Dr. Phobos: An Android Application that Helps in Lessening the Impact of Animal Phobias

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Phobias are mostly developed during childhood since it is the stage of curiosity and discovery, usually ranging from 8 to 12 years old. According to Fredric Neuman, the Director of the Anxiety and Phobia Treatment Center, affected individuals are not so much afraid of particular circumstances as they are afraid of their own feelings. Systematic desensitization is basically a form of cognitive behavior therapy. It is a technique that has been proven effective in treating certain cases of phobias, more in terms of dealing with panic attacks. This research study aimed to create an android application that could help lessen the impact of animal phobia to affected individuals. The application contains various pictures, animations, and videos.

METHODS

The application was programmed and made online using MIT App Inventor 2. The application contains the eleven most common animal phobias. To know the respondents of the study, a pre-survey was conducted. The application was created to test 64 respondents with a specific animal phobia. The survey was conducted to determine whether the application showed effectiveness or not. Results were analyzed using the z-test. It was used to determine the difference of intensity of fear in the pre and post-survey among the Grade 8 students with animal phobias.

RESULTS

The results of the statistics revealed that 97% of the Grade 8 junior high school students with specific animal phobia found the application useful or informative. It was also revealed that 3 respondents were able to watch and finish Level 1 (Pictures) of the video. There were 13 respondents who were able to watch and finish Level 2 (Animation) of the Video. 48 respondents were also revealed that they were able to watch and finish Level 3 (Realistic Video) of the Video. The z-computed value (19.79601) was greater than the Z-critical value (1.644854).

DISCUSSIONS

Results of z-test revealed that there was a significant difference between the intensity of fear in the pre and post-survey among the Grade 8 students with animal phobias. Based on the results, the z-computed value (19.79601) was greater than the Z-critical value (1.644854). Since there was a significant difference between the intensity of fear in the pre and post-survey among the Grade 8 students with animal phobias, it means that the android application really helps in lessening the impact of animal phobias.