Showing papers in "Journal of Counseling Psychology in 1967"

Standard versus individualized hierarchies in desensitization to reduce test anxiety.

Abstract: FIFTY-FOUR TEST-ANXIOUS COLLEGE FRESHMEN FROM STANFORD UNIVERSITI WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ONE OF THREE GROUPS--(1) A DESENSITIZATION GROUP WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALIZED ANXIETY HIERARCHIES, (2) A DESENSITIZATION GROUP WORKING WITH A SINGLE STANDARD HIERARCHY, AND (3) A NO-TREATMENT CONTROL GROUP. THE CRITERIA CONSISTED OF SELF-RATINGS OF ANXIETY BEFORE AND DURING EXAMINATIONS, SCORES ON A TEST ANXIETY SCALE, AND FINAL EXAMINATION GRADES. THE FINDINGS WERE AS FOLLOWS--(1) STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED DESENSITIZATION RATED THEMSELVES AS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS ANXIOUS ABOUT EXAMINATIONS (BOTH BEFORE AND DURING THEIR FINAL EXAMINATIONS) AS COMPARED WITH A NOTREATMENT CONTROL GROUP, (2) FINAL EXAMINATION GRADES OF THE DESENSITIZATION GROUPS WERE SLIGHTLY, BUT NOT SIGNIFICANTLY, HIGHER THAN THE CONTROL GROUP, AND (3) NO DIFFERENCE IN THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF INDIVIDUALIZED VERSUS STANDARD HIERARCHIES WAS FOUND. CONSIDERING THE RESULTS, LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ARE (1) THE SAMPLE WAS NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF NORMAL COLLEGE POPULATION IN ABILITY, (2) THE TEST ANXIETY CRITERION MEASURES MIGHT HAVE BEEN MORE OBJECTIVE, AND (3) STUDENTS MIGHT HAVE COMPILED THEIR OWN INDIVIDUALIZED ANXIETY HIERARCHY INSTEAD OF ALTERING A

Reported personal stress sources and adjustment of entering freshmen.

Abstract: SOURCES OF PERSONAL STRESS AS PERCEIVED BY 500 ENTERING FRESHMEN WERE INVESTIGATED TO DETERMINE HOW THEY MIGHT BE RELATED TO ADJUSTMENT THE TOTAL DEVIATION SCORE ON THE MMPI WAS USED AS A MEASURE OF ADJUSTMENT WITH THE 100 HIGHEST DEVIATIONS DESIGNATED AS THE MALADJUSTED AND THE LOWEST 100 AS THE ADJUSTED 15 OF THE 26 STRESS SOURCES MEASURED WERE FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO HIGH TOTAL DEVIATION SCORES ON THE MMPI, SUGGESTING FURTHER EXPLORATORY USE OF THE PERSONAL STRESS SCALE AS A SCREENING DEVICE FOR QUICK DETERMINATION OF POSSIBLY DISTURBED STUDENTS ALSO SUGGESTED ARE ORIENTATION PROGRAM AREAS THAT MIGHT BE ADJUSTED TO BETTER MEET THE NEEDS OF FRESHMEN ATTEMPTING TO COPE WITH THE TRANSITIONAL STRESS OF ENTERING A RESIDENTIAL UNIVERSITY (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)