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Evaluation of Five Procedures for Classification of Participants’ Fear Levels

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Abstract

The present study evaluated the ability of 5 different fear classification procedures to discriminate between 3 fear levels and to correlate with 6 commonly used dependent measures of fear. A standardized fear assessment procedure was administered on 2 separate trials to 71 women participants. Following the completion of the assessment trials, the participants’ data were scored and regrouped according to 5 fear classification procedures (behavioral, self-report, skin conductance level, skin response amplitude, and heart rate). This design permitted each procedure to be evaluated to the same target stimulus and at the same point in time. The classifications of participants on the basis of behavior and skin conductance response were found to be most effective selection procedures with self-report, skin conductance level, and heart rate being the least. Reliability of the findings was assessed by a test–retest procedure.

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Correspondence to Donald J. Levis.

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Edgerly, E.S., Levis, D.J. Evaluation of Five Procedures for Classification of Participants’ Fear Levels. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 27, 201–209 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-005-0636-4

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