Optimizing Exposure Using Occasional Aversive Imagery in Spider Fearful Individuals

During six of the 27 exposure trials, participants in the experimental group are asked to imagine their most feared outcome towards spiders as vividly as possible while completing the specific trial.

• All participants complete an exposure training session (approx. 75 min) with seven exposure steps, which are repeated between one and five times (e.g. Step 4: directing the spider with a pen by touching its legs at least five times per repetition; this step must be repeated five times before continuing to the next step). One repetition per step is considered one trial, therefore each participant aims to complete 27 exposure trials.