Association for Behavior Analysis International

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39th Annual Convention; Minneapolis, MN; 2013

Event Details


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Symposium #339
CE Offered: BACB
Treating Anxiety and Distress: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Direct Behavioral Contingencies
Monday, May 27, 2013
2:00 PM–3:20 PM
102 B-C (Convention Center)
Area: CBM/VBC; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Alyssa N. Wilson (Saint Louis University)
CE Instructor: Sadie L. Lovett, Ph.D.
Abstract:

This symposium examines interventions for treating anxiety and distress in various populations. The first talk describes the use of defusion, one of the six core processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy which involves the use of metaphors to promote a decrease in the functions associated with disturbing private events. Specifically, this talk will describe a defusion instruction protocol used to affect a decrease in discomfort and believability associated with perseverative thoughts in adolescents on the autism spectrum. As most current measures of defusion rely on self-report of private behavior, the second talk will discuss the development of an implicit measure of defusion through experimentally altering fusion with distressing self-referential stimuli. The third talk will discuss the necessity of the inclusion of metaphors in ACT and provide a comparison of the effectiveness of an ACT intervention with and without metaphors. The symposium will close with a talk describing the use of a prompting and reinforcement intervention to promote interaction with novel foods in children with neophobia.

Keyword(s): ACT, anxiety and neophobia, defusion, metaphors
 

Defusion Instruction to Decrease Perseverative Thoughts of Adolescents With PDD-NOS

SADIE L. LOVETT (Central Washington University), Ruth Anne Rehfeldt (Southern Illinois University)
Abstract:

This investigation evaluated the use of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) to facilitate defusion from negative thoughts and feelings related to social interaction in adolescents with PDD-NOS. Using a multiple probe design, participants were taught to discriminate between different aspects of their own perspective (i.e., self-as-content and self-as-context). Defusion was measured using ratings of the believability and comfort associated with specific negative thoughts. The percentage of time engaged in appropriate social interaction was recorded for each participant in order to assess generalization of defusion skills to natural social interactions. Results revealed a decrease in believability and an increase in comfort associated with problematic thoughts for all participants following MEI in the absence of directly observed changes in social interaction in the natural environment. These results support the use of MEI as a therapeutic strategy for teaching defusion skills to individuals with PDD-NOS. Results also suggest methods for improving generalization of skills to the natural environment and enhancing measurement of private events in this population.

 

Fusion With Self-Referential Stimuli: Examining an Implicit Behavioral Measure

LINDSAY W. SCHNETZER (University of Mississippi), Kelly G. Wilson (University of Mississippi), Kate Kellum (University of Mississippi)
Abstract:

In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, defusion exercises are designed to de-emphasize the literal interpretation of thoughts (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 2011). Research has demonstrated the tendency for individuals to report decreased believability in self-referential stimuli after engaging in defusion exercises (e.g., Healy, Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes, Keogh, Luciano, & Wilson, 2008; Hinton & Gaynor, 2010; Masuda, Hayes, Sackett, & Twohig, 2004). Although self-reported changes in believability are an important step in establishing the utility of defusion interventions, it is worthwhile to develop an implicit behavioral marker of fusion/defusion with self-referential content (Masuda, Feinstein, Wendell, & Sheehan, 2010). While previous research has employed matching to sample procedures with regard to self-relevant stimuli (e.g., Barnes, Lawlor, Smeets, & Roche, 1996; Merwin & Wilson, 2005), it is necessary to experimentally manipulate the degree of fusion to demonstrate the utility of the procedure in this context. Therefore, this study uses a matching to sample procedure that incorporates ideographic self-referential adjectives in manipulating fusion. Participants either engaged in a task designed to increase or decrease fusion with distressing stimuli. Subsequently, they performed a matching to sample task to determine the extent to which the procedure was sensitive to varying levels of fusion.

 
ACT Psychotherapy: Are the Metaphors Even Necessary?
KAYLA ALVIS (Southern Illinois University Carbondale), Mark R. Dixon (Southern Illinois University)
Abstract: The effectiveness of metaphorical language in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy was examined in a one-day workshop for body image. Participants were 30 individuals who reported having issues with their body image that caused them significant distress. A group design was used in which participants were randomly assigned to either the, “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as Usual” or “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Without Metaphors” treatment groups. The workshops covered the same information and focused on the six core components of Acceptance and Commitment therapy. The only difference between the workshops was that one contained Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Metaphors while the other did not. Each participant was assessed pre and post workshop by a series of standard Acceptance and Commitment Therapy questionnaires and a mirror-image rating task. Results of the study will determine whether the use of metaphors in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is necessary. Implications of the current study will be discussed.
 

Examining the Effects of Attending and Interacting With the Formal Properties of Novel, Nutritious Foods

ABIGAIL KENNEDY (Southern Illinois University), Mark R. Dixon (Southern Illinois University)
Abstract:

Many children exhibit a problematic avoidance response in the presence of novel, nutritious foods, a condition called neophobia. The purpose of the present research was to examine to the impact of a brief prompted attending plus interaction procedure on the subsequent consumption and approach toward novel target foods by children at a child care facility. Specifically, three children were exposed to a baseline condition consisting of pairs of target and control novel foods presented during snack time. During the intervention condition, participants were prompted to attend to, describe, and interact with the formal features of the novel target food prior to the meal time. Correct identification of formal features was directly reinforced, whereas no direct reinforcement was delivered for the consumption and approach of the target during meal time. Preliminary results indicate that consumption of novel food occurred at higher, stable level following intervention. This current study suggests that prompting attending, description of, and interaction with the formal properties of food may increase consumption of novel foods.

 

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