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| Applications of Analogue Studies in Clinical Behavioral Analysis |
| Saturday, May 27, 2017 |
| 11:00 AM–11:50 AM |
| Hyatt Regency, Capitol Ballroom 4 |
| Area: CBM; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Caleb Fogle (University of Louisiana at Lafayette) |
| CE Instructor: Michael Bordieri, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: Clinical behavior analysis is the application of behavior analysis to understanding and intervening psychological disorders. Analogue research aims to gain understanding about the processes by which and conditions under which interventions are effective. The role of analogue research in the continued development of clinical behavior analysis remains unclear. This symposium will focus on the applications of analogue studies in clinical behavioral analysis. The symposium will begin with a conceptual discussion of the use of analogue design studies in clinical behavioral analysis, followed by the presentation of two analogue studies. The first presentation will review a series of studies examining the relative effects of brief psychological flexibility interventions on behavioral manifestations of body image inflexibility. The second presentation will review the results of a study considering the impacts of an exercise activity on emotions and emotion regulation. Both presentations will include a discussion of the implications of this research, and analogue research in general, for the development of clinical behavior analytic interventions. |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| Keyword(s): analogue research, body image, emotion regulation, psychological flexibility |
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| Assessing Changes in Body Image Flexibility Following Flexibility-Based Interventions |
| JONAH DAVID MCMANUS (University of Louisiana in Lafayette), Michael Bordieri (Murray State University), Gina Boullion (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Grayson Butcher (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Emily Kennison Sandoz (University of Louisiana at Lafayette) |
| Abstract: Body image flexibility involves a pattern of responding where verbally-established values are able to influence behavior, even in the presence of aversive experiences of one’s body. Body image flexibility is associated with well-being across a number of domains, making valid assessment of and effective intervention of considerable importance. The Body Image Flexibility Assessment Procedure (BIFAP) was developed to assess body image flexibility in terms of responses to compound stimuli comprised of a derived values stimulus and a derived body stimulus. A series of studies has demonstrated convergence between performance on the BIFAP and other assessments of body image flexibility including: self-report questionnaires, established tests of verbal inflexibility, and experience sampling probes. This paper will review data from a series of studies focused on examining changes in BIFAP performance as a result of interventions designed to improve psychological flexibility. These data suggest that changes in flexibility can be assessed using the BIFAP. |
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| On the Importance of Analogue Research in Clinical Behavior Analysis |
| MICHAEL BORDIERI (Murray State University) |
| Abstract: Applied behavior analysis has longed prided itself on focusing on socially relevant behavioral outcomes, so much so that early behavioral pioneers codified an applied focus as a defining dimension of the discipline (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968). At a glance, analogue intervention studies, which frequently employ convenience samples, miniaturized intervention, and laboratory approximations of social relevant behaviors, seem inconsistent with the applied foundation of our field. This conceptual paper will argue that analogue interventions do have a place within applied domains of behavior analysis. Beginning with an overview of the historical importance of analogue designs in behavior analysis, this paper will discuss the merits of analogue designs in clinical behavior analysis. Particular attention will be placed on novel behavioral measures of clinically relevant phenomena as alternatives to self-report instruments typically employed in psychological research. In addition, the paper will argue that analogue research can bridge findings from the experimental analysis of behavior to applied domains of clinical relevance. Future directions for analogue research in clinical behavior analysis will be considered with an emphasis on increasing the applied spirit of analogue interventions. |
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| Exercising Experiential Acceptance: Impact of Exercise on Willingness to Experience Acute Emotions and Distress Tolerance |
| TRACY PROTTI (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Caitlyn Daigle (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Teresa Miguez (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Michael McDermott (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Emily Kennison Sandoz (University of Louisiana at Lafayette) |
| Abstract: Recent research findings suggest that physical exercise reduces depression and anxiety symptoms and psychiatric symptoms, and buffers the impact of stressful events on emotion. Likewise, people with greater willingness to experience uncomfortable thoughts and feelings in service of chosen values have better endurance, pain tolerance, and return to baseline distress levels faster. There has been little research on the role of exercise on willingness to experience acute emotions, and subsequent distress tolerance. In the current cross-over design study, participants participated in exercise or stretching activities followed by engagement in a stressful task, with the order (exercise or stretching first) varied randomly across participants. Repeated assessments were made of positive and negative affect, salivary stress markers, and willingness to experience unwanted affect. Pilot data suggest that exercise improved affect, willingness to experience affect, and distress tolerance during a stressful task. Implications regarding the role of exercise in building psychological resilience will be discussed. |
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