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| Int'l Symposium - Investigating Acceptance and Control |
| Sunday, May 29, 2005 |
| 9:00 AM–10:20 AM |
| Boulevard B (2nd floor) |
| Area: EAB; Domain: Basic Research |
| Chair: Andreanne L. Cochrane (National University of Ireland, Maynooth) |
| Abstract: The current symposium is concerned with aspects of acceptance- and control-based strategies. The first paper investigates the paradoxical effects of thought suppression on derived relational responding. The second paer reports on the development of a behavioural approach task to examine acceptance-versus control-based strategies. The final two papers examine the role of acceptance on pain tolerance. |
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| Paradoxical Effects of Thought Suppression Through Equivalence Classes |
| OLGA GUTIERREZ-MARTINEZ (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Carmen Luciano Soriano (University of Almeria, Spain) |
| Abstract: This study examines the paradoxical effects of thought suppression from the point of view of derived relational responding. Specifically, the study examined if a procedure used by Wegner and Erber (1992), that involved suppression of thoughts about a target word and the subsequent tendency to respond with the target word given closely associated word prompts, can be extended via equivalence procedures. Participants are trained to form two, three-member equivalence classes (Class~1: A1, B1, C1; Class~2: A2, B2, C2), with natural-language words as stimuli. Then, they were instructed not to think about a target for 5 min: A1 or A2. Subsequently, participants were presented with prompt words closely related to A1, B1, C1, A2, B2 and C2, as well as fillers unrelated to any of the targets. Results indicated not only a higher frequency for the target word (e.g., A1) in response to target-related prompts, as Wegner and Erber (1992) shown, but also a higher frequency for the other words that participated in the same equivalence class with the target word (e.g., B1 and C1). The data indicate that the suppression effect extends beyond immediately associated words or stimuli to indirectly related events. Conceptual and clinical implications are discussed. |
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| Developing a Behavioural Approach Task to Examine Acceptance- Versus Control-Based Strategies |
| ANDREANNE L. COCHRANE (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Ian T. Stewart (National University of Ireland, Galway) |
| Abstract: Recent studies have examined the relative efficacy of acceptance-versus control-based interventions on pain tolerance (Hayes et al., 1999, Gutierrez et al., in press). Whereas these studies employed physical stressors (cold-pressor and electric shocks) the current study seeks to examine the effects of the interventions on responses to emotionally rather than physically challenging stimuli. Spider-fearful participants were identified from an undergraduate student population using the Spider Phobia Questionnaire (SPG, Watt & Sharrock, 1984). A baseline performance on a behavioural approach task (BAT) was determined. The 7-steps of the task involved an increasing risk of exposure to an Irish house-spider. The participants were then assigned to one of three conditions: i) a brief acceptance-based exercise, ii) a brief control-based exercise or iii) a brief neutral exercise. The participants then repeated the BAT. A number of measures were used to compare the performances of the three groups.The implications of the results for acceptance- versus control-based interventions will be discussed |
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| The Effects of and Acceptance- and Control-Based Coping Strategy on Tolerance for Radiant Heat Pain |
| ANNE KEHOE (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Ian T. Stewart (National University of Ireland, Galway) |
| Abstract: The current study examined the effects of acceptance on tolerance for and perception of experimentally induced radiant heat pain. Normally developing adult participants were randomly assigned to an acceptance or control-based coping strategy presented as part of a problem solving task that involved successive exposure to increasingly painful radiant heat. Before receiving the heat pain participants were given the choice to continue with the experiment or avoid the heat pain. Exposure to this procedure occurred before and after receiving the assigned experimental intervention. The results of the study showed that participants exposed to an acceptance intervention showed higher pain tolerance than those exposed to a control-based intervention. The results are discussed in terms of the existing literature on acceptance. |
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| Acceptance-Based Strategies and Pain Tolerance: The Role of Rule-Following and Relational Coherence |
| JENNIFER MARY MCMULLEN (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Ian T. Stewart (National University of Ireland, Galway) |
| Abstract: The success of acceptance-based procedures may be described by various components of the therapeutic protocol that work concurrently to create effective change. Acceptance based strategies borrow from a wide range of therapeutic techniques including, defusion, deliteralization, values-orienting exercises, and the use of metaphor etc. (Hayes et al, 1999). The current study aimed to investigate one particular component of the therapeutic process by focusing on the role of rule-following behaviour in an acceptance- versus control-based experimental preparation. The experiment employed an independent participants design with four conditions: Full Acceptance Intevention, Rule-Based Acceptance Intervention, Full Control Intervention, and Rule-Based Control Intervention. Fifteen participants were assigned to each condition, controlling for gender, age, and levels of experiential avoidance (as measured by the AAQ), and anxiety levels (as measured by the STAI). The implications of the results for the role of verbal relations in acceptance- and control-based therapeutic interventions will be discussed. |
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