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7 ACTIVE APPROACH DOES NOT ADD TO THE EFFECTS OF IN VIVO EXPOSURE 171 (Klauer & Musch, 2003). Participants wore a sound-attenuating headphone to prevent distraction due to background noise. Word and picture evaluation task An additional computer task was performed before the pre-test APT to enable a manipulation check of the primes and targets used in the APT. Participants rated target valence on a negative (0) to positive (100) visual analogue scale (VAS). Prime valence and arousal were rated using the 7-point Self-Assessment Manikin (Bradley & Lang, 1994). Perceived control To check whether the approach manipulation affected perceived control, participants in both exposure groups were asked to rate perceived control on a 0 (no control) to 100 (total control) scale at exposure trial 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 (see Procedure). Procedure Participants were shown how pulling a rope could drive a cart (at approximately 20 cm/s) in a straight line from one end of two tables set together (length 3.53 m) toward the other end, where the participant was seated. The experimenter could pull the cart back to its starting point while remaining seated next to the participant, by pulling the other end of the rope (see Figure 1). A closed glass jar containing an average sized house spider ( Tegenaria Atrica ) was then put at 1.77 m from the participant, who rated on a 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) scale how scary and how disgusting they thought the spider was. The experimenter put the jar with the spider on the cart at the starting point, and the BAT was performed. The spider was put out of sight, and the FSQ and DS-R were completed, followed by the word- and picture evaluation task, and the APT.