). Furthermore, recent reserarch (e.g. Garlington and Cotler, 1968; Lang, Lazovik and Reynolds, 1965) has shown that when desensitization of one fear is accomplished, there is often a concomitant reduction in other untreated fears and that this generalized fear reduction is more extensive than intimated by Wolpe (1961). Two other purposes of the study were therefore to compare the use of individualized versus standardized orders of the same hierarchy items, and to measure any possible generalization of treatment effects.