New study tests whether happiness hacks boost Fear-Facing therapy
NCT ID NCT06258889
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether adding reward-focused exercises—like appreciating past successes and imagining positive future events—could make exposure therapy work better for people afraid of public speaking. Forty participants with high public speaking anxiety completed either exposure plus reward exercises or exposure plus cognitive flexibility exercises. The researchers measured fear levels before, during, and after treatment using questionnaires and a real speech test.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- reward-focused behavioral interventions (positive thinking exercises)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a more effective way to treat public speaking anxiety by boosting positive emotions during therapy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early study with only 40 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The benefit over standard exposure therapy is uncertain.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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40 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2024
- Finished
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Dec 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Proficient in the German language. * Elevated levels of anxiety and avoidance of public speaking situations as indicated by a score of \> 5 and \> 4, respectively, on a scale from 0 to 8 using the following items: How anxious would you feel giving a formal speech before a live audience? How likely would you be to avoid taking a class that required taking an oral presentation? Exclusion Criteria: * severe cardiovascular, respiratory or neurological diseases * current psychotherapeutic/psychiatric treatment * Intention to start psychotherapeutic/psychiatric treatment * current suicidal ideations * psychotic symptoms (lifetime) * current psychopharmacological medication
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Philipps-University Marburg
Marburg, Hesse, 35032, Germany
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.