A treatment for phobias in which clients are exposed repeatedly and intensively to a feared object and made to see that it is harmless is called?

• A. Flooding
• B. Systematic desensitization
• C. Implosive therapy
• D. Aversion therapy

Answer: (A)

Flooding involves exposing you to the feared object or situation at full, intense levels right away, without a gradual buildup. The goal is to keep you in the presence of the stimulus long enough for the immediate fear response to decrease (habituation) and for you to learn that the object is not dangerous. This can lead to rapid relief because the fear is extinguished through sustained exposure rather than a slow, step-by-step confrontation. This approach contrasts with systematic desensitization, which reduces fear gradually by pairing exposure with relaxation and working up a fear hierarchy. Implosive therapy also uses intense exposure, often imagined, but flooding emphasizes real, immediate confrontation. Aversion therapy, on the other hand, pairs the behavior with an unpleasant consequence to reduce the behavior, not to extinguish fear of the object itself.