New UofH study suggests anxiety can be reduced in predictable situations

An international study led by Dr. Hadas Okon-Singer, Head of the Cognition Emotion Interaction Lab, set out to identify whether the sense of anxiety experienced by arachnophobes (individuals with an extreme fear of spiders) can be reduced if their level of certainty increased. “The findings show that as certainty rises – even if it is certainty about something we perceive as negative such as fear of spiders – anxiety falls,” explains Dr. Okon-Singer. She further suggests that growing awareness of the importance of the sense of certainty is now being reflected in other fields. “In the current context, the Coronavirus epidemic has significantly increased the sense of uncertainty. It is possible that if we can increase the feeling of certainty, the sense of anxiety among the public could be moderated.” The study, conducted in cooperation with a team of researchers from Belgium and Switzerland, was published in the journal Behavior Research and Therapy. READ MORE