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Eyeblink startle responses in spider phobies before and after treatment: A pilot study

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Abstract

Before and after treatment, acoustic probes eliciting eyeblink startles were presented to 41 female spider phobies during a behavioral approach test (BAT). During this test, subjects pulled a glass jar containing a live spider as nearby as they normally would tolerate. In order to obtain baseline startles, the subjects also carried out a BAT with a basket containing attractive food items. Startle responses were found to be relatively larger during the “spider” BAT than during the “food” BAT. This difference in relative magnitude decreased as a result of one-session treatment. The startle response appeared to be relatively independent of other outcome measures (i.e., Spider Questionnaire, BAT, and heart rate). Taken together, the results sustain findings previously reported by Lang and co-workers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mental Health Sciences/Experimental Psychology, Limburg University, P.O. Box 616, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Peter J. de Jong, Harald Merckelbach & Arnoud Arntz

Authors
  1. Peter J. de Jong
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  2. Harald Merckelbach
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  3. Arnoud Arntz
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de Jong, P.J., Merckelbach, H. & Arntz, A. Eyeblink startle responses in spider phobies before and after treatment: A pilot study. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 13, 213–223 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00960785

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00960785

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