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| Int'l Symposium - Experimental Analyses of Core Principles in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy |
| Monday, May 31, 2004 |
| 9:00 AM–10:20 AM |
| Conference Room 2 |
| Area: CBM; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Lorretto M. Cunningham (National University of Ireland, Maynooth) |
| Abstract: . |
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| Self as Context and Cognitive Defusion: Beginning an Experimental Analysis |
| HILARY-ANNE HEALY (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), M. Carmen Luciano Soriano (University of Almeria, Spain), Kelly G. Wilson (University of Mississippi) |
| Abstract: A key component of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is the use of particular verbal styles in the therapeutic context to highlight self as context and thus facilitate cognitive defusion. Although clinical work suggests that this strategy often works well, there is virtually no basic experimental research on this topic. The current paper reports a study that set out to design a procedure for systematically examining the effect of self as context phrases on the psychological impact of aversive self-statements. Two groups of participants were identified using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ) 2. One group scored at least one standard deviation above the mean (high avoiders) and the other group scored at least one standard deviation below the mean (low avoiders). Participants were then exposed to an experimental procedure in which standard negative self-statements were presented on a computer screen (e.g., I am a bad person) and non-standard self as context statements were presented (e.g., I am having the thought that I am a bad person). Participants were asked to rate the emotional and psychological impact of these statements after each trial, and their ratings across statements and across high and low avoiding groups were compared. The results have implications for the therapeutic strategy of highlighting self as context employed in ACT and these implications are discussed. |
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| Deficits in Autobiographical Memory: A Relational Frame Analysis |
| LORRETTO M. CUNNINGHAM (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), M. Carmen Luciano Soriano (University of Almeria, Spain), Kelly G. Wilson (University of Mississippi) |
| Abstract: Recent research in the cognitive therapy tradition on autobiographical memory suggests that clinically depressed and suicidal clients demonstrate impairments in recalling autobiographical details. One interpretation of such impairment is that these individuals engage in a type of experiential avoidance in which they avoid deriving stimulus relations that are likely to actualize aversive psychological functions. The current paper reports a study that set out to test this interpretation. Two groups of participants were identified using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ) 2. One group scored at least one standard deviation above the mean (high avoiders) and the other group scored at least one standard deviation below the mean (low avoiders). Participants were trained and tested in relational networks that either contained or did not contain visually aversive material. Comparisons were then made between the two groups in terms of their levels of accuracy and their reaction times on the tests for derived stimulus relations including aversive material and those not including aversive material. The results have implications for the literature on autobiographical memory and experiential avoidance more generally. These implications are discussed. |
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| A Transformation of Functions Based on Simple ACT Metaphors |
| LORRETTO M. CUNNINGHAM (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Ian T. Stewart (National University of Ireland, Galway), Louise A. Mchugh (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), M. Carmen Luciano Soriano (University of Almeria, Spain) |
| Abstract: Metaphor is a core feature of ACT. The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate a transformation of sorting functions based on exposure to simple therapeutic metaphors. Twenty four adults were categorized as Low or High emotional avoiders based on their scores on the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ). They were then presented with 16 vignettes describing 'real life' situations, which were designed so as to be classifiable along a number of different dimensions including whether emotional acceptance or control had been used by the protagonist. Participants were required to sort these vignettes into any categories they thought relevant. They were then exposed to a multiple exemplar intervention using a series of video-clips, each of which featured a therapist delivering a different ACT metaphor specifically designed to distinguish acceptance strategies from control strategies. After viewing each individual video clip, participants were re-exposed to the sorting task. Results indicated that the greater the number of metaphorical exemplars, the more likely participants were to sort in accordance with an acceptance / control type dimension, and that low avoiders were more likely than high avoiders to sort in accordance with this dimension. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed. |
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| Analyzing Acceptance and Avoidance Using Negative and Neutral Visual Stimuli: Reaction Times, Accuracy, and Event Related Potentials |
| ANDREANNE L. COCHRANE (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Frank Bond (University of London), M. Carmen Luciano Soriano (University of Almeria, Spain), Kelly G. Wilson (University of Mississippi) |
| Abstract: Increasing acceptance of negative or aversive psychological states, in the service of valued goals, is one of the core components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. At the current time, however, the empirical evidence from basic research to support this general therapeutic strategy remains somewhat limited. The current paper reports experimental work that was designed to develop the procedures and measures for analysing acceptance and avoidance in an experimental context. The Acceptance and Avoidance Questionnaire-2 (AAQ-2) was administered to an undergraduate student population and two groups of volunteers were identified. One group scored at least one standard deviation above and the other at least one standard deviation below the mean (i.e., High- and Low-Avoiders, respectively). Both groups were then exposed to an experimental procedure in which they were required to learn a conditional discrimination. In the presence of one sample stimulus choosing a comparison that produced an aversive visual image was defined as correct; but in the presence of a second sample stimulus choosing a comparison that produced a neutral visual image was defined as correct. A number of measures were used to compare the performances of the High- and Low-Avoiders groups. The results have important implications for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and these will be discussed. |
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