"Flooding" works on the principles of
classical conditioning or
respondent conditioning—a form of
Pavlov's
classical conditioning—where patients change their behaviors to avoid negative stimuli. According to Pavlov, people can learn through associations, so if one has a phobia, it is because one associates the feared stimulus with a negative outcome. Flooding uses a technique based on Pavlov's classical conditioning that uses exposure. There are different forms of exposure, such as imaginal exposure, virtual reality exposure, and in vivo exposure. While systematic desensitization may use these other types of exposure, flooding uses in vivo exposure, actual exposure to the feared stimulus. A patient is confronted with a situation in which the stimulus that provoked the original trauma is present. The psychologist there usually offers very little assistance or reassurance other than to help the patient to use relaxation techniques in order to calm themselves. Relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation are common in these kinds of classical conditioning procedures. The theory is that the adrenaline and fear response has a time limit, so a person should eventually have to calm down and realize that their phobia is unwarranted. Psychiatrist
Joseph Wolpe (1973) carried out an experiment which demonstrated flooding. He took a girl who was scared of cars, and drove her around for hours. Initially the girl was panicky but she eventually calmed down when she realized that her situation was safe. From then on she associated a sense of ease with cars. Psychologist
Aletha Solter used flooding successfully with a 5-month-old infant who showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress following surgery. Flooding therapy is not for every individual, and the therapist will discuss with the patient the levels of anxiety they are prepared to endure during the session. == In popular culture ==