The present study examined the role of therapist warmth in an automated systematic desensitization procedure. Twenty-three female snake-phobic subjects were each assigned to one of three treatment conditions: warm automated therapist procedure, cold automated therapist procedure, or no-treatment control. All groups were equated with respect to their pretest behavioral avoidance scores, and in addition the two desensitization groups were equated in their pretherapy instructions, number of therapy sessions, and automated procedure. The only procedural difference between the two desensitization groups was the manner in which the taped therapist verbalized the treatment procedure. The results showed that the subjects in the warm automated therapist group improved significantly more than the subjects in either the cold automated therapist or control groups, and that there was no significant difference between the cold automated therapist and control groups. This relationship was largely maintained during the follow-up evaluation. The results are discussed in terms of the role of relationship variables in successful systematic desensitization.

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