The Tapping Evidence Base
Anxiety · Test Anxiety & Students

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

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 symptoms
smallmoderatelarge
00.50.82.5

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 partcollege students (n=20)
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withmodified EFT protocol
Measured withAnxiety 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 symptoms
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

Catalogued from a peer-reviewed index or meta-analysis. See the citation below to locate the original.

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