From 300 introductory psychology students, 40 female "snake phobics" were selected to test the hypothesis that distraction paired with fearful imagery is effective in alleviating the "phobia." Subjects were divided into three treatment groups and a control group: H+PI (fear hierarchy plus pleasant imagery as distraction), H+P (hierarchy plus working a puzzle as distraction), H+R (hierarchy plus relaxation, i.e., traditional desensitization), and E (expectancy-relaxation + pleasant imagery, as placebo control). Groups were matched on the degree of approach to snake, and subjective report of snake-fear. Therapy was conducted in small groups and lasted 3.5 hr. spread over four sessions. There was no statistically significant difference among groups, but all groups improved more than would be expected from no treatment of any kind. Implications of the surprising improvement of the expectancy groups were discussed. The failure to find differences among the treatment groups suggested that distraction may be an alternative to relaxation in desensitization. (Author)