Healthy selfing: Theoretically optimal environments for the development of tacting and deictic relational responding

From a relational frame theory perspective, our sense of self is a by-product of language that arises from transformation of stimulus functions through relational framing of our own responding. In this way, selfing is an important action that allows us to clarify our needs, wants, and what matters to us. Tacting and deictic relational responding are two processes that are instrumental to the development of a healthy selfing repertoire. This paper provides an overview of tacting and deictic relational responding in accordance with relational frame theory in addition to features of an optimal environment for shaping these processes. In terms of tacting, it is important to consider learning environment sensitivity, consequence availability, the individual’s experience, and to facilitate rich discussions of private events. In terms of deictic relational responding, it is important to provide frequent interactions that contain multiple exemplars of distinctions between self and others in addition to rich discussions of private events while also tailoring to the individual when drawing from training protocols. We conclude with a brief overview of the current evidence base regarding the identified features.

Effects of coherence on speaker preference and rule-following

Rule-following is affected by multiple variables. A relevant aspect of rules regards whether they “make sense”, that is, the extent to which the instruction coheres with previously reinforced patterns of relational responding. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of relational coherence upon rule-following. After mastering a particular set of conditional relations (e.g., A1B1, A2B2), the participants were exposed to two speakers, one of which would “state” relations that cohered (e.g., A1B1, A2B2) with the participant’s previous relational training and the other that would present relations that were incoherent (e.g., A1B2, A2B1). Then, rule-following was measured in a preference test in which the participant would have to choose which of the two speakers would provide instructions in each test trial. Results show that the participants preferred the coherent speaker to provide instructions and followed the rules presented by that speaker throughout the test. Coherence is discussed as a critical aspect of rule following and preference for particular narratives.

A Systematic Review of the Use of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) to Assess Implicit Biases Held by Professionals Toward Client Populations

Implicit biases held by professionals, functioning outside conscious awareness, can negatively affect client outcomes and professional well-being. Purpose: This systematic review evaluated evidence in the literature of Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) utility for assessing implicit biases held by professionals toward client populations. Method: Included studies were those published 2000 through 2020 using IRAP to measure implicit biases in professionals toward consumers. Results: Eight studies met inclusion criteria, with two meeting borderline requirements. Results support IRAP reliability and validity for identifying implicit biases. Variation presents across studies in reporting and analysis of IRAP effects. Discussion: Convergence and divergence between implicit and explicit measures are discussed in terms of relational responding. Results are limited by the relative paucity of studies meeting inclusion criteria and by inconsistencies in data reporting and analysis. Methods for selecting IRAP stimuli are discussed, with a call for a more function-driven approach. Standardization of IRAP methodology is recommended to facilitate extension.

Relating is an Operant: A Fly Over of 35 Years of RFT Research

Relational Frame Theory (RFT) is the simplest form of operant theory since it claims nothing more than a particular type of behavior, arbitrarily applicable derived relational responding, is an operant. While the theory is simple, its implications are not, and adoption has been slow until recently. RFT was first formally described in 1985 and in the 35 years since, hundreds of studies have been conducted on relational learning from an operant point of view. The present paper briefly summarizes that history and examines some of its key claims. So far, the empirical program delineated by RFT has held up remarkably well. Future directions are delineated that will enable a more comprehensive evaluation of the importance of the RFT research program, and a more thorough exploration of its profound implications.

Back to the future with an up-dated version of RFT: More field than frame?

The current chapter presents an overview of a line of research that focuses on the behavioral dynamics of arbitrarily applicable relational responding (AARRing), and the implications of this research for the on-going development of relational frame theory (RFT) itself. Specifically, the integration of two recent conceptual developments within RFT are described. The first of these is the multi-dimensional, multi-level (MDML) framework and the second is the differential arbitrarily applicable relational responding effects (DAARRE) model. Integrating the MDML framework and the DAARRE model emphasizes the transformation of functions within the MDML, thus yielding a hyper-dimensional, multi-level (HDML) framework for analyzing the behavioral dynamics of AARRing. The HDML generates a new conceptual unit of analysis for RFT in which relating, orienting, and evoking (ROEing) are seen as involved in virtually all psychological events for verbally-able humans. Some of the implications of the ROE as a unit of analysis for RFT are explored, including the idea that it may be useful to conceptualize the dynamics of AARRing as involving a field of verbal interactants.

Does depicting consequences of actions in narratives bolsters the formation of propositional beliefs? First results from an experimental approach

We explored (i) whether narratives can influence viewers’ attitudes towards alcohol through evaluative learning and (ii) compared predictions from dual-process and single-process models of evaluative learning.In study 1, participants had to read vignettes, while they were exposed to TV show excerpts in study 2. Both studies (nstudy1 = 147; nstudy2 = 150) followed a 2 (valence: positive vs negative) x 2 (drinking consequences: yes vs no) study design. Implicit associations and propositional beliefs were then measured by an Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a Relational Responding Task (RRT) respectively. A multilevel meta-regression was conducted to provide cumulative evidence for our hypotheses.Our first study did not yield robust significant results in the direction of associative or propositional processes. Conversely, the results of study 2 and meta-analytic findings showed stronger evidence for (i) an effect of exposure to narratives on alcohol-related attitudes and (ii) in favor of propositional models. Simply presenting a stimulus within a valenced content had no effect on the IAT or RRT. We conclude that these results are more in line with inferential propositional models of evaluative learning than with dual-process models.

The Implicit Component of Moral Disengagement: Applying the Relational Responding Task to Investigate Its Relationship With Cheating Behavior

This article aims to conceptualize, for the first time, an implicit form of moral disengagement and investigate its role in relation to cheating behavior. In line with the implicit social-cognition models, we argue that the implicit moral disengagement would represent an unintentional, automatic, and less accessible form of the mechanisms bypassing the moral self-regulatory system. We anticipate that in situations implying on-the-spot decisions and where individuals might suffer no consequences for the misconduct, the implicit moral disengagement would predict the actual behavior while the explicit moral disengagement would predict self-reported conduct. The results of three empirical studies provide support for the theorization of an implicit moral disengagement and its assessment through a newly developed implicit measurement procedure using the relational responding task. Results of the structural equation models, including both implicit and explicit moral disengagement, demonstrated that only the implicit one was associated with the actual misconduct.

Implicit measures of beliefs

The assessment of the thoughts and evaluations of human beings is a central feature of modern psychological science. Further to this, many researchers are specifically interested in the automatic thoughts and evaluations of individuals. To assess automatic thoughts and evaluations, researchers typically use a range of measurement procedures whose outcomes are broadly referred to as implicit measures (De Houwer, 2006). Historically, researchers have believed that only associations between stimuli operate at the automatic level. As a consequence, the procedures of implicit measures have tended to measure only associations between stimuli (i.e., without specifying the relations between stimuli). However, growing evidence now suggests that beliefs about how stimuli are related (i.e., implicit beliefs) can also be measured at the automatic level (for a recent review, see De Houwer et al., 2020). This has led to an issue for the measurement of automatic thoughts and evaluations: since most procedures of implicit measures have been developed from an associative perspective, these procedures are unable to accommodate relational information into their stimuli. As a result of the limitations of implicit measures developed from an associative perspective, researchers have begun developing relational implicit measures (i.e., implicit measures of beliefs) which can accommodate relational information. To date, four relational implicit measures have been developed: the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP; Power et al., 2009), the Relational Responding Task (RRT; De Houwer et al., 2015), the Propositional Evaluation Paradigm (PEP; Müller & Rothermund, 2019), and the Autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT; Sartori et al., 2008). Although the above four measures represent initial progress towards developing valid relational implicit measures, there is much work yet to be done: both in terms of developing new relational implicit measures, and in terms of validating existing measures (relative to whether they are valid measures of their construct of interest, whether they capture relational information, and whether they reflect automatic responding). These were precisely the goals of the current project: to develop and validate new and existing relational implicit measures. Chapter 1 begins with a general introduction to the field of implicit measures, and the three ways in which researchers commonly define the “implicit” term. With the historical context of these varying definitions, the Chapter explores why the need for relational implicit measures has only recently emerged, and describes the relational implicit measures which have been developed to date. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 detail the development of three new relational implicit measures: the Truth Misattribution Procedure (TMP), the Propositional Concealed Information Test (pCIT), and the Mousetracking Propositional Evaluation Paradigm (MT-PEP), respectively. Chapters 5 and 6 consist of comparative investigations of multiple relational implicit measures. Specifically, Chapter 5 compares the RRT, aIAT, and pCIT (as well as the standard IAT) in the context of drinking self-identity and the prediction of problematic drinking outcomes, whereas Chapter 6 compares the RRT, aIAT, and MT-PEP (as well as the standard IAT) in the context of sensitivity to experimentally-manipulated relational information. Finally, Chapter 7 provides a summary and synthesis of the results of the empirical chapters. In addition, the Chapter offers reflections on the use of implicit measures more broadly, critiquing the ultimate goals of using such measures, as well as reflecting on why the behaviour of scientists in the field of implicit measures has tended to be relatively unreceptive to recommendations for improving the measures.