Fear Of Spiders Questionnaire Research Articles

Development and initial validation of an open-access online Behavioral Avoidance Test (BAT) for spider fear.

The behavioral avoidance test (BAT) is a well-known diagnostic tool assessing fear by directly measuring avoidance behavior. For instance, in spider phobia, participants or patients gradually approach a live spider until they feel too uncomfortable to continue. However, the use of different BAT protocols in various studies hampers the comparability of results. Moreover, conducting the test requires considerable preparation by researchers and clinicians. Thus, we have developed an open-access online BAT (vBATon). We validated its efficacy in measuring avoidance behavior and eliciting feelings of anxiety and disgust by comparing it to a real-life BAT (rl-BAT). Spider-fearful (N = 31) and nonfearful (N = 31) individuals completed a rl-BAT and vBATon on two separate dates within a 1-week interval. As expected, both tests successfully distinguished between spider-fearful and nonfearful individuals. Crucially, equivalence tests confirmed that vBATon captures avoidance behavior, anxiety, and disgust equal to the rl-BAT. Assessing validity, we found moderate to high correlations between vBATon and (a) the rl-BAT and (b) self-report measurements of spider fear (Spider Phobia Questionnaire, Fear of Spiders Questionnaire). Overall, our study displayed initial evidence of validity of vBATon and suggests that it is a standardized, efficient, and user-friendly alternative to rl-BATs for measuring spider fear. It can be utilized in both research and clinical practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Analysis of the arachnophobia level based on contact with spiders and the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire

Arachnophobia is one of the most common phobias in society. The study was based on an online survey and a stationary study. The questionnaire was completed by 364 respondents. In the first part the respondents determined their level of arachnophobia on the Likert scale (IOA, individual assessment of arachnophobia), and in the second part completed the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ). Near 50% of respondents declared fear of spiders. There was a positive correlation between the FSQ results and IOA. In stationary study took part 7 women. Before the study, they completed the questionnaire from the first part of the study. During the study, the participants observed three spiders and the moult. Before, during, and after the study heart rate was measured. The mean score of the FSQ study was 103 and IOA scored between 5 to 7. The mean heart rate during contact with spiders was 113 bpm. Contact with spiders was a stressful situation, but the heart rate decreased just after 5 min.

An online spider game: Overcome your fear, exposure is near

Spider-fearful people tend to avoid spiders, resulting in maintaining their phobia. However, some people can overcome their fear and approach spiders. This approach might be key in the reduction of fear and avoidance behaviour. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of approach-avoidance behaviour on (changes in) spider fear and avoidance. Participants (n = 122) with varying levels of spider fear played the online “collect the coins” game. In this game, participants had to collect 100 coins by clicking on different symbols. One symbol always resulted in one coin (safe option); another symbol mostly resulted in a large reward (3 coins), but sometimes in a spider (risky option). Participants rated the digital spider on evoked fear, disgust, and distress. Spider fear was measured with the fear of spiders questionnaire (FSQ). Avoidance was measured via symbol selection, self-reported avoidance, and a digital behavioural avoidance test, dBAT. Higher FSQ scores correlated with more self-reported spider-fear, -distress and -disgust, and larger dBAT-distances. Additionally, higher FSQ scores correlated with less risky- and more safe-selections. Importantly, more risky selections resulted in a stronger decrease in self-reported spider-fear and -disgust, whereas safe selections increased these emotions. Future studies are necessary to test if this link between approach-avoidance behaviour and emotional changes holds for spider phobics and real spiders.

Facing Your Fear in Immersive Virtual Reality: Avoidance Behavior in Specific Phobia.

Specific phobias are the most common anxiety disorder and are characterized by avoidance behavior. Avoidance behavior impacts daily function and is proposed to impair extinction learning. However, despite its prevalence, its objective assessment remains a challenge. To this end, we developed a fully automated experimental procedure using immersive virtual reality. The procedure contained a behavioral search, forced-choice, and an approach task with varying degrees of freedom and task relevance of the stimuli. In this study, we examined the sensitivity and feasibility of these tasks to assess avoidance behavior in patients with specific phobia. We adapted the tasks by replacing the originally conditioned stimuli with a spider and a neutral animal and investigated 31 female participants composed of 15 spider-phobic and 16 non-phobic participants. As the non-phobics were quite heterogeneous in terms of their Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) scores, we subdivided them into six “fearfuls” that had elevated FSQ scores, and 10 “non-fearfuls” that had no fear of spiders. The phobics successfully managed to complete the procedure and showed consistent avoidance behavior across all behavioral tasks. Compared to the non-fearfuls, which did not show any avoidance behavior at all, the phobics looked at the spider much more often and clearly directed their body toward it in the search task. In the approach task, they hesitated most when they were close to the spider, and their difficulty to touch the spider was reflected in a strong increase in right hand acceleration changes. The fearfuls showed avoidance behavior depending on the tasks: strongest in the search task and weakest in the approach task. Additionally, we identified subjective valence ratings of the spider as the main influence on both objective avoidance behavior and subjective well-being after exposure, mediating the effect of the FSQ. In summary, the behavioral tasks are well suited to assess avoidance behavior in phobic participants and provide detailed insights into the process of avoidance.

Treatment of Spider Phobia Using Repeated Exposures and Adjunctive Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

BackgroundSpecific phobias represent the largest category of anxiety disorders. Previous work demonstrated that stimulating the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) with repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) may improve response to exposure therapy for acrophobia.ObjectiveTo examine feasibility of accelerating extinction learning in subjects with spider phobia using intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) rTMS of vmPFC.MethodsIn total, 17 subjects with spider phobia determined by spider phobia questionnaires [Spider Phobia Questionnaire (SPQ) and Fear of Spiders questionnaire (FSQ)] underwent ratings of fear of spiders as well as behavioral and skin conductance data during a behavioral avoidance test (BAT). Subjects then received a sequential protocol of in vivo spider exposure followed by iTBS for three sessions administered to either active or control treatment sites (vmPFC [n = 8] or vertex [n = 9], respectively), followed 1 week later by repetition of questionnaires and BAT.ResultsAll subjects improved significantly regardless of group across both questionnaires (FSQ η2 = 0.43, p = 0.004; SPQ η2 = 0.39, p = 0.008) and skin conductance levels during BAT (Wald χ2 = 30.9, p < 0.001). Subjects in the vmPFC group tolerated lower treatment intensity than in the control group, and there was a significant correlation between treatment intensity, BAT subjective distress improvement, and physiologic measures (all ρ > 0.5).ConclusionThis proof-of-concept study provides preliminary evidence that a sequential exposure and iTBS over vmPFC is feasible and may have rTMS intensity-dependent effects on treatment outcomes, providing evidence for future areas of study in the use of rTMS for phobias.

Real-life contextualization of exposure therapy using augmented reality: A pilot clinical trial of a novel treatment method.

Phobias, including arachnophobia, are common and can be treated with exposure therapy, a method that is limited by a lack of feared objects/situations in clinical settings. In a pilot parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the feasibility and efficacy of augmented reality exposure therapy (ARET), 25 men and women ages 18 to 45 with arachnophobia were designated (ABAB block allocation) to ARET for arachnophobia (n = 13) or waitlist control (n = 12). Data were collected at baseline, 1-week, and 1-month follow-up, and single-session ARET occurred immediately following baseline collection for the intervention group. All ARET participants were able to touch a live tarantula or the tank containing it after single-session exposure; the control group remained >1 meter away from the tank. Effects persisted or improved at 1-month followup. The Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) and Behavioral Approach Test (BAT) showed large, significant beneficial effects of ARET compared with a waitlist control group (BAT: P < .001, partial eta squared = .542; FSQ: P < .001, partial eta squared = .720). We found ARET can feasibly be delivered using a wearable device running novel software with rapid responses and sustained effects. Replication and expansion of this pilot RCT will further support use of ARET for this and other specific phobias.

Using Ultrasonic Haptics Within an Immersive Spider Exposure Environment to Provide a Multi-Sensorial Experience

A proof of concept virtual reality system is presented that integrates ultrasonic feedback sensations to provide a demonstrative virtual reality exposure therapy environment containing multiple scenarios with virtual spiders. This system and environment were utilised to conduct a study containing 35 participants with the goal of investigating the effect the environment could have on their level of anxiety. This level of anxiety was measured in three different forms: changes in frontal asymmetry analysis of EEG data, changes in skin conductance levels and subjective units of distress. The Fear of Spiders Questionnaire was used to determine which participants in the study reported to be moderately afraid of spiders. For these participants all three measurement forms for anxiety showed statistically significant increases in a comparison between baseline and scenarios with the virtual spiders. A statistically significant correlation between scores on the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire and changes in anxiety shows the system to have had a greater effect on the anxiety levels of those who were more afraid of spiders, than those who were not. There was also a statistically significant correlation discovered between immersion and increase in anxiety, highlighting the significance of immersion in future virtual reality exposure therapy applications.

Presence, Cybersickness, Anxiety, and Heart Rate Variability in a Non-Clinical Population Using Virtual Reality Environments Designed For Specific Phobias' Treatment

The current study was performed to assess the phenomenon known as Presence, to measure Anxiety responses, simulator sickness and autonomic activation in subjects of the general population. The sample consisted in 37 Argentine participants (15 male, 22 female) between ages 20 and 40; who were exposed to 3 virtual environments designed to research and treat phobias. Instruments utilized for this study were the Symptom Checklist 90-R, Acrophobia Questionnaire, Fear of Spiders Questionnaire, The Claustrophobia Questionnaire, Igroup Presence Questionnaire, Simulator Sickness Questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. All virtual environments generated sufficient feeling of presence. Cybersickness was only registered in the Elevator scenario. The Apartment and Spiders environments have shown not to be anxiety triggers within this population. As for Elevator, a significant increase in the level of state anxiety was generated. A possible hypothesis to account for this fact might be that reported anxiety responds to movement simulated in the virtual scenario while on the other two scenarios the subjects remained static. The existence of a correlation between HRV and state anxiety has been analyzed and no significant relation has been found between the variables. Even though there is a relation between anxiety and presence, no significant relation has been found between anxiety and presence. Regarding sensory conflict, a follow up study in the Elevator environment should be done, eliminating movement and exposing subjects to the stimuli while static at different heights. Future studies should consider broadening the size of the sample and studying clinical population to compare results.

Identifying the Types of Phobia: A Preliminary Investigation to Reduce Phobia through Gaming Approach

People fear something, as the feeling is normal for a person. Fear reactions are essential for survival. Fear will triggered whenever an individual facing something scary or even confronted with something new that seems potentially dangerous. Phobia on the other hand is an intense feeling of fear towards objects, animals, activities, situations or persons. However, many people do not know they suffered from phobia. Any fear during childhood might develop into phobias. People with phobias are most likely to avoid any place or situation that might trigger their fear so that they feel relief. They also keep their phobia to themselves and not telling other people about it. Besides, they are most likely refuse to go to receive treatment from psychiatrist or therapist. This is due to the norm of the society that seeing psychiatrist or therapist means that person suffering from mental health, which is embarrassing. This paper identified the types of phobia among Malaysian for preliminary investigation for reducing phobia through gaming approach. The quantitative method based on questionnaires, which contains of 18 questions used in the random online survey. The set of questions are adapted from Fear of Spiders Questionnaire. The higher the marks are the higher the state of phobia of the individuals will be. It is hope that by identifying the types of phobia may use to suggest an alternative gaming tool in reducing phobia.

Re-Examining Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Virtual Reality-Based Exposure for Spider Phobia.

The proposed study aims at expanding results from a previous study on mechanisms of change after exposure in virtual reality (VR) and documenting the impact of adding tactile and haptic feedback. It was predicted that change in the severity of spider phobia according to the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) would be significantly predicted by change in dysfunctional beliefs toward spiders and self-efficacy, over and above the variance explained by a physiological measure of fear during exposure (heart rate) and presence during the immersion. Participants (N = 59) were randomly assigned to the presentation of visual stimuli only, visual plus tactile stimuli, or visual, tactile plus haptic feedback stimuli. A standard multiple regression was conducted to predict change on the FSQ using the following predictors: beliefs about spiders, beliefs about one's own behavior when facing spiders, perceived self-efficacy, disgust, presence, and heart rate. Only changes in beliefs about spiders and in perceived self-efficacy significantly predicted the reduction in fear of spiders. This result enhances our understanding of the mechanisms involved in exposure conducted in VR. Analyses of variance also show that participants reported statistically significant changes in their clinical condition, with little added value to the addition of tactile and haptic feedback. The advantages of tactile and haptic stimulation are questioned, at least in the context of only one brief exposure session and the equipment used.

Effects of heart rate variability biofeedback during exposure to fear-provoking stimuli within spider-fearful individuals: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundSpecific phobias are among the most common anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy is the treatment of choice for specific phobias. However, not all patients respond equally well to it. Hence, current research focuses on therapeutic add-ons to increase and consolidate the effects of exposure therapy. One potential therapeutic add-on is biofeedback to increase heart rate variability (HRV). A recent meta-analysis shows beneficial effects of HRV biofeedback interventions on stress and anxiety symptoms. Therefore, the purpose of the current trial is to evaluate the effects of HRV biofeedback, which is practiced before and utilized during exposure, in spider-fearful individuals. Further, this trial is the first to differentiate between the effects of a HRV biofeedback intervention and those of a low-load working memory (WM) task.MethodsEighty spider-fearful individuals participate in the study. All participants receive a training session in which they practice two tasks (HRV biofeedback and a motor pseudo-biofeedback task or two motor pseudo-biofeedback tasks). Afterwards, they train both tasks at home for 6 days. One week later, during the exposure session, they watch 16 1-min spider video clips. Participants are divided into four groups: group 1 practices the HRV biofeedback and one motor pseudo-task before exposure and utilizes HRV biofeedback during exposure. Group 2 receives the same training, but continues the pseudo-biofeedback task during exposure. Group 3 practices two pseudo-biofeedback tasks and continues one of them during exposure. Group 4 trains in two pseudo-biofeedback tasks and has no additional task during exposure. The primary outcome is fear of spiders (measured by the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire and the Behavioral Approach Test). Secondary outcomes are physiological measures based on electrodermal activity, electrocardiogram and respiration.DiscussionThis RCT is the first one to investigate the effects of using a pre-trained HRV biofeedback during exposure in spider-fearful individuals. The study critically contrasts the effects of the biofeedback intervention with those of pseudo-tasks, which also require WM capacity, but which do not have a physiological base. If HRV biofeedback is effective in reducing fear of spiders, it would represent an easy-to-use tool to improve exposure-therapy outcomes.Trial registrationDeutsches Register Klinischer Studien, DRKS00012278. Registered on 23 May 2017, amendment on 5 October 2017.

Spider Fear and Avoidance: A Preliminary Study of the Impact of Two Verbal Rehearsal Tasks on a Behavior–Behavior Relation and Its Implications for an Experimental Analysis of Defusion

The current study examined the impact of a brief verbal rehearsal task on performance on two Implicit Relational Assessment Procedures (IRAPs), actual approach behavior towards a live spider (a behavioral approach task; BAT), and the relationship between the IRAPs and the BAT. Participants first completed the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) followed by one of two verbal rehearsal tasks, one of which focused on fear acceptance and the other on fear reduction as ways of coping with fear. All participants then completed two IRAPs similar to those employed by Leech, Barnes-Holmes, and Madden (The Psychological Record, 66(3), doi: 10.1007/s40732-016-0176-1 , 2016). Finally, participants completed the BAT using a live common house spider. Broadly similar findings were obtained for performance on the IRAPs as were reported by Leech et al. No significant differences between the two verbal-rehearsal conditions emerged on the self-report measures, the IRAPs, or the BAT. However, correlations between performances on the IRAPs and the BAT were concentrated in the reduce-fear condition. When considered in the context of the results previously reported by Leech et al., the differential pattern of correlations observed in the current study suggest that the verbal rehearsal task impacted upon a behavior–behavior relation that may be directly relevant to the concept of defusion in the acceptance and commitment therapy literature.

Design and Implementation of Markerless Augmented Reality Application for Cockroach Phobia Therapy Using Adaptive Threshold

Augmented reality (AR) technology is useful for treating several psychological problems, including phobias such as fear of flying, agoraphobia, claustrophobia, and phobia to insects and small animals. However, the currently existing applications for therapy of cockroach phobia that uses AR technology are still very dependent towards the presence of markers, which might lessen the feeling of being in an actual scenario from everyday lives. In this paper, we created a system that is able to use everyday things as a replacement for markers for phobia therapy for cockroach. There are five main processes: getting the live streaming feed from camera, preprocessing, extracting the center point of the objects, tracking the marker-substitute objects, and lastly, instantiating cockroaches randomly after user lifts the objects according to the number and mode of the cockroaches, whether it is moving or not, that are predetermined by the user. The evaluation in this paper includes eight participants that are carefully selected based on their Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) score that is translated into Indonesian and modified to accommodate cockroaches instead of spiders. The results is that the system can induce anxiety level on participants with the highest score of 10, which is the highest score in Standard Unit of Discomfort scale (SUDs). While the presence and reality judgment of this paper has the highest score of 7 which is also the highest score in Slater-Usoh-Steed Questionnaire (SUS).

The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a Measure of Spider Fear, Avoidance, and Approach

The current study examined the use of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a measure of spider fear, approach, and avoidance. Participants were drawn from a normative sample of university undergraduates. Experiment 1employed two IRAPs, one targeting spider fear, the other targeting spider approach/avoidance. The Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) and a Behavioral Approach Task (BAT) using a spider moult were also employed. Negative response biases for spider fear and avoidance, but not for approach, were recorded. The bias for fear was significantly stronger than for avoidance and approach. Both IRAP’s failed to provide evidence for the predicative validity of the IRAP in terms of the BAT. Experiment 2 was a partial replication of Experiment 1 but using a live house spider instead of a moult for the BAT. A similar pattern of results was obtained across the two IRAPs, but one specific trial-type (Spider-Approach) predicted approach responses on the BAT. The research, thus, replicated a previously published study by Nicholson and Barnes-Holmes (2012), thus supporting the predictive validity of the IRAP but at a level of precision not provided in the earlier study. Implications for applied research are considered.

Turkish adaptation of the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire: Reliability and validity in non-clinical samples

AbstractThe rapid, objective measurement of spider fear is important for clinicians, and for researchers studying fear. To facilitate this, we adapted the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) into Turkish. The FSQ is quick to complete and easy to understand. Compared to the commonly used Spider Phobia Questionnaire, it has shown superior test-retest reliability and better discrimination of lower levels of spider fear, facilitating fear research in non-clinical samples. In two studies, with 137 and 105 undergraduates and unselected volunteers, our adapted FSQ showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .95 and .96) and test-retest reliability (r = .90), and good discriminant validity against the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory—Trait (r = .23) and Beck Anxiety Inventory—Trait (r = .07). Most importantly, our adapted FSQ significantly predicted 26 students’ self-reported discomfort upon approaching a caged tarantula; however, a measure of behavioural avoidance of the tarantula yielded little variabili...

Attentional focus during exposure in spider phobia: The role of schematic versus non-schematic imagery

Research has provided controversial results regarding the role of distraction (vs. attentional focus) during exposure therapy. In the present study, we manipulated the nature of the concepts activated during exposure. Sixty-six spider phobics were exposed to pictures of spiders and asked, or not, to form mental images of concepts that were either related or unrelated to spiders. At pre-exposure, mid-exposure, post-exposure, and follow-up, subjective distress, heart rate variability, and skin conductance responses were measured and the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire and a Behavioural Avoidance Test were performed. Results showed that the activation of concepts unrelated to spiders led to return of distress at follow-up. Moreover, the activation of concepts related to spiders decreased emotional and avoidance responses between sessions. This pattern of results suggests that the nature of the activated concepts does not influence subjective distress during exposure, but plays an important role in the maintenance of distress reduction between sessions.

Endogenous cortisol levels influence exposure therapy in spider phobia

Previous research in patients with phobia showed that the administration of glucocorticoids reduces fear in phobic situations and enhances exposure therapy. Glucocorticoids underlie a daily cycle with a peak in the morning and low levels during the evening and night. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether exposure is more effective when conducted in the morning when endogenous cortisol levels are high. Sixty patients meeting DSM IV criteria for specific phobia (animal type) were randomly assigned to one-session exposure treatment either at 08.00 a.m. (high cortisol group) or at 06.00 p.m. (low cortisol group). Participants returned for a posttreatment assessment one week after therapy and a follow-up assessment three months after therapy. Both groups showed good outcome, but patients treated in the morning exhibited significantly less fear of spiders in the behavioral approach test (BAT) and a trend for lower scores on the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) than patients treated in the evening. This effect was present at posttreatment and follow-up. Our findings indicate that exposure therapy is more effective in the morning than in the evening. We suggest that this may be due to higher endogenous cortisol levels in the morning group that enhance extinction memory.

GLUCOCORTICOIDS ENHANCE IN VIVO EXPOSURE-BASED THERAPY OF SPIDER PHOBIA

Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that the administration of glucocorticoids may promote fear extinction processes. In particular, it has been shown that glucocorticoids enhance virtual reality based exposure therapy of fear of heights. Here, we investigate whether glucocorticoids enhance the outcome of in vivo exposure-based group therapy of spider phobia. In a double blind, block-randomized, placebo-controlled, between-subject study design, 22 patients with specific phobia of spiders were treated with two sessions of in vivo exposure-based group therapy. Cortisol (20 mg) or placebo was orally administered 1 hr before each therapy session. Patients returned for a follow-up assessment one month after therapy. Exposure-based group therapy led to a significant decrease in phobic symptoms as assessed with the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) from pretreatment to immediate posttreatment and to follow-up. The administration of cortisol to exposure therapy resulted in increased salivary cortisol concentrations and a significantly greater reduction in fear of spiders (FSQ) as compared to placebo at follow-up, but not immediately posttreatment. Furthermore, cortisol-treated patients reported significantly less anxiety during standardized exposure to living spiders at follow-up than placebo-treated subjects. Notably, groups did not differ in phobia-unrelated state-anxiety before and after the exposure sessions and at follow-up. These findings indicate that adding cortisol to in vivo exposure-based group therapy of spider phobia enhances treatment outcome.

Online Exposure for Spider Phobia: Continuous Versus Intermittent Exposure

AbstractBackground: The aim of this research was to evaluate an online exposure treatment for spider phobia (www.feardrop.com) and to investigate the effects of intermittent versus continuous exposure.Methods: Spider phobic participants (N = 23) completed two 14-minute stages of laboratory-based online exposure. In the first of these stages exposure was either continuous or intermittent (alternating fearrelevant and -irrelevant images). One week later, participants commenced a sixstage home-based graded online exposure task, which was undertaken over 30 days. Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS) ratings were taken throughout all exposure stages. Spider fear was assessed prior to treatment, and at 1-week and 1-month post treatment.Results: Habituation was observed across each stage for both the laboratory and home-based tasks and generalisation of habituation was found between stages. Habituation was not impaired in the alternating fear-relevant and -irrelevant image condition, though subjects experienced less summed anxiety. Adherence rates were low in home-based online exposure. However, participants who completed 30-days post-treatment assessment (n = 14) showed a significant reduction in spider fear as measured by the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ).Conclusions: Online exposure produces habituation and generalisation of habituation to spider images as well as longer-term reductions in spider fear. Alternating fear-relevant and -irrelevant exposure is feasible in online exposure and may lead to habituation with less summed anxiety that has implications for tolerability and acceptability. Measures to increase adherence rates and hence dosage delivered are a key consideration for further online exposure research.

Task-irrelevant spider associations affect categorization performance

In two studies, the Single Target Implicit Association Test (STIAT) was used to investigate automatic associations toward spiders. In both experiments, we measured the strength of associations between pictures of spiders and either threat-related words or pleasant words. Unlike previous studies, we administered a STIAT version in which stimulus contents was task-irrelevant: The target spider pictures were categorized according to the label picture, irrespective of what they showed. In Study 1, spider-fearful individuals versus non-fearful controls were tested, Study 2 compared spider enthusiasts to non-fearful controls. Results revealed that the novel STIAT version was sensitive to group differences in automatic associations toward spiders. In Study 1, it successfully distinguished between spider-fearful individuals and non-fearful controls. Moreover, STIAT scores predicted automatic fear responses best, whereas controlled avoidance behavior was best predicted by the FAS (German translation of the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire). The results of Study 2 demonstrated that the novel STIAT version was also able to differentiate between spider enthusiasts and non-fearful controls.