Group desensitization of test anxiety.

Following an orientation session in which test-anxious students were instructed in the theory and method of desensitization, eighteen ISU under-graduates applied for a desensitization and counseling program for test-taking anxiety. All students committed themselves to attend seven weekly meetings and to practice daily the relaxation exercises at home. Nine of these eig·hteen subjects were assigned to the treatment group and nine to the wait-list control group on the basis of a free class hour at program time. Treatment consisted of seven desensitization and counseling sessions. The treatment and control groups did not differ significantly in initial Grade Point Average or scores on the A.C.T. Test. Both groups improved G.P.A. the program quarter. But only the treatment group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement. (p < .05) It is concluded that group desensitization in this seven-session model is an effective and efficient technique to modify anxiety responses to test taking-situations. There has been a growing interest in college counseling centers in the development of techniques to assist students who are prevented by test-taking anxiety from performing effectively. Desensitization is one therapeutic technique that has been explored for treating this problem. Most behavior therapists have relied on selfratings of experienced anxiety as the indicator of therapeutic success. In the studies which use more objective and reliable indices such as change in Grade Point Average (GP A) to evaluate success, the results are not consistent. Katahn et al ( 1966) and Cohen ( 1968) obtained positive GPA changes. Emery and Krumboltz ( 196 7) and Garlington and Cottier ( 1968) did not. The former studies combined counseling and group interaction with the desensitization procedures whereas the latter studies did not. The present study was designed to assess changes in pre and post program GPA for an experimental group who participated in a desensitization and counseling program and for a wait-list control group who received no treatment. The control group in this study provided an indication of GP A change for college students at the same level in school, distressed by the same problem, and motivated to participate in the program. The motivation of the experimental and control subjects was indicated by their commitment to attend all seven weekly sessions after being instructed in the rationale and procedures of desensitization. Klein ( 1968) observed "Therapy, as Wolpe and Lazarus practice it, includes indoctrination, teaching and exhortation, apparently evidenced to provide a rationale for the treatment and to enhance motivation". The effects of this conceptual formulation of anxiety as a learned response that can consequently be unlearned 1 Iowa State University.