Overt Avoidance Research Articles

Derivation of a "composite small animal" score for the Fear Survey Schedule-III: behavioral and subjective report correlates.

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of a composite score for small animals (derived from the Fear Survey Schedule-III) in predicting overt avoidance behavior. The animals included in the composite item are flying insects, stinging insects, crawling insects, mice and rats, worms, bats, spiders, and snakes. Data were from 110 female college students, ranging in age from 17 to 27 yr., who participated in a study designed to reduce their fear of snakes and filled out the Fear Survey Schedule-III prior to entering treatment. The composite small animal score was significantly correlated with an individual snake item score (.61) and an avoidance behavior measure for a nonpoisonous snake (–.35). The composite score may be useful in evaluating and selecting subjects with generalized fears of a variety of small animals, although it should be used along with other measures of fear.