ACT ACT Mindfulness & Acceptance Processes 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In ACT, which mindfulness process involves observing thoughts and feelings without becoming overly attached to them or allowing them to dominate behavior?
- Cognitive defusion (Correct answer)
- Experiential avoidance
- Behavioral activation
- Systematic desensitization
Correct answer: Cognitive defusion
Cognitive defusion is the ACT process of observing thoughts without fusing with them, reducing their influence on behavior.
Question 2: Which ACT concept refers to the tendency to avoid, suppress, or escape from unwanted internal experiences such as thoughts, feelings, and sensations?
- Psychological flexibility
- Experiential avoidance (Correct answer)
- Committed action
- Values clarification
Correct answer: Experiential avoidance
Experiential avoidance is the ACT term for efforts to escape or suppress unwanted internal experiences, which paradoxically increases suffering.
Question 3: In ACT, 'contact with the present moment' is best described as:
- Planning future goals based on past experiences
- Flexible, non-judgmental awareness of here-and-now experiences (Correct answer)
- Systematic review of past traumas
- Structured problem-solving in real time
Correct answer: Flexible, non-judgmental awareness of here-and-now experiences
Contact with the present moment in ACT means intentionally attending to current experience in a flexible and non-judgmental way.
Question 4: A client says, 'I am my anxiety.' An ACT consultant would most likely address this with which process?
- Values clarification
- Committed action
- Cognitive defusion (Correct answer)
- Behavioral exposure
Correct answer: Cognitive defusion
Cognitive defusion techniques help clients separate themselves from their thoughts and feelings rather than identifying with them.
Question 5: Which metaphor is commonly used in ACT to illustrate acceptance of difficult internal experiences?
- The empty chair technique
- Passengers on the bus (Correct answer)
- The hot cross bun model
- The ABC model
Correct answer: Passengers on the bus
The 'passengers on the bus' metaphor in ACT illustrates how clients can be the driver of their life while accepting difficult thoughts and feelings as passengers.
Question 6: In ACT, mindfulness practice is primarily used to:
- Eliminate negative thoughts permanently
- Reduce physiological arousal to baseline
- Increase psychological flexibility and contact with the present (Correct answer)
- Restructure irrational beliefs cognitively
Correct answer: Increase psychological flexibility and contact with the present
ACT uses mindfulness to build psychological flexibility by helping clients contact the present moment openly and without defense.
ACT ACT Mindfulness & Acceptance Processes 1
In ACT, which mindfulness process involves observing thoughts and feelings without becoming overly attached to them or allowing them to dominate behavior?