The purpose of this study was to determine if individuals could raise their hand temperature through systematic thermal training and to assess the effects of thermal training paired with coping-imagery desensitization on counselor trainee anxiety and counselor trainee effectiveness. A unique feature of this investigation was the pairing of two systems which had seldom been studied simultaneously: thermal training paired with desensitization.The experimental groups consisted of 32 Ball State University European Master's level students in counseling (16 females, 16 males). Subjects were volunteers drawn from five sections of classes during Spring Quarter, 1978. Students were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: the experimental group or the no-treatment control group. The experimental training took place over a 6-week time period at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany, and at Kapaun Air Station, West Germany.A pre-study was conducted the previous Winter Quarter, 1977-1978, to solicit data from which to compile a six-item standardized hierarchy to be used for the experimental desensitization scenes. The scenes consisted of counseling-related events which counselor trainees previously indicated were anxiety producing.Two groups of criteria instruments were utilized as dependent variables: self-report measures and performance measures. The self-report anxiety measures consisted of a semantic differential and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The end-of-treatment thermal measurement and the CarkhuffBerenson Gross Rating of Facilitative Interpersonal Functioning Scale (GRFIF) served as measures of performance.Experimental subjects were exposed to five sessions of thermal training combined with coping-imagery desensitization while the control group received no treatment. Both groups were administered the end-of-treatment thermal measurement at the end of the fifth session of treatment. During the sixth week, both groups completed the self-report anxiety measures prior to participating as a counselor and as a client in two 20-minute audio taped counseling sessions. Each subject was individually debriefed and control subjects were offered the opportunity to receive identical training. Three 3-minute segments were excerpted from each counseling tape and were rated in-the-blind by independent judges using the Carkhuff-Berenson CRFIF Scale measuring counselor effectiveness. The raters were trained in using the GRFIF Scale and following training, the four-way interjudge reliability using total sampling procedures was r = .85, p< .01.The experimental design was the posttest only control group design. Five null hypotheses stating that no statistical difference would be found between the experimental and control group in self-reported anxiety or in effective counseling skills were statistically treated using five one-way analyses of variance. A confidence level of .05 was established.Results of the statistical investigations indicated that experimental subjects showed significantly greater hand-warming skills than control subjects, F (1,31) = 36.98, p < .001. No significant differences were found between the treatment and control group means on the self-report measures of anxiety or in counselor effectiveness.The conclusion was drawn that thermal training was a viable method for assisting individuals to achieve significant increases in thermal temperature measurement. Thermal training paired with coping-imagery desensitization was not demonstrated to be an effective treatment modality for reducing counselor trainee self-report anxiety or for increasing effective counseling skills. The latter finding was inconsistent with previous research which concluded that relaxation and systematic desensitization resulted in reductions in counselor trainee self-report anxiety and in increases in counselor effectiveness.The recommendation was made for additional research investigating thermal training paired with desensitization using an electromyograph (EMG) biofeedback unit and for employment of individualized desensitization hierarchies with practicum populations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/176450 |
| Date | 03 June 2011 |
| Creators | Graser, Judith Ann |
| Contributors | Schleifer, G. Scott |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 4, viii, 177 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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