Using the Internet to provide cognitive behaviour therapy

A new treatment form has emerged that merges cognitive behaviour therapy with the Internet. By delivering treatment components, mainly in the form of texts presented via web pages, and provide ongoing support using e-mail promising outcomes can be achieved. The literature on this novel form of treatment has grown rapidly over recent years with several controlled trials in the field of anxiety disorders, mood disorders and behavioural medicine. For some of the conditions for which Internet-delivered CBT has been tested, independent replications have shown large effect sizes, for example in the treatment of social anxiety disorder. In some studies, Internet-delivered treatment can achieve similar outcomes as in face-to-face CBT, but the literature thus far is restricted mainly to efficacy trials. This article provides a brief summary of the evidence, comments on the role of the therapist and for which patient and therapist this is suitable. Areas of future research and exploration are identified.     

P1198: Software for tracing decision behavior in lending to small businesses

This paper describes a process-tracing software program specially designed to capture decision behavior in lending to small businesses. The source code was written in Lotus Notes. The software runs in a Web browser and consists of two interacting systems: a database and a user interface. The database includes three realistic loan applications. The user interface consists of different but interacting screens that enable the participant to operate the software. Log files registerthe decision behavior of the participant. An empirical example is presented in order to show the software’s potential in providing insights into judgment and decision making. The implications of the software are discussed.     

Immediate effects of cigarette smoking as related to different smoking habits.

A questionnaire concerning interactions between the need to smoke and the external situation was used to select 8 "low-arousal smokers" and 8 "high-arousal amokers." The former were smokers who generally experienced their strongest need to smoke in low-arousal situations, characterized by e.g., monotony or boredom, while the latter experienced their strongest need to smoke in high-arousal situations, characterized by, e.g., anxiety or excitement. Members of each group were examined under smoking and nonsmoking conditions in a low-arousal situation, i.e., performing a vigilance-type sensorimotor task, and in a high-arousal situation, i.e., performing a complex sensorimotor task. It was shown that the two groups reacted differently to smoking in the two situations. In low-arousal smokers performance and general well-being were favourably affected by smoking in the low-arousal situation only. Conversely, performance and well-bing of the high-arousal smokers were enhanced by smoking in the high-arousal situation only.     

APPROACH AND WITHDRAWAL IN YOUNG OF TILAPIA MOSSAMBICA (CICHLIDAE, PISCES) AS A FUNCTION OF AGE AND SOCIAL EXPERIENCE

G oude G., E dlund B., E ngqvist -E dlund U. & A nderson M. Approach and withdrawal in young of Tilapia mossambica (Cichlidae, Pisces) as a function of age and Social experience. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1972, 13 , 89–97.—In an experiment with eight groups of young of Tilapia mossambica , approach and withdrawal behavior was registered during brief (5 min) periods of stimulation with a moving dummy; the experiment lasted twelwe days (towards the end and immediately after the sensitive period). Four of the groups comprised young which had been isolated from each other until the first stimulation period; in the other four groups the young had been kept together in the experimental tanks. The age of the young when first stimulated was varied experimentally. Changes in approach and withdrawal behavior over time were studied along with e.g. changes in group strength. Age at first stimulation was found to be of some consequence but no clear differences were obtained between groups with different environmental experiences.     

ADAPTIVE PATTERNS IN A SERIAL SPIRAL AFTER-EFFECT TEST AS RELATED TO A SYSTEM OF PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS

Utilizing a serial technique for measuring and scoring spiral aftereffect (SAE), four types of individual adaptive patterns defined by measures of regression and residual variability are isolated in a sample of 36 students from an introductory course in psychology. These patterns show distinct and plausible relationships with the Sjobring personality dimensions measured by a questionnaire. This indicates that a serial application of SAE may be a promising tool for further personality research.     

Internet-based vs. face-to-face cognitive behavior therapy for psychiatric and somatic disorders: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

During the last two decades, Internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) has been tested in hundreds of randomized controlled trials, often with promising results. However, the control groups were often waitlisted, care-as-usual or attention control. Hence, little is known about the relative efficacy of ICBT as compared to face-to-face cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, which included 1418 participants, guided ICBT for psychiatric and somatic conditions were directly compared to face-to-face CBT within the same trial. Out of the 2078 articles screened, a total of 20 studies met all inclusion criteria. Results showed a pooled effect size at post-treatment of Hedges g = .05 (95% CI, ?.09 to .20), indicating that ICBT and face-to-face treatment produced equivalent overall effects. Study quality did not affect outcomes. While the overall results indicate equivalence, there have been few studies of the individual psychiatric and somatic conditions so far, and for the majority, guided ICBT has not been compared against face-to-face treatment. Thus, more research, preferably with larger sample sizes, is needed to establish the general equivalence of the two treatment formats.