Vellinga, Ilse (2025) Out of Sight, Out of Fear? Comparing the Effects of Masked Counterconditioning and Masked Exposure on Spider Fear. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Spider phobia is a prevalent and distressing condition, and although exposure therapy is effective, it is often avoided due to the distress it induces. Masked exposure has shown promise in reducing fear responses without conscious awareness or distress. However, it does not seem successful in altering the subjective evaluation towards spiders. Evaluative counterconditioning may further enhance outcomes by altering stimulus valence. This study examined whether masked counterconditioning is more effective than masked exposure and a control condition in increasing valence ratings of spiders among women with spider fear. A sample of 151 women with spider fear were assigned to one of three conditions and completed two short intervention blocks using a backward masking procedure. For the intervention conditions, participants were exposed to masked spider pictures that were followed by positive animal pictures (conditioning) or by a neutral letter array (exposure). The control condition was added to control for exposure to positive stimuli alone. Valence ratings of spider stimuli and subjective distress were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Results revealed no significant improvements in how participants rated the spider image across any of the conditions. However, importantly, neither intervention conditions led to an increase in subjective distress. These findings suggest that while masked procedures may not alter affective evaluations in the short term, they do offer the advantage of low distress, which could support their use as precursors to traditional exposure therapy. Future studies should investigate whether repeated sessions, improved stimulus selection, and double-blind procedures could enhance intervention effects.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Supervisor name: | Masselman, I. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 18 Jul 2025 09:49 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jul 2025 09:49 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5631 |
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