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Biomedical subjects

L M Ascher

Publications and source records attributed to L M Ascher.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Paradoxical intention and recursive anxiety.

The present study was designed to investigate a possible relationship between "recursive anxiety" and paradoxical intention. Groups of subjects were chosen from among individuals with public speaking concerns. and for whom fear of fear or recursive anxiety clearly represented an important element, or was completely absent from the clinical profile. These subjects were offered a standard in vivo treatment program for public speaking phobia with inclusion or exclusion of paradoxical intention. A 2 x 2 factorial design was employed. Those whose public speaking anxiety was complicated by recursive anxiety experienced greater improvement when paradoxical intention was included in the treatment program than when it was not employed. In contrast, individuals reporting simple public speaking phobia demonstrated greater success with a treatment program in which paradoxical intention was absent. Wegner's hypothesis of "ironic" cognitive processing was used to explain the proposed relationship between paradoxical intention and fear of fear.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Coping styles, paradox, and the cold pressor task.

The study investigated how coping style differences affected performance on the cold pressor task. Reactions of "monitors" (individuals who prefer having information about stressors) and "blunters" (individuals who avoid cues connected with stressors) were compared, using different instructional sets. The study also assessed the effectiveness of paradoxical intention compared to more traditional cognitive strategies. Monitors and blunters were identified using Miller's recently developed Behavioral Style Scale. All instructional sets improved performance in comparison to a control condition, and individuals generally did better when an instructional set supported their preferred coping style. Paradoxical intention did not show any decided advantage over other strategies. The desirability of designing stress management programs to fit individual coping style patterns is discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1984

Paradoxical intention in the treatment of agoraphobia and other anxiety disorders.

Following a description of the paradoxical intention procedure and a brief review of the general behavioral literature relevant to this technique, the authors focus on the role of paradoxical treatment programs for agoraphobic clients. The cognitive and exposure components of paradoxical intention are discussed and the procedure is compared and contrasted with other cognitive behavioral methods on one hand, and with flooding on the other. Finally, the authors provide several ideas for future research.

Agoraphobia↗
PubMed1984

Comparison of three cognitive strategies in altering pain behaviors on a cold pressor task.

The efficacy of three cognitive strategies for coping with pain was examined in a cold-water pressor task in a sample of college students. Subjects were pretested and then randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions (Paradoxical Intention, Rational Self-statement, or Self-observation) or to an expectancy control group. Following training in the respective cognitive strategies, all groups were given a posttest in the cold-water pressor to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. Pain thresholds, tolerances, and discomfort ratings were recorded for subjects in each condition. No differences were found between the Paradoxical Intention or Rational Self-statement groups and the Expectancy Control on any of the pain measures. The Self-observation treatment condition, however, had significantly higher pain tolerance scores than the Expectancy Control group. The findings were attributed to the subjects' dissociating the sensory aspects of the pain experience from the anxiety when focusing upon the coldness and wetness of the cold water.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1977

Should fearful individuals be instructed to proceed quickly or cautiously?

Snake or cockroach phobic Ss were given opportunities to approach a live specimen. Those instructed to go "as far as they could" made significantly more progress in overcoming their fear than Ss asked to proceed cautiously. They also did better than the group especially urged to push themselves, although this difference was not significant. Implications for treatment strategies are discussed.

Animals↗