Believing is seeing: Changes in visual perception following treatment for height fear

Abstract

Background and objectivesPeople who are afraid of heights may have a perceptual bias, such that they see heights as higher than they truly are. The current study tested if there is a causal relationship between treatments for height fear and changes in perceptual bias. MethodsSpecifically, the effects on perceptual bias following three height fear interventions (exposure, cognitive bias modification for interpretations, and a combination of exposure and cognitive bias modification) and a control condition were examined in individuals with an extreme fear of heights (N = 107). ResultsResults provided preliminary evidence that some height fear interventions reduce perceptual bias. Specifically, participants that completed exposure had a significant decrease in perceptual bias, and participants in the cognitive bias modification and combination conditions had decreases in perceptual bias at the level of non-significant trends, while no reduction occurred for the control condition. LimitationsLimitations of this study include that the hypothesis was largely informed by data from a parent study and that the effect sizes were small; thus, replicating these results is warranted. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that there may be a causal relationship between height fear treatments and altered perception of heights.