Flooding is also known as what in recent literature?

Flooding is also known as what in recent literature?

• A. Deliberate exposure with response prevention
• B. Systematic desensitization
• C. Covert sensitization
• D. Implosive therapy

Answer: (A)

Flooding is a form of exposure therapy where you are exposed to the feared stimulus at full intensity for a prolonged period, with no avoidance or safety behaviors allowed. The aim is to provoke and then extinguish the fear response through sustained, unmitigated exposure. In recent literature, this approach is described as deliberate exposure with response prevention, underscoring that the exposure is intentional and that the person prevents themselves from engaging in typical avoidance. This differs from systematic desensitization, which uses gradual exposure paired with relaxation to reduce fear, and from covert sensitization, which relies on imagined aversive consequences rather than real, in‑vivo exposure. Implosive therapy is another term you may encounter for intense exposure, but the contemporary terminology that best captures flooding’s mechanism is deliberate exposure with response prevention.

Flooding is a form of exposure therapy where you are exposed to the feared stimulus at full intensity for a prolonged period, with no avoidance or safety behaviors allowed. The aim is to provoke and then extinguish the fear response through sustained, unmitigated exposure. In recent literature, this approach is described as deliberate exposure with response prevention, underscoring that the exposure is intentional and that the person prevents themselves from engaging in typical avoidance.

This differs from systematic desensitization, which uses gradual exposure paired with relaxation to reduce fear, and from covert sensitization, which relies on imagined aversive consequences rather than real, in‑vivo exposure. Implosive therapy is another term you may encounter for intense exposure, but the contemporary terminology that best captures flooding’s mechanism is deliberate exposure with response prevention.