Semantic behavior therapy: Unidimensional or multidimensional?

Abstract

Thirty snake-phobic subjects were matched on the basis of their subjective fears of a snake, behavior avoidance test scores, and semantic ratings of the word snake, and then randomly assigned to one of three treatments: semantic desensitization with highly pleasant words (vacation, gift, win) serving as counterphobic events; semantic desensitization with highly passive words (calm, relax, serene) serving as antagonistic events; and pseudo-desensitization on a buffer task. Semantic desensitization therapy was conducted in the experimental groups using semantic hierarchy of anxiety mediating stimuli (SHAMS). The experimental subjects imagined anxiety provoking scenes elicited by the word “snake” in ascending order. Anxiety was neutralized by a semantic counterconditioning process where the subjects visualize verbal highly pleasant or relaxing passive scenes in the absence of muscular relaxation. Both experimental procedures led to the modification of phobic behavior. The results support a cognitive interpretation of behavior therapy through a multidimensional level of meaning.