Corrigendum to: Is Tapping on Acupuncture Points an Active Ingredient in Emotional Freedom Techniques: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies

Dismantling study📚 6 studies reviewed⚖️ vs. diaphragmatic breathing or sham acupoints📈 Hedges' 0.73 (moderate)Moderate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 United States

In plain English. After discovering and fixing a statistical error in an earlier analysis, researchers had an independent statistician rerun the numbers comparing EFT's tapping component against active alternatives like diaphragmatic breathing or fake acupoints across six studies. The corrected result, a Hedges' g of about 0.73, is a solid moderate-to-large effect (academic guidelines call 0.5 moderate and 0.8 large) reinforcing that the tapping itself contributes real benefit rather than just being an inert add-on. This finding was later disputed by other researchers on methodological grounds, so it's one side of a genuine ongoing debate rather than the last word.

What they found

Hedges' = 0.73

a moderate effect · 95% CI 0.42-1.04 · on pre- to follow-up treatment effect of acupoint tapping component

smallmoderatelarge

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After correcting standard-deviation errors and having an independent statistician rerun the analysis of 6 component studies, the cumulative fixed-effects Hedges' g was 0.73 (95% CI 0.42-1.04, p<0.0001) and random-effects Hedges' g was 0.74 (95% CI 0.34-1.13, p<0.0001), supporting that the acupressure component of EFT is an active ingredient.

How the study worked

Who took partComponent (dismantling) studies comparing EFT with active controls such as diaphragmatic breathing or sham acupoints

What they didThis dismantling study compared standard tapping against a modified version to test which components matter.

Compared withdiaphragmatic breathing or sham acupoints

💡 Where this could help

If findings like these hold up in larger trials, the promise is simple: a low-cost, self-administered tool that could reach people who can't easily access traditional care — at home, between appointments, or where there aren't enough clinicians to go around.

🔬 What to study next

This dismantling analysis already compared tapping against active controls (diaphragmatic breathing and sham acupoints). The useful next step is larger, pre-registered dismantling trials to confirm how much the acupoint component adds.

The full record

Design	Dismantling study
Participants	6 studies pooled
Population	Component (dismantling) studies comparing EFT with active controls such as diaphragmatic breathing or sham acupoints
Comparison group	diaphragmatic breathing or sham acupoints
Effect size	Hedges' g = 0.73 (95% CI 0.42-1.04) — on pre- to follow-up treatment effect of acupoint tapping component
Journal	Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Year	2020
Country	United States
Language	English
Method	EFT / tapping
Publication type	Study / trial
Verification	✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Church, D., Stapleton, P., Kip, K., & Gallo, F. (2020). Corrigendum to: Is Tapping on Acupuncture Points an Active Ingredient in Emotional Freedom Techniques: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001222

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on How It Works (Biology)