Differentiation between classically conditioned and cognitively based neurotic fears: two pilot studies

The ability of clinical trainees to learn to distinguish between classically conditioned and cognitively based neurotic fears was examined in two small-scale studies. The first study showed that they readily learned to make the distinction on the basis of transcripts of key excerpts of actual patient sessions, and that ability to do so increased with training. The second study showed a high degree of inter-rater reliability among assessor ratings of fear type on the basis of independent interviews of phobic patients.