Reinforced practice and reduction of fear of water in children

Abstract

Reinforced practice was used to treat children for fear of water. The primary measure of fear reduction was a behavioural task involving approach and entry to water. A comparison of pre-and post-test scores on the behavioural approach test for experimental and control subjects was used to determine the effectiveness of the procedure. The results showed a significant difference in the pre- and post-test scores for the two groups and thus the application of reinforced practice has been extended.