An experiment was conducted to study the role of "positive expectancy" when utilizing anxiety-relief conditioning. Fourteen male and female undergraduate psychology students were selected as subjects (Ss), based on pre-test scores obtained on the "Snake Intimacy Test" (SIT). Ss were matched according to pre-SIT scores and randomly assigned to the "positive expectancy" or "no expectancy" groups. Anxiety relief conditioning was administered without variation. Only the rationale given each group describing what was transpiring was different. The statistical results revealed significant improvement by both groups. Also, the "positive expectancy" group improved significantly over the "no expectancy" group. Therefore, "positive expectancy" is apparently a sufficient, but not necessary, variable of anxiety-relief conditioning.