IMPROVING THE CONCURRENT VALIDITY OF THE FEAR SURVEY SCHEDULE-III

The study sought to improve the concurrent validity of the Fear Survey Schedule-III (Wolpe & Lang, 1977). A modified version was created which sought to anchor each item concretely. Explicit descriptions were given for each of the ratings, with particular attention given to the use of the 0 rating to eliminate other emotional responses. Behavioral approach tests were created for fear of snakes, blood, weapons and fire. A sample of 105 college students was compared to established norms. For women the ratings were significantly lower for 42 of 108 items. This was in agreement with their nonfearful behavioral approach scores. These results are discussed in terms of the implications for desynchrony (lack of agreement between cognitive and behavioral measures) and the measurement of fear in the general population.