Open AccessAcceptance: A Research Overview and Application of This Core ACT Process in ABA
Author(s) -
Michael J. Bordieri
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
behavior analysis in practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2196-8934
pISSN - 1998-1929
DOI - 10.1007/s40617-021-00575-7
Subject(s) - acceptance and commitment therapy , mainstream , psychology , scope (computer science) , context (archaeology) , process (computing) , relevance (law) , variety (cybernetics) , applied behavior analysis , psychological intervention , empirical research , applied psychology , intervention (counseling) , developmental psychology , computer science , political science , psychiatry , paleontology , philosophy , epistemology , artificial intelligence , autism , law , biology , programming language , operating system
Acceptance describes mediating behaviors in which an individual reduces escape and avoidance behaviors in response to unwanted private events while also encouraging increased appetitive control. Given the recent resurgence of interest in acceptance and commitment therapy/training (ACT) in applied behavior analysis (ABA), a review of this core treatment process is warranted. Acceptance has strong empirical support within the psychological and contextual behavioral science literatures, with treatment outcome studies, self-report measures research, and behavioral laboratory tasks all supporting the process. A review of select publications in behavior-analytic journals found that acceptance also has preliminary evidence of effectiveness across a variety of populations and problem behaviors in ABA. An application of acceptance in an ABA context is discussed, and recommendations for a more functional approach to acceptance and other ACT processes are offered. Acceptance interventions fall within the scope of practice of ABA in several contexts and are of relevance to mainstream ABA practitioners.