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

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

This article was prepared with the support of an Odysseus Group 1 grant awarded to the second author by the Flanders Science Foundation (FWO) and a doctoral research scholarship awarded to the first author. Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to Aileen.Leech@ugent.be

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Aileen Leech & Dermot Barnes-Holmes

  2. Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland

    Lara Madden

Authors
  1. Aileen Leech
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  2. Dermot Barnes-Holmes
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  3. Lara Madden
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Correspondence to Aileen Leech.

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Conflict of Interest

Aileen Leech declares that she has no conflict of interest. Dermot Barnes-Holmes declares that he has no conflict of interest. Lara Madden declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Leech, A., Barnes-Holmes, D. & Madden, L. The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a Measure of Spider Fear, Avoidance, and Approach. Psychol Rec 66, 337–349 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-016-0176-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-016-0176-1

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