The effect of two audiotaped neuro-linguistic programming phobia treatments on public speaking anxiety

This study was designed to investigate the ability of two Neuro-Linguistic Programming phobia cures to reduce public speaking anxiety. Audiotaped versions of the two phobia cures, the Phobia Cure and the Fast Phobia Cure, were compared to an audiotaped massed systematic desensitization procedure and a no-treatment procedure.

Two hundred eighty-five subjects volunteered for this study. To be included in the study each subject had to score 1/2 standard deviation above the mean on the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker and exhibit no obvious signs of pathology. Subjects who met that criteria were assessed using the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, the Audience Anxiousness scale, and the Self Assessment of Mastery of Public Speaking scale. Each subject was then randomly assigned to either the Phobia Cure, the Fast Phobia Cure, the massed systematic desensitization procedure, or the no-treatment procedure. The Phobia Cure, the Fast Phobia Cure, and the massed systematic desensitization procedure were administered in one session via an audiotape. Subjects assigned to the no-treatment procedure were requested to wait in a waiting room for 30 minutes. After completing his/her respective treatment, the subject was requested to complete the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety and the Audience Anxiousness scale. Approximately three weeks after the completion of his/her treatment, each subject was requested to complete the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, the Audience Anxiousness scale, and the Self Assessment of Mastery of Public Speaking Scale. Data were gathered from 20 subjects for each of the four procedures.

The data from these three dependent measures were analyzed with repeated measures analyses of variance. The results of the repeated measures analyses failed to support the hypothesis that the Neuro-Linguistic Programming phobia cures, when administered via an audiotape, were more effective than an audiotaped massed systematic desensitization procedure or a no-treatment waiting procedure.