Fusion With Self-Referential Labels: Examining A Behavioral Measure

Individuals with commonly diagnosed psychological disorders often apply self-labels that have a negative effect on behavior. In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, defusion exercises are designed to de-emphasize the literal interpretation of thoughts (such as self-labels) so that behavior is less controlled by verbal rules and more sensitive to direct interaction with the environment. Although existing self-report measures sensitive to changes in believability are an important step in establishing the utility of defusion interventions, it is also worthwhile to develop behavioral markers of fusion/defusion with self-referential content. The matching-to-sample (MTS) task, commonly used in basic behavioral research, examines the ability of participants to relate different stimuli. Performance on this task can demonstrate whether relating stimuli is disrupted by one's learning history, making it a potentially useful paradigm for assessing cognitive fusion. Results of the current study offer preliminary evidence for the utility of the MTS procedure in detecting disrupted responding when stimulus classes are incompatible with learning history. Participants in the fusion condition made more errors on the self-relevant classes compared to the neutral class, whereas those in the defusion condition shorelatively equal responding regardless of class type. Evidence of enhanced transfer of stimulus functions (facilitated acquisition) was not found in the current study. If the effects are improved and replicated, the MTS task has potential as a behavioral marker of fusion in the context of evaluative self-referential labels.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D. in Psychology

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Schnetzer, Lindsay Wilson

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kelly G. Wilson
• Allison Burkette
• John Young

• Acceptance And Commitment Therapy
• Fusion
• Match-To-Sample
• Self
• Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/818

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-1817