1. Carmen Luciano (University of Almeria) Jennifer L. Boulanger (University of Nevada Reno) Ian Stewart (National University of Ireland, Galway)

2. Overview of Workshop PART 1 –RFT and the Self –Empirical Model of Self –Perspective Taking –Three Selves PART 2 –Applications –Experiential exercises

3. RFT & The Self

4. RFT and the Self The self is a core concept in ACT, in psychotherapy and psychology more generally Skinner suggested the concept of the self is based on the discrimination of one’s own behavior That definition seems a bit on the simplistic side…

5. Verbal vs Nonverbal Self-Knowledge Animals know what they experience Learned through direct experience with contingencies in their environment Animals can be trained to report their own experience

6. DRL schedule DRH schedule Reinforcer LATTAL (1975) (SLOW) (FAST)

7. Nonverbal Self-Knowledge Nonverbal self-awareness – Responding to one’s own behavior Nonverbal self –The physical organism

8. Verbal Self-Knowledge Humans don’t simply behave with regard to their own behavior - they respond verbally with regard to their own behavior

9. RFT & Language According to RFT, the core of human language is the ability to arbitrarily relate objects and events, thus changing the psychological functions of those events This is referred to as arbitrarily applicable relational responding or relational framing To explain this concept, we first distinguish between non arbitrary and arbitrarily applicable relations

10. NON-ARBITRARY (PHYSICAL) RELATIONS ARBITRARILY APPLICABLE RELATIONS ‘ SAME’ ‘ MORE THAN’ ‘OPPOSITE’ Better Worse ‘ IS’ ‘APPLE’ 5c 10c Non Arbitrary & Arbitrarily Applicable Relations CONTEXTUAL CUE

11. Apple Ull 1. Mutual Entailment 2. Combinatorial Entailment 3. Transformation of Functions RELATIONAL FRAME THEORY PROPERTIES OF ARBITRARILY APPLICABLE RELATIONAL RESPONDING sweet salivation smooth red sweet salivation smooth red ull

12. RFT & Language Any object in a relational frame is a verbal object Our own responding can be part of a relational frame and hence it can be verbal In less technical language, we can talk about our own behavior

13. I wandered lonely as a cloud…

14. I’ve been practising my ‘friendly’ smile … see?

15. An empirical model of self awareness

16. Modeling verbal discrimination of ‘self’ behaviour (Dymond & Barnes, 1994) A1 - B1 - C1 A2 - B2 - C2 A3 - B3 - C3 SR+ Transfer of self discrimination response functions

17. We can compare our behavior either to a different example of our own behavior (e.g., “I used to know that but I’ve forgotten”) or to someone else’s behavior (e.g., “She swam faster than me”)

18. Transformation of self-discrimination response functions via comparative relations B1 C2C1 B2 A1 SameLess Same More Same Less More Train 1 Response Function Test 1 Response Function Test 2 Response Function Test 0 Response Function Dymond and Barnes (1995)

19. Verbal Self-Discrimination Verbal reports of one’s own behavior, or of the contingencies controlling it, can alter the functions of both –The light side --- EXAMPLE?... –The dark side --- EXAMPLE?... –Self-instructions can reduce the effects of temporal delays in reinforcement –Self-knowledge of aversive events is itself aversive

20. Perspective Taking

21. Perspective-Taking Most relational frames are based on formal or non-arbitrary counterparts –This chair is bigger than that chair –Steve has less hair than Homer <

22. Some frames have no non-arbitrary counterparts and must be taught through demonstration and multiple exemplars Such frames include DEICTIC frames or perspective-taking frames –I-YOU –HERE-THERE –NOW-THEN Perspective-Taking

23. Development of Perspective-Taking The verbal community trains a child to make self-discriminations by asking questions such as –What am I doing over here? –What are you doing now? Perspective is the invariant that is abstracted from these discriminations –I-YOU, HERE-THERE, NOW-THEN It is responding to responding from a particular locus

24. I eat breadI eat ice cream I eat a steak I eat chocolate I hear musicI hear a driving carI hear birds singingI hear my mother calling I see a deskI see you comingI see a bright futureI see and hear a dog I touch the screenI touch my faceI touch into the waterI touch the hot pan I go to my officeI go homeI go into the darkI go back to school I think of my workI think of your painI think of lunchtimeI think of my father I am goodI am badI am a husbandI am a doctor

25. I eat breadI eat ice creamI eat a steakI eat chocolateI hear musicI hear a driving carI hear birds singingI hear my mother calling I see a deskI see you comingI see a bright futureI see and hear a dog I touch the screenI touch my faceI touch into the waterI touch the hot pan I go to my officeI go homeI go into the darkI go back to school I think of my workI think of your painI think of lunchtimeI think of my father I am goodI am badI am a husbandI am a doctor

26. I eat breadI eat ice creamI eat a steakI eat chocolateI hear musicI hear a driving carI hear birds singingI hear my mother callingI see a deskI see you comingI see a bright futureI see and hear a dog I touch the screenI touch my faceI touch into the waterI touch the hot pan I go to my officeI go homeI go into the darkI go back to school I think of my workI think of your painI think of lunchtimeI think of my father I am goodI am badI am a husbandI am a doctor

27. I eat breadI eat ice creamI eat a steakI eat chocolateI hear musicI hear a driving carI hear birds singingI hear my mother callingI see a deskI see you comingI see a bright futureI see and hear a dogI touch the screenI touch my faceI touch into the waterI touch the hot pan I go to my officeI go homeI go into the darkI go back to school I think of my workI think of your painI think of lunchtimeI think of my father I am goodI am badI am a husbandI am a doctor

28. I eat breadI eat ice creamI eat a steakI eat chocolateI hear musicI hear a driving carI hear birds singingI hear my mother callingI see a deskI see you comingI see a bright futureI see and hear a dogI touch the screenI touch my faceI touch into the waterI touch the hot pan I go to my officeI go homeI go into the darkI go back to school I think of my workI think of your painI think of lunchtimeI think of my father I am goodI am badI am a husbandI am a doctor

29. I eat breadI eat ice creamI eat a steakI eat chocolateI hear musicI hear a driving carI hear birds singingI hear my mother callingI see a deskI see you comingI see a bright futureI see and hear a dogI touch the screenI touch my faceI touch into the waterI touch the hot pan I go to my officeI go homeI go into the darkI go back to school I think of my workI think of your painI think of lunchtimeI think of my father I am goodI am badI am a husband I am a doctor

30. I eat breadI eat ice creamI eat a steakI eat chocolateI hear musicI hear a driving carI hear birds singingI hear my mother callingI see a deskI see you comingI see a bright futureI see and hear a dogI touch the screenI touch my faceI touch into the waterI touch the hot panI go to my officeI go homeI go into the darkI go back to schoolI think of my workI think of your painI think of lunchtimeI think of my fatherI am goodI am badI am a husbandI am a doctor

31. Abstraction of one’s perspective requires –Sufficiently well developed relational repertoire –Extensive history of multiple exemplars that take advantage of that repertoire Deictic frames build upon simpler relations that are true relative to a given perspective –Which is your left hand? –Which way is left? Development of Perspective-Taking

32. Perspective-Taking A person is always speaking from the perspective of I-HERE-NOW about events that happen THERE and THEN Words like I and YOU do not define perspective-taking frames; they are C rels that often control perspective-taking frames Responding in accordance with deictic frames allows us to evaluate, compare, contrast, and judge events from a constant perspective

33. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Errors AdultsAdoles. Late C/hood Mid C/hood Early C/hood Age Range McHugh, Barnes-Holmes, & Barnes-Holmes (2004) Development of Perspective Taking Deictic relational framing (I-You, Here-There, Now-Then) ability correlates with data from Theory of Mind studies

34. A Single Relation Task I have a white brick and you have a red brick Which brick do you have? Which brick do I have?

35. I am sitting here on the blue chair and you are sitting there on the black chair and THERE was HERE Where would I be sitting? Here:There: A Reversed Relation Task Where would you be sitting? If HERE was THERE

36. Yesterday I was sitting there on the black chair, today I am sitting here on the blue chair and NOW was THEN and THEN was NOW Where would I be sitting now? Now: Then: A Double Reversed Relation Task Where would you be sitting then? If HERE was THERE and THERE was HERE Here: There:

37. Further Research on Deictics Relational repertoires required for perspective taking follow a distinct developmental profile and are comprised of functionally distinct relational components (McHugh, Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes & Stewart, 2006) Deictic relations are generalized operants (Weil, 2007) Deictic relations can be trained (e.g., Heagle & Rehfeldt, 2006) including in children with autistic spectrum disorders with perspective-taking deficits (Rehfeldt, Dillen, Ziomek & Kowalchuk, 2007)

38. The 3 Selves

39. In RFT, self is defined by participation of one’s behavior in relational frames and networks Verbal behavior gives rise to three types of self –Object of verbal knowledge The conceptualized self Self as content –Process of verbal knowledge The knowing self Self as process –Locus of verbal knowledge transcendent self Self as context or perspective The Three Selves

40. Self-as-Content (Conceptualized Self) Descriptive and evaluative relational networks that I construct HERE and NOW when talking about I (or my behaviors) THERE and THEN –I’m lazy. I’m a good cook. I’m a loyal friend. We tend to organize our own histories and tendencies into a coherent relational network –Ignore contradictory evidence, amplify confirmatory evidence, act in ways that avoid disconfirmation

41. Self-as-Content (Conceptualized Self) Well-elaborated –Touches on every verbally known aspect of life (e.g. history, situation, preferences, abilities, private events) Multi-layered –Strong social contingencies support different depths of self-knowledge in different contexts Rigid –Historical, and thus, seemingly unchangeable –Basis for reason-giving

42. Self-as-Content (Conceptualized Self) The product of evaluative processes are defended, while the process itself rarely noticed Difficulties occur when products of relational responding are treated as True, Real aspects of the world –This is a good book vs. I evaluate this book as good –I am anxious vs. I feel my heart beating fast and I have the urge to run away from this situation. –You are obnoxious vs. I think ‘you are obnoxious’

43. Self-as-Process (Knowing Self) Ongoing, fluid awareness of the action of relating events verbally –I feel, I think, I wonder, I like, I hear, I remember… Extremely useful in behavioral regulation –Allows others to predict behavior without knowledge of individual history –Self-rules would be much less effective without this kind of self-knowledge Threats to self-as-process –Inadequate training by verbal community –Experiential avoidance

44. Self-as-Process (Knowing Self) The knowing self feeds the conceptualized self and is necessary to contact the transcendent self –In order to know that “I am a depressed person”, I must first know that I frequently feel sad and have low energy across many contexts –Self-monitoring and awareness are required to observe the observer

45. Self-as-Process Clinical Issues Weak self knowledge –Difficulty observing and describing current thoughts, emotions, sensations –Inability to persist in or change focus Dominance of conceptualized past and future –Present moment is lost to worry and rumination What have you noticed in your clients?

46. Self-as-Process Clinical Issues What ACT processes would you target in order to develop a sense of knowing self? ACT Techniques –Leaves on stream, soldiers on parade –Cubbyholing (labeling) –Observing sensations, body scan –Any, all mindfulness exercises

47. Self-as-Context (Transcendent Self) The sense of self as perspective or of psychological locus –The invariant in all self-discriminations Experiential link between verbal and nonverbal knowledge (repertoires) –Not thing-like: no limits, unchanging, ever-present Not itself verbal, though it is a product of a verbal history –Cannot be contacted verbally, only experienced directly

48. Self-as-Context Clinical Issues No/unstable sense of self Stigma, objectification of others Low empathy and self-compassion Difficulties with intimacy, connecting with others What have you noticed in your own clients? In your own lives? How would you help clients develop a sense of self as perspective?

49. Self-as-Context Techniques Observer exercise Chessboard metaphor Box full of stuff The documentary of you Expanding awareness You as child, you as older adult Perspective shifting When would you not be you?

50. Perspective-Taking & the 3 Selves Self as Content I am male I am 34 years old I am a son and a brother I am generous Etc. Self as Process I am feeling nervous I am feeling defensive I want to escape Etc.

51. ME BAD NOTHING BUT TROUBLE STUPID WORTHLESS EVERYONE LAUGHS AT ME NO-ONE LOVES ME UNWORTHY OF THE AFFECTION OR TRUST OF OTHERS MUST AVOID INTIMACY FEELINGS OF LONELINESS LONELY SAD INDIVIDUAL Lack of contact with social contingencies

52. Self as Content I am a worthless person Self as Process I feel so worthless right now AND I am having the thought that I am worthless I am having the feeling that I am worthless right now FUSION AND DEFUSION Hierarchical Relation Hierarchical Relation

53. Carmen Luciano (University of Almeria) Jennifer L. Boulanger (University of Nevada Reno) Ian Stewart (National University of Ireland, Galway)

54. Non-Verbal Knowing Verbal Knowing Self-as-Process Self-as- Content Self-as- Context "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent." Wittgenstein

55. Verbal & Non-Verbal Knowledge

56. Nonverbal Knowing Nonverbal self –Locus of nonverbal knowledge –Ongoing behavioral stream –Biological organism Nonverbal knowledge –Organism’s non-relational behavioral repertoire Nature of knowing: direct behavioral processes –Operant and classical conditioning –Stimulus and response generalization based on formal properties of events in evolutionary sense

57. Verbal Knowing Verbal self –Object of verbal knowledge –Process of verbal knowledge –Locus of verbal knowledge Verbal knowledge –Behavioral functions established through networks of derived stimulus relations Nature of verbal knowledge –Derived and arbitrarily applicable relational responding

58. Nonverbal Verbal Locus of Knowing Direct processes: operant/classical conditioning; stim gen based on formal properties “I” perspective Behavioral stream; biological organism Nature of Knowing Arbitrarily Applicable Relational Responding KNOWING