Small experiment
Test a feared prediction with a small, safe action in the real world, then compare what happened with what you expected.
Variants
- default
Data fields
The fields a spec's page can set for this component (see switchback show small-experiment --json):
aversion
Grounding
Helps: when an aversion rests on a prediction you can test cheaply: writing the prediction down, running one small safe probe and comparing the result at the return follows how exposure work is structured, which helps when self-guided but less than with a guide; the comparison step's own contribution is untested
Backfires: when it is used on a diagnosed anxiety problem, which it does not treat, when the probe is too big to feel safe, or when the result is never set against the prediction; whether an unguided probe can make the fear worse is untested
- CDeliberately testing a feared prediction with a small, planned real-world action, and then comparing what happened with what was expected, reduces avoidance and revises the expectation. The comparison step is doing work, not just the exposure.Norton & Price (2007), Haug, Nordgreen, Öst & Havik (2012), Craske et al. (2014)