Reduction of children's fear of the dark by competence-related and situational threat-related verbal cues.

Abstract

This study examined the effects of training children in the use of verbal controlling responses for darkness tolerance. Forty-five children, S-6-years old, rehearsed one of three types of mediating response: (a) sentences emphasizing the child's active control or competence, (b) sentences concentrating on reducing the aversive qualities of the situation, and (c) sentences. Children were trained in a well-lit room. Each child then remained in total darkness until he or she decided to increase the illumination. The duration of tolerance of darkness and terminal light intensity were assessed across one pretest and two posttraining trials. On a generalization trial the child was to reduce full illumination. Analyses revealed that differential training significantly influenced duration and intensity settings, with the competence group generally superior to the stimulus and neutral verbalization groups. Alternate interpretations of the findings are offered.

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