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The primary goal of this research program was to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality therapy (VRT) in reducing public speaking anxiety of university students. The prevalence and impact of public speaking anxiety as a type of Social Phobia are discussed. Studies of VRT as an emerging treatment for psychological problems are reviewed. In the present study, eight students completed VRT individual treatment and post-testing, and six students in a Wait-List control group completed post-testing. Assessment measures included four self-report inventories, self-report of Subjective Units of Discomfort during exposure to VRT and physiological measurements of heart rate during speaking tasks. Four weekly individual exposure treatment sessions of approximately 15 min each were conducted by the author serving as therapist. Results on self-report and physiological measures appear to indicate that four virtual reality treatment sessions were effective in reducing public speaking anxiety in university students, corroborating earlier studies of VRT's effectiveness as a psychotherapeutic modality. Future research directions are discussed, primarily the need for research on younger populations, to assess the effectiveness of VRT for earlier intervention with public speaking anxiety.

The study investigates the impact of IELTS listening strategy use on the reduction of listening test anxiety and on the listening performance of the IELTS test takers in light of the data of 80 participants on the pretest and post-test IELTS listening along with the participants' score on pre-anxiety and post anxiety scale. So, drawing on the instruments including a proficiency test, pre/post-test, anxiety questionnaire, materials for strategy instruction, the participants were randomly divided into two groups: Control Group and Experimental Group, each including 40 participants. As per the procedure, after tackling their pre-listening performance and pre-anxiety score, one group was treated with IELTS-Listening related strategies and the other group was not treated, but both were administered listening test. The results of the study indicated that those treated with IELTS strategy outperformed ( t (78) = 4.57, p = .000, r = .460 ) those receiving no listening-related strategy. Furthermore, the results of a t-test run on the post-test of the groups anxiety arrived at a statistically significant difference (t (78) = 5.77, p = .000, r = .547), representing that the control group outperformed the experimental group. Also, Pearson Correlation done for finding out a potential relationship between anxiety and listening performance indicated a negative and weak to moderate relationship ((r (78) = -.26, p = .020). The pedagogical implications of the study are in detailed argued.

Helping clients deal with the stress and anxiety that they experience in the therapeutic setting and in everyday life is a phenomenon faced by all therapists. The natural breathing process shows promise as a coping technique for common anxiety and stress. Specific breathing techniques are beginning to emerge as ways to help clients mitigate the effects of stress and anxiety and to learn that they have some control over their experiences. This article provides an overview and review of several breathing techniques and provides detailed instructions through handouts on how to teach these breathing techniques to clients.

The literature on the use of family meals as a focus for treatment in anorexia nervosa is now quite old and interest in this area, both clinical and academic appears to have waned. In this paper we explain the use of family meals in our treatment of adolescent eating disorder patients. Whereas earlier descriptions tend to use the language of structural family therapy and emphasize intensification, we focus more on collaboration and on anxiety reduction. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

The presence of messenger application makes communication between lecturers and students easier, but in fact the ease gives negative impact so that the ethics should be owned by the students have decreased. At the time of contacting the lecturers, some of them did not say hello, introduced themselves, used informal language and were pushy. The purpose of this research is to know the student communication behavior in messenger application. Theory used is Theory of Communication Competence, Management of Anxiety and Uncertainty Theory and Computer Mediated Communication Theory. The research method is qualitative using case study data analysis. The results of this research that communicating with the lecturer using an informal language, calling a lecturer, not introducing himself, no apology does not mean the student is not polite. Familiarity, self-disclosure, and the environment shared between lecturers and students influence communication behavior. Students who have intimacy and openness communicate in a relaxed manner, but unlike students who lack familiarity and openness with the lecturers so that they communicate rigidly and reluctantly. Students decided to using whatsapp because is more effective and more personal. Communication competencies held by students are at the conscious competence stage, where students realize that they are able to understand, maintain and overcome how to communicate with lecturers. Students overcome their concerns before contacting lecturers using anxiety reduction and uncertainty strategies, 1) Passive strategy (students observing lecturers’ behavior when communicating in class), 2) Active Strategy (students ask senior lecturers), and 3) Interactive Strategy (students ask directly to the lecturer about the character of the lecturer).Keywords : Communication behavior, student, messenger application, lecturers.

The efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety is well established. Investigations into the mechanisms of change in CBT report changes in cognitive vulnerabilities mediating improvements over the course of treatment. As anxiety disorders share certain risk factors, there is a trend toward CBT emphasizing these vulnerabilities, including negative affectivity (NA) and also more specific constructs such as anxiety sensitivity (AS) and intolerance of uncertainty (IU). The purpose of this investigation was to analyze potential mediators of anxiety reduction over the course of transdiagnostic group CBT. NA, AS, and IU all decreased over the course of treatment. Among the potential mediators, change in NA had a significant relationship with change in anxiety but change in AS and change in IU did not. Neither the main effect of primary diagnosis nor the interactions between potential mediators and primary diagnoses were significant, indicating that there were no differential changes in anxiety or the potential mediators across primary diagnoses. Results strongly point toward NA as an overarching mediator of anxiety reduction during transdiagnostic group CBT.

Objective The main goal of this paper is to discuss the behavioural causes of workaholism. Review Definitions of workaholism have been presented, along with its status in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems, and the behavioural causes behind workaholism. The behavioural theories of workaholism have also been included (including operant learning and social learning theory) as well as a discussion on the role of reinforcements in developing workaholism. Conclusions The genesis of workaholism might be explained in terms of learning models. An important role in its development is played by reinforcements such as social approval, improvement of material status, anxiety reduction, increased self-esteem or compensation for poor interpersonal relationships.

Patients with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) may spend many hours in front of a mirror but little is known about the psychopathology or the factors that maintain the behaviour. A self-report mirror gazing questionnaire was used to elicit beliefs and behaviours in front of a mirror. Two groups were compared, which consisted of 55 controls and 52 BDD patients. Results: Prior to gazing, BDD patients are driven by the hope that they will look different; the desire to know exactly how they look; a belief that they will feel worse if they resist gazing and the desire to camouflage themselves. They were more likely to focus their attention on an internal impression or feeling (rather than their external reflection in the mirror) and on specific parts of their appearance. They were also more likely to practise showing the best face to pull in public or to use “mental cosmetic surgery” to change their body image than controls. BDD patients invariably felt worse after mirror gazing and were more likely to use ambiguous surfaces such as the backs of CDs or cutlery for a reflection. Conclusion: Mirror gazing in BDD consists of a series of complex safety behaviours. It does not follow a simple model of anxiety reduction that occurs in the compulsive checking of obsessive–compulsive disorder. The implications for treatment are discussed.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wishful thinking and self-deception are instances of motivated believing. According to an influential view, the motivated believer is moved by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain; i.e. the motive of the motivated believer is strictly hedonic--typically, the reduction of anxiety. This anxiety reduction account would, however, appear to face a serious challenge: cases of unwelcome motivated believing [Barnes (1997) Seeing through self-deception, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Scott-Kakures (2000) Motivated believing: wishful and unwelcome, Nous, 34, 348-375] or "twisted" self-deception [Mele (1999) Twisted self-deception, Philosophical Psychology, 12, 117-137]. Annette Barnes (1997) has recently argued that the anxiety reduction account can, in fact, handle such cases. I show that the anxiety reduction account cannot explain cases of unwelcome believing. Neither precipitous unwelcome believing nor the intensive and recurrent testing of unwelcome hypotheses characteristic of cases of se...

We present the results of a study designed to measure the level of science anxiety in students enrolled in physics courses at Loyola University Chicago. We undertook this study with two objectives: (1) to determine the factors contributing to science anxiety; in particular, to ascertain whether the leading factors identified in an earlier study have remained constant over time, and (2) to investigate whether science anxiety was affected by a semester of introductory physics. This is the first study of its kind, analyzing science anxiety in pre- and posttests of a cohort composed entirely of students taking physics courses. We find that the leading factors contributing to science anxiety are nonscience anxiety, gender, and to a much lesser degree, course of study (major), in agreement with earlier results. In general, males start and end the course with somewhat less science anxiety (and nonscience anxiety) than females. Post-course responses indicated some improvement in nonscience anxiety and in science anxiety for both genders. Acute levels of science anxiety were somewhat decreased by exposure to a physics course. Different pedagogies and gender role models may correlate with anxiety reduction.

Summary The aim of this paper is to discuss the mechanisms and magnitude of the placebo effect of treatment and to consider the ethical and moral implications of using placebo physiotherapy. Placebo or non-specific treatment effects were long considered to contribute a fixed fraction (one-third) to any treatment effect. Recent evidence has revealed this commonly held clinical belief to be erroneous. The placebo effect of any treatment is a highly variable and complex phenomenon that is influenced by a myriad factors. The outcome may be positive (eg analgesia) or negative (eg increased dependency on healthcare practitioners). Although the mechanisms of effect are not fully understood, evidence supports the influence of classical conditioning, anxiety reduction, and the expectations of both patients and practitioners. The relationship between patients and practitioners influences the magnitude of placebo effects as does the method of treatment presentation. A charismatic or caring practitioner can evoke analgesia with or without further treatment. And treatment presented with an air of ‘mystery‘, apparent sophistication, or positive expectation can evoke analgesia simply through the method of its presentation. Questions regarding the ethical use of treatments that are primarily placebo need to be addressed. When and under what conditions are placebo treatments acceptable in the short or long term? Is it a benevolent lie, or a regular lie, to use treatments that have only placebo effects? And, perhaps more importantly, do we know what those treatments are?

Effect of source honesty and appropriateness on effectiveness of rumor denial was tested. When the source was perceived as high on honesty, the denial was more successful in reducing belief and anxiety associated with the rumor. Source appropriateness (operationalized as a combination of source knowledgeability and status) did not have a main effect on belief or anxiety reduction. Honesty and appropriateness had an additive effect, such that the denial was most successful in reducing belief when the source was perceived as high on both honesty and appropriateness.

Drawing on recent empirical work, this philosophical paper explores some possible contributions of emotion to self-deception. Three hypotheses are considered: (1) the anxiety reduction hypothesis: the function of self-deception is to reduce present anxiety; (2) the solo emotion hypothesis: emotions sometimes contribute to instances of self-deception that have no desires among their significant causes; (3) the direct emotion hypothesis: emotions sometimes contribute directly to self-deception, in the sense that they make contributions that, at the time, are neither made by desires nor causally mediated by desires. It is argued that (1) is false and that (3) is defensible and more defensible than (2).

Our purpose was to examine the effects of cognitive group therapy, aerobic exercise, or their combination on anxiety reduction. Seventy participants were divided into four groups: cognitive group therapy, aerobic exercise, both treatments, or control. Participants were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before and after the study, and at a two-month follow-up. Results indicate that all interventions were equally effective in reducing anxiety as compared to no intervention. The combination of cognitive group therapy and exercise was not significantly more effective than either cognitive group therapy or aerobic exercise alone. Although effects were not maintained after two months, it is unclear whether this is attributable to the limitations of such interventions in changing more enduring traits. Possible mechanisms for change are discussed.

Objective. One symptom common to many persons with autism is a high arousal or anxiety level. This study investigated the effects of deep pressure on arousal and anxiety reduction in autism with Grandin’s Hug Machine, a device that allows self-administration of lateral body pressure. Method. Twelve children with autism were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (receiving deep pressure) or a placebo group (no receiving deep pressure but in the disengaged Hug Machine). All children received two 20-min sessions a week over a 6-week period. Arousal was measured behaviorally with the Conners Parent Rating Scale and physiologically with galvanic skin response (GSR) readings. Results. Behavioral results indicated a significant reduction in tension and a marginally significant reduction in anxiety for children who received the deep pressure compared with the children who did not. Additionally, children in the experimental group, whose GSR measure decreased, on average, after deep pressure, were somewhat more likely to have higher GSR arousal a priori. Conclusion. These preliminary findings support the hypothesis that deep pressure may have a calming effect for persons with autism, especially those with high levels of arousal or anxiety.

Background/methods This article presents the results of the application of hypnotherapy for obstetrics with a special focus on the hypnoreflexogenous method of childbirth preparation. Results/conclusion The programme specifically developed by Schauble as the hypnoreflexogenous method is an appropiate and efficient tool to interrupt the fear-tension-pain / pain-tension-fear circuit. Women who were prepared with the hypnoreflexogenous method had significantly less fear and pain, required significantly less analgesia, had a shorter period of labour and delivery and recovered faster from labour.

Therapeutic Touch, a modern application of the ancient technique of “Laying on of Hands, “ has proven to be a successful adjunct to current medical treatments, ranging from post-operative pain control and tension headaches2 to anxiety reduction in hospitalized cardiovascular patients.3 While Therapeutic Touch has gained acceptance and has been integrated into many major medical centers, it has not been widely used or documentecl with people afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. The AlZheimer's Resource Center of Connecticut has trained staff (and alsofamilies of patients) in the practice of Therapeutic Touch, beginning with a six-month training periodfor staff in July 1996. During this time, staff performed the technique strictly on each other to learn and refine their skills. In February 1997, the group began to perform Therapeutic Touch on patients. On a case-by-case basis, staff have observed that, following treatments of Therapeutic Touch, patients have demonstrated visible signs of well-being and relaxation-often leading to sleep. Staff also found Therapeutic Touch a way to positively forge emotional connections with patients who are verbally uncommunicative and who sufferfrom varying degrees of dementia.

There is disparate evidence within the current literature concerning the nature and level of involvement that physiotherapists have with patients suffering from anorexia nervosa. The study outlined in this article investigated such issues. Physiotherapists actively working with anorexic patients were targeted using a postal questionnaire. Results indicated that there is an active involvement of physiotherapists within the multidisciplinary team in the management of anorexia, and that the application of physical treatments were appropriate in a condition that is largely regarded as a psychiatric/psychological problem. In particular, physiotherapy was perceived as a useful application in the management of distorted body image, in programmes to control excessive exercise and in anxiety reduction.

To assess anxiety levels in women undergoing early (EA) versus mid-trimester amniocentesis (MA) for prenatal diagnostic testing. Method: Women randomized to EA or MA at 9–11 weeks gestation completed an initial questionnaire, the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Centre for Epidaemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Prior to and after the procedure, subjects completed a questionnaire and the STAI. Results: All subjects had increased anxiety levels prior to the procedure with a decrease following the procedure. There were no significant differences in pre-test anxiety levels between women receiving EA or MA. Women who received results back earlier in pregnancy had a significantly greater decrease in anxiety (p < 0.01). Women who had genetic terminations or miscarriages after the prenatal testing still tended to be positive about prenatal diagnosis and seemed to prefer earlier procedures.

A visit to a hospital emergency room is often a traumatic and anxiety inducing experience for children (as well as their parents). Hospital Hero is game developed with the aim of helping children familiarize themselves with the hospital environment and the instruments/equipment that they will undergo while focusing their attention on positive feedback thereby alleviating their anxiety and easing the work of hospital staff and the burden on parents and care givers leading to better treatment and a better experience.

This study was designed to examine whether the exercise environment affected individuals’ anxiety responses. Participants either sat quietly (control) or exercised in either a laboratory or a setting of their own choosing. State anxiety measures were assessed at baseline, during activity, and following 15 minutes of rest after activity. Analyses indicated that the exercising conditions significantly reduced anxiety, whereas the control condition did not. Additional analyses indicated that anxiety increased from baseline during exercise and then was reduced upon exercise cessation. The implications of these findings for the examination of acute exercise effects on psychological function are discussed.

The present study assessed the effectiveness of subliminal psychodynamic stimuli in reducing anxiety. 50 male and 50 female college students were tachistoscopically exposed to one of five stimuli: MOMMY AND I ARE ONE, DADDY AND I ARE ONE, I AM HAPPY WITH MYSELF, ONE, or a control stimulus MYMMO NAD I REA END. It was hypothesized that men would show a significant decrease in anxiety to the MOMMY stimulus, while women were expected to respond favorably to either the MOMMY or DADDY stimulus, or to both. Results showed that the subliminal stimuli did not produce differential effects on anxiety. This finding did not support previous claims for subliminal psychodynamic activation that the stimulation of symbiotic fantasy with the maternal figure produces positive behavioral effects. Despite this negative finding, women's response to the MOMMY message was predicted by measures of self-perception.

This study was carried out on the basis of Wolpe's principle of reciprocal inhibition. The stress-model asserts that the essence of anxiety reduction is the shift from the ergotropic to the trophotropic state, while the distraction-model asserts that distraction is the essence of anxiety reduction. The present experiment brings light to the following points not clarified in previous studies: (1) the effects of training vary with the symptoms of clients suffering from generalized anxiety disorders. The anxiety reducing effects of relaxation training is higher among those who complain of emotional syndromes than in those who complain of behavioral syndromes; (2) in both generalized anxiety disorders and social phobias, the mechanism of anxiety reduction matches the distraction model more than the stress model; (3) the effects of anxiety reduction by relaxation training and stress-relieving training carried out in the counseling room or in the client's home is higher in cases of generalized anxiety disorders than in social phobias.

This experiment examines the timing of visualization treatment and its effects on public speaking anxiety, a subject neglected in the communication apprehension literature thus far. The study utilized pre and posttests on two experimental groups and one control group. Members of one experimental group received the anxiety reduction treatment one week before their speeches and those in the second group received the anxiety reduction treatment one day before their speeches. The control group received no treatment. The results indicate some significant differences based on the presence or absence of the visualization treatment along with one's level of previous experience in public speaking. Limitations and directions for future research are also provided.

A meta-analysis was conducted on 40 studies (76 effects) in order to examine exercise training as a method of stress-management treatment for adults. It offered evidence of a low-to-moderate positive effect in anxiety reduction. Exercise training studies that examined change from pre to post-treatment and studies that examined both change over time and between group differences were examined separately. The unbiased weighted average effect sizes were .45 and .36, respectively. Thus, exercise training improved anxiety levels an average of .36 standard deviations over alternative or control conditions. Adults who were more likely to have a stressful lifestyle benefited more from the exercise training than those who did not. Recommendations are made for both practice and research.

Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) is a common problem for musicians. Many musicians struggle with performance anxiety and rely on traditional de-arousal interventions to reduce performance anxiety before public performance. However, research in sports psychology suggests that anxiety reduction may not be the most appropriate strategy for intervention (Chamberlain & Hale, 2007). According to the Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model proposed by Hanin, an athlete’s performance is successful when his or her pre-competition anxiety is within or near the individual’s optimal zone (Hanin, 2000). Based on the application of the IZOF theory in the context of piano performance, anxiety plays an important role in optimizing performance in music as well. This pilot study identified participants’ IZOFs with the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2). Support was found for Hanin’s IZOF theory with respect to the SA (somatic anxiety) and SC (self-confidence) dimensions for both of the participating pianists, as well as the CA (cognitive anxiety) dimension of pianist A but not for the CA dimension of pianist B. Piano performances associated with anxiety of an intensity that fell within the IZOF were observed to be significantly better than piano performances associated with anxiety intensity outside the IZOF. All the peak performances were presented within the IZOFs. The study verified that the IZOF model can be applied in MPA management and may help pianists be more aware of in-zone/out-zone states and rethink their attitudes toward performance anxiety. With this pilot study as a foundation, larger scale research can be conducted to clarify the correlation between anxiety and optimal piano performance.

Some aromatherapists suggest that geranium oil is useful for reducing anxiety but do not recommend the use of rosemary oil. To examine these assertions, using a standard psychological instrument for measuring anxiety, three groups of twelve undergraduates filled out the Spielberger State-Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and then inhaled either just steam, steam plus geranium oil, or steam with rosemary oil added. After inhalation volunteers filled out the STAI again immediately and a third time one hour later. Analysis revealed no difference between the groups in either state or trait anxiety scores before inhalation. In the steam only condition STAI scores did not change across the session. However a significant and this reduction was maintained across the session. It is likely that volunteers' expectations coloured the way they responded in the study but it is argued that anxiolyic effects are demonstrated in addition to those effects associated with conforming to the experimental situation. With geranium oil inhalation both state and trait scores were significantly lowered across the session. The reduction in reported anxiety is probably only of sufficient magnitude (18%) to be clinically important for state anxiety following geranium oil inhalation.

Background: Routinized and compulsive-like behaviours are very common in young children; however, previous studies have shown inconsistent results as to the age such behaviours decline. Another issue concerns any association with later Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Method: Related measures longitudinal design: We compared parent ratings of children over a 6 year period. The sample consisted of 109 children (aged 8 to 18 years, 62 males). Measures were of routinized and compulsive-like behaviours, OCD behaviours, worries and fears. Results: Routinized behaviours decreased significantly over the 6 year period, but not for children reported to have difficulties. OCD behaviours increased significantly with 31% of the sample having above threshold scores; however, only one child in the sample had an OCD diagnosis. There were significant correlations between CRI, OCD and fear and worry scores. Conclusion: We confirmed the view that anxiety reduction is one of the functions of routinized behaviours. A small number of children had high scores on routinized behaviours and the OCD measure, but there was only 1 diagnosis of OCD in the sample. This suggests that they may be part of the typical distribution of such behaviours.

The pervasive nature of substance abuse in the United States dictates that much of the research dollars and time is spent on clinical trials that measure anxiety reduction, medication management and the employing of behavioral models that stress gradual change. While these approaches use controls that can be studied and measured in the empirical sense, they often lack the important personal connections with the research participants. As these trials show less than hoped for efficacy, a new body of research is surfacing including spirituality, along with social supports as ways to aid recovery and reduce relapse. Many 12-step groups incorporate spirituality, as opposed to religion as a mainstay of an individual’s recovery effort. Spirituality is regularly mentioned across most twelve-step programs as an essential part of sustained and ongoing recovery. Practical definitions of spirituality have eluded researchers in part because they struggle to separate it from religion. While it may not be impossible to measure spirituality in an empirical sense, it may be possible to clarify what role spirituality plays in aiding sustained recovery and prevention of relapse into drug using behavior. We will suggest connectedness as an integral component in defining spirituality and demonstrate that in twelve-step recovery spirituality can be defined as gaining knowledge through connectedness to others.

The effects of aerobic and nonaerobic exercise on employee state and trait anxiety levels, absenteeism, job satisfaction, and resting heart rate were investigated within a worksite setting. Results indicated that aerobic subjects significantly reduced their state anxiety levels over a single exercise session. Post-exercise state anxiety decreased over the 8 weeks for both groups. Aerobic subjects who were not previous exercisers decreased their trait anxiety. No changes in job satisfaction, absenteeism, or resting heart rate were evident. These results support past findings that concluded that aerobic exercise is superior to nonaerobic exercise for anxiety reduction. Tentative evidence was found to oppose the hypothesis that cardiovascular conditioning is the mechanism responsible for the psychological benefits because no significant cardiovascular changes occurred.

This study investigated the effectiveness of a graduated exposure procedure, combined with peer feedback, in the treatment of speech anxiety. Subjects were assigned to one of two conditions: (a) graduated exposure/shaping plus feedback or (b) no-treatment control. Results indicated that the graduated exposure/shaping plus feedback treatment group demonstrated significantly greater speech anxiety reduction than the no-treatment control group at post- and follow-up assessment.

Acute bouts of aerobic exercise have been associated with modest reductions in self-reported state anxiety. Some have speculated that certain intensity or duration thresholds must be achieved before such reductions in anxiety can occur. Additionally, most of the previous research has focused on anxiety reduction or alleviation of negative affect with little concern for the positive affect enhancing potential of exercise. The purposes of the present study were to (1) determine whether anxiety reduction differs at two levels of exercise duration; and (2) examine both positive and negative responses to exercise. Sixteen males completed two (15 min, 30 min) randomly ordered exercise bouts (treadmill running at 75% VO2max) on separate days. Affective responses were assessed before, immediately after, and at 5, 10, 20, and 30 min after the exercise bouts. State anxiety was reduced equally for both durations of exercise, positive affect did not change, and 30 min of running reduced negative affect. The ...

An account-making model of diary-keeping is proposed which suggests that diary use can function as a means of avoiding and reducing both stress and anxiety. Subjects with high scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Hassles and Uplifts Scale were selected for the study. An experimental and control group were formed, and stress, anxiety and hassles measured pre- and post-diary-keeping. Support was found for the model in that rated levels of stress, anxiety and hassles were reduced following the adoption of diary-keeping. Significant negative correlations were found between the number of diary entries a subject made and hassles scores. Overall, the study suggests that diary-keeping is beneficial for both avoiding stress and anxiety provoking experiences, and for coping with stress and anxiety resulting from past experiences.

Based on Gordon Allport's contact theory, several bodies of research have emerged to suggest that prejudice reduction can be achieved through indirect forms of cross-group contact, including “extended” and “parasocial” contact. Keywords: parasocial contact; extended contact; contact theory; contact hypothesis; intergroup relations; prejudice; racism; media; cross-group friendship; literature; school interventions; anxiety reduction

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which teachers use humour in teaching in Migori district, Kenya, and students’ ratings of their teaching effectiveness. Purposive and random sampling procedures were used in the selection of the sample for the study. Students and teachers in 6 secondary schools in Migori District participated in the study. Data was collected using questionnaire. Three hundred and eleven students (159 male and 152 female) responded to the questionnaire designed to be used by students, which surveyed the students’ opinion of their teachers. Thirty-five teachers also responded to the questionnaire that was designed to survey the humour style that is common among them. In this study, the data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Inferential and descriptive statistics were used. The level of significance used in the study was 0.05. The results indicate that the use of humour in teaching is generally good and that there is a significant, moderate relationship between the use of humour and students’ rating of teachers’ effectiveness. The results also indicate that the most commonly used styles of humour among the students are the positive styles of humour (Affiliative humour and Self-enhancing humour). In conclusion, teachers who use humor in teaching are generally rated effective in terms of motivation, creation of engaging lessons and anxiety reduction in students. The teachers are also rated effective in terms of stimulation of thought and interest in students and fostering of a positive teacher-student relationship. Keywords: Humour, teaching effectiveness, affiliative humour, self-enhancing humour, The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which teachers use humour in teaching in Migori district, Kenya, and students’ ratings of their teaching effectiveness. Purposive and random sampling procedures were used in the selection of the sample for the study. Students and teachers in 6 secondary schools in Migori District participated in the study. Data was collected using questionnaire. Three hundred and eleven students (159 male and 152 female) responded to the questionnaire designed to be used by students, which surveyed the students’ opinion of their teachers. Thirty-five teachers also responded to the questionnaire that was designed to survey the humour style that is common among them. In this study, the data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Inferential and descriptive statistics were used. The level of significance used in the study was 0.05. The results indicate that the use of humour in teaching is generally good and that there is a significant, moderate relationship between the use of humour and students’ rating of teachers’ effectiveness. The results also indicate that the most commonly used styles of humour among the students are the positive styles of humour (Affiliative humour and Self-enhancing humour). In conclusion, teachers who use humor in teaching are generally rated effective in terms of motivation, creation of engaging lessons and anxiety reduction in students. The teachers are also rated effective in terms of stimulation of thought and interest in students and fostering of a positive teacher-student relationship.

Social phobics exhibit an attentional bias for threat in probe detection and probe discrimination paradigms. Attention training programs, in which probes always replace nonthreatening cues, reduce attentional bias for threat and self-reported social anxiety. However, researchers have seldom included behavioral measures of anxiety reduction, and have never taken physiological measures of anxiety reduction. In the present study, we trained individuals with generalized social phobia (n = 57) to attend to threat cues (attend to threat), to attend to positive cues (attend to positive), or to alternately attend to both (control condition). We assessed not only self-reported social anxiety, but also behavioral and physiological measures of social anxiety. Participants trained to attend to nonthreatening cues demonstrated significantly greater reductions in self-reported, behavioral, and physiological measures of anxiety than did participants from the attend-to-threat and control conditions.

The effects of social support provided by a friend on anxiety reduction and task performance were investigated. While the experimentally manipulated social support from a same-gender friend did not reduce the subject's state anxiety and had a weak facilitating effect on task performance in comparison with that from a same-gender stranger, the nonmanipulated, spontaneous social support of a friend reduced the subject?s state anxiety and had a facilitating effect on task performance more than in the case of the stranger's support. These results were discussed in terms of congruence in the provider's and the recipient's perceptions of social support exchanges, and in terms of the specificity model.

Although body temperature elevation resulting from exercise has been implicated as one mechanism underlying anxiety reduction, no published evidence exists which establishes the relationship between body temperature and anxiety with respect to exercise. To examine this relationship, 20 males ran for 30 min at 75% VO2max in three temperature-manipulated conditions: (a) Normal—normal temperature change associated with exercise; (b) Cooler—attenuation of normal rise in temperature; and (c) Warmer—accentuation of normal rise in temperature. Significant temperature differences resulted from the three conditions. Although anxiety was reduced following exercise in all conditions and relationships between changes in temperature and anxiety were strong (rs>.75), manipulations of temperature accounted for only a small percentage of the variance in anxiety. It appears that elevated body temperature may not be necessary for exercise-related anxiety reduction to occur. Other variables which might have a greater effect on anxiety reduction (e.g., brain temperature, blood pressure) need to be examined.

Data from 162 MSW students were analyzed to test the propositions that social work students have high levels of anxiety about research and statistics and that this anxiety has a detrimental effect on students' performance in a required research and statistics course. Levels of anxiety about research and statistics were very varied and only 12% of the stuents bad "very high" levels of anxiety. The relationships between such anxiety and performance in the course was not statistically significant. Anxiety reduction activities may be appropriate for humane reasons but the activities are not likely to increase students' learning of research and statistics.

Written, oral, and practical flight tests, along with challenging flying tasks, place pilot trainees in stressful situations. The initial goals of this research were to determine assessment tools for identifying pilot trainees who might perform poorly in stressful flight testing environments, and measure the efficacy of a test anxiety (TA) workshop on anxiety levels and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) knowledge assessments of pilot trainees. The researchers determined that: Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) scores marginally predict facilitating anxiety levels, and FAA knowledge tests, taken in authentic testing environments, correlate significantly with debilitating anxiety, facilitating anxiety, and FAA exam scores. The researchers recommend continuing longitudinal assessment of freshman flight students that potentially links anxiety and performance on low-risk assessments with these measures on higher-risk practical flight tests. Further study is needed to determine if a more intense anxiety treatment can lower debilitating anxiety, raise facilitating anxiety, or improve performance on FAA exams.

Illness and associated hospitalisation are stressful events for any individual. The stress associated with an admission to a coronary care unit may be related to the severity and acuteness of the illness, the effects of hospitalisation on the individual, their family, their job and financial position, and often manifests itself as anxiety, fear or depression. This paper highlights the use of anxiety reduction strategies such as muscle relaxation, music, education and counselling. The literature reviewed does not provide any clear messages regarding the effectiveness of these strategies in the coronary care unit setting. As a consequence, there is a need to continue researching this important area of nursing practice.

This study aimed to examine the influence of the presence of a partner in terms of affiliation level and role on anxiety in a physically threatening situation. In the first experiment, nine male subjects waited alone for the electric shock, and the other nine subjects waited with their partner. In the second experiment, 36 female subjects were assigned to four experimental groups by the difference of the role of a partner (coactor or audience) and the affiliation level of a partner (friend or stranger), and subjects waited for the electric shock with their partner. It was found that anxiety of subjects decreased when the partner was a coactor and/or a friend. It was suggested that these two functioned differently in anxiety reduction in a physically threatening situation.

Patients in the placebo arms of randomized controlled trials (RCT) often experience positive changes from baseline. While multiple theories concerning such "placebo effects" exist, peculiarly, none has been informed by actual interviews of patients undergoing placebo treatment. Here, we report on a qualitative study (n = 27) embedded within a RCT (n = 262) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Besides identical placebo acupuncture treatment in the RCT, the qualitative study patients also received an additional set of interviews at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the trial. Interviews of the 12 qualitative subjects who underwent and completed placebo treatment were transcribed. We found that patients (1) were persistently concerned with whether they were receiving placebo or genuine treatment; (2) almost never endorsed "expectation" of improvement but spoke of "hope" instead and frequently reported despair; (3) almost all reported improvement ranging from dramatic psychosocial changes to unambiguous, progressive symptom improvement to tentative impressions of benefit; and (4) often worried whether their improvement was due to normal fluctuations or placebo effects. The placebo treatment was a problematic perturbation that provided an opportunity to reconstruct the experiences of the fluctuations of their illness and how it disrupted their everyday life. Immersion in this RCT was a co-mingling of enactment, embodiment and interpretation involving ritual performance and evocative symbols, shifts in bodily sensations, symptoms, mood, daily life behaviors, and social interactions, all accompanied by self-scrutiny and re-appraisal. The placebo effect involved a spectrum of factors and any single theory of placebo--e.g. expectancy, hope, conditioning, anxiety reduction, report bias, symbolic work, narrative and embodiment--provides an inadequate model to explain its salubrious benefits.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

In the last decade, the public use of complementary and alternative therapies for the solution of various health problems has increased dramatically. Listening to music can be considered a support to the traditional medical practice for the reduction of anxiety and stress related to chemotherapy.