Computer Anxiety

Editor's Notes

• #19: Three steps of desensitization[edit] There are three main steps that Wolpe identified to successfully desensitize an individual. Establish anxiety stimulus hierarchy. The individual must first identify the items that are causing anxiety. Each item that causes anxiety is given a subjective ranking on the severity of induced anxiety. If the individual is experiencing great anxiety to many different triggers, each item is dealt with separately. For each trigger or stimuli, a list is created to rank the events from least anxiety provoking to the greatest anxiety provoking. Learn coping mechanism or incompatible response. Relaxation training, such as meditation, is one type of coping strategy. Wolpe taught his patients relaxation responses because it is not possible to be both relaxed and anxious at the same time. In this method, patients practice tensing and relaxing different parts of the body until the patient reaches a state of serenity.[2] This is necessary because it provides the patient with a means of controlling their fear, rather than letting it increase to intolerable levels. Usually only a few sessions are needed for a patient to learn the appropriate coping mechanisms. Additional coping strategies include anti-anxiety medicine and breathing exercises. Another means of relaxation is cognitive reappraisal of imagined outcomes. The therapist might encourage subjects to examine what they imagine happening when exposed to the anxiety-inducing stimulus and allowing for the client to replace the imagined catastrophic situation with imagined positive outcomes. Connect the stimulus to the incompatible response or coping method through counter conditioning. In this step the client completely relaxes and is then is presented with the lowest item that was placed on their hierarchy of severity of anxiety. When the client has reached a state of serenity again after being presented with the first stimuli, the second stimuli that should present a higher level of anxiety is presented. Again, the individual practices the coping strategies learned. This activity is completed until all items of the hierarchy of severity of anxiety is completed without inducing anxiety in the client. If at any time during the exercise the coping mechanisms fail or the client fails to complete the coping mechanism due to severe anxiety, the exercise is stopped. Once the individual is calm, the last stimuli that was presented without inducing anxiety is presented again and the exercise is continued.[3]
• #20: How to Face Your Fears   Step 1: Make a list   Make a list of feared objects or situations. If you have a fear of contamination, your list might include touching doorknobs, wearing clothes that have been used before, using the public restrooms, or sleeping in other people’s beds. If you have a fear of public speaking, your list might include presentations in front of an audience, talking via telephone to a group who are phoning into a teleconference, watching a video of yourself give a speech to others, talking in meetings at work, or saying hi to a group of co-workers. If you have different fears, then bundle the same fears together, and write a different list for a different fear. Step 2: Build a Fear Hierarchy   With the list of fears you have made, rate each of the fears from 0 to 10, 0 being no fear, and 10 being the most fearful. Then arrange the list sequentially, from the least scary at the bottom of the list, to the scariest at the top. Build a complete list of a range of fears. Add factors that make it harder or easier for you to do, like: length of time (talking to someone for 30 minutes is more scary than 5 min); time of day (driving at night versus driving in the middle of rush hour); environment (going to a small convenience store rather than a crowded mall); or who is accompanying you (going to the store with your partner or going alone). Step 3: Facing fears (exposure)   Now it is time to start facing your fears. Start with the fear that is at the bottom of your Fear Hierarchy. Now expose yourself to that fear, and stay with the exposure until your anxiety level decreases by 50%. For example, if you have a fear of needles and rated it as a 4 in anxiety level when touching it, then hold the needle until your anxiety level drops to a 2. Remember to not rush the exposures, and be patient and take your time. Once you practice the exposure at a particular level repeatedly, and notice that the anxiety has dropped considerably, then it is time to go on to the next level on the Fear Hierarchy. Please use the following Facing Fear form when doing the exposure work.
• #22: Methods for Reducing Computer Anxiety Extension educators teaching microcomputers to adults should be aware of computer anxiety and its detrimental effects on the learning process. Computer anxiety is a temporary condition that can be reduced through a comfortable learning environment (Ayersman & Reed, 1995). To create an anxiety reduced learning environment, instructors should: Use humor to build rapport, Start lessons with basic concepts, Use computer lingo only when educationally necessary, and Make sure all lessons are hands on. Use Humor to Build Rapport Humor is one of the best tools to help reduce computer anxiety. Laughter builds rapport between instructors and learners, which helps alleviate computer anxiety (Clothier, 1996). Malcolm Knowles underscores the importance of laughter when teaching adults by quoting Ruth Merton, "and so I say again that, if we are really wise . . .despite taxes or indigestion, teach merrily" (1990, p. 36). Start Lessons with Basic Concepts Instructors should begin with the basics (Adults and Technology, 1996). They should avoid jumping into complicated computer concepts without laying the groundwork for basic computer operation. Although students will have a variety of skill levels, instructors should never assume all students have basic computer skills. If a course requires a certain level of computer proficiency, this should be clearly delineated, and alternatives should be provided for students to gain basic skills. Use Computer Lingo Only when Educationally Necessary Learning to use computers is hard enough without the added distraction of listening to an instructor speak in a foreign dialect. Instructors should avoid using computer jargon (Adults and Technology, 1996). For adults, learning computer terminology can be as important as learning to use the computer. However, if instructors feel it is educationally necessary to use computer terminology, then the term should be clearly defined. Make Sure All Lessons Are Hands-On Instructors can help reduce computer anxiety by familiarizing students with computers and making them active learners. Instructors should make all computer lessons hands-on (Adults and Technology, 1996). They should help students with problems by providing verbal guidance or by using a demonstration machine, but they should never grab a student's mouse or keyboard and do their work for them. This student hands-on/instructor hands-off method takes extreme patience, but the reward of students completing tasks on their own is worth the effort.