Contributions of Animal Studies of Response Prevention (Flooding) to Human Exposure Therapy

Abstract

The behavioral technique of response prevention (flooding, exposure therapy, implosive therapy) is reviewed. Contributions of animal studies of avoidance-extinction to therapy of human phobic disorders are discussed. These include the delineation of the importance of treatment duration and the facilitative effects of distraction during treatment. Animal studies showing certain pharmaceutical and hormonal agents increase treatment efficiency are reviewed, suggesting improvements in human therapy.