Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Are the eye movements an effective component?

This study explored the effects of eye movements, as compared with eye stabilization and an attention control in reducing anxiety related to public speaking in a non-clinical sample. Nineteen subjects with public speaking anxiety identified their worst memory of speaking in public and either moved their eyes in cadence with the experimenter's fingers, fixated their eyes on the experimenter's fingers, or simply talked about negative experiences related to public speaking. Reduction in anxiety was measured by the Subjective Units of Disturbance scale (Wolpe, 1982) or the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker (Paul, 1966). Cognitive change was measured by the Validity of Cognition scale (Shapiro, 1989). Global symptoms were measured by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R, Derogatis, 1983). Analysis of the data indicated that there was no significant difference between groups on any of the measures. This study did not explore the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), but rather the effects of eye movements alone. According to the results of the this study, eye movements are not sufficient to create the kind of changes seen in the EMDR literature.

Dissertation/Thesis

English

Priscilla A. Marquis

Marquis, P. A. (1995, October). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Are the eye movements an effective component? (Doctoral dissertation, Pacific University)