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Anxiety · Test Anxiety & Students

College student trial of EFT vs modified EFT (as tabulated in Clond 2016)

Descriptive title: this study was catalogued from a peer-reviewed meta-analysis table, and the original paper's exact title has not yet been independently confirmed.

Fox, S. · Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment · 2013

Randomized trial 👥 20 participants ⚖️ vs. modified EFT protocol 📈 Cohen's 0.47 (small) Preliminary ✓ Source-checked 📍 United States
In plain English. Ten college students did standard tapping and ten did a modified version, to see if the specific tapping points matter. The two groups ended up about the same, but the study was too small to draw firm conclusions either way.

What they found

Cohen's = 0.47
a small effect · 95% CI −0.55–1.49 · on anxiety, EFT vs a modified-EFT comparator; between-group d=0.47 (p=.366, NON-sig
small moderate large
0 0.5 0.8 2.5
Ten college students did standard tapping and ten did a modified version, to see if the specific tapping points matter.

One session, EFT (n=10) vs a modified EFT protocol (n=10); difference d=0.47 (95% CI −0.55–1.49, p=0.366), not statistically significant.

How the study worked

Who took part college students (n=20)
What they did In a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared with modified EFT protocol
Measured with Anxiety Evaluation Questionnaire (AEQ)

💡 Where this could help

If future dismantling work clarifies which parts of the tapping protocol actually matter, it could mean a simplified, easier-to-learn version reaches even more people — useful for anyone trying to teach themselves the technique from a video or app without a coach guiding every point. A simpler protocol would only strengthen tapping's core structural advantage: that it's self-administered and free to keep using, with no clinician bottleneck standing between someone and the tool.

🔬 What to study next

Since the standard and modified EFT protocols didn't differ significantly here, a useful next step is a properly powered dismantling trial testing which specific components of the tapping sequence, which points, how many rounds, spoken framing or not, actually drive the anxiety reduction, ideally paired with heart rate variability to see if simplified versions produce the same physiological calming as the full protocol. That would help clarify how much a self-taught version from a video or app can be simplified without losing effectiveness.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants20 people
Populationcollege students
Comparison groupmodified EFT protocol
Effect sizeCohen's d (EFT vs modified EFT) = 0.47 (95% CI −0.55–1.49) — on anxiety, EFT vs a modified-EFT comparator; between-group d=0.47 (p=.366, NON-significant) per Clond (2016); Fox 2013 is unpublished dissertation data.
Outcome measuresAnxiety Evaluation Questionnaire (AEQ)
JournalEnergy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment
Year2013
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / Tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Cite this study

APA

Fox, S. (2013). College student trial of EFT vs modified EFT (as tabulated in Clond 2016). Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment.

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 Anxiety · Test Anxiety & Students

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Anxiety Cohen's 0.47 small effect WHAT THEY FOUND One session, EFT (n=10) vs a modified EFTprotocol (n=10); difference d=0.47 (95% CI−0.55–1.49, p=0.366), not… Randomized trial · 20 participants Fox · 2013 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com