TOWARD AN ATTRIBUTION THERAPY - REDUCTION OF FEAR THROUGH INDUCED COGNITIVE-EMOTIONAL MISATTRIBUTION

An experimental design based upon an explication of Schachter's theory of emotion demonstrated that fear reduction through induced misattribution of the physiological concomitants of fear could be accomplished. A test situation was utilized in which reduced fear would be reflected by 40 female undergraduates willingness to work on a puzzle which would gain them monetary reward while leaving unsolved a puzzle which could allow them to avoid impending electrical shock. Particular emphasis was directed toward the temporal relationship between the onset of the physiological responses usually associated with fear and the source, veridical or contrived, to which it might be attributed. The clinical possibilities inherent in the general misattribution approach are discussed and the present study is offered as an experimental analogue to plausible therapeutic techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.