ACT ACT Values Clarification & Committed Action 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In ACT, 'pliance' refers to a form of rule-governed behavior where clients act primarily to:
- Pursue personal values regardless of social consequences
- Avoid punishment or gain approval from others (Correct answer)
- Follow internally derived standards of success
- Act in accordance with empirically supported guidelines
Correct answer: Avoid punishment or gain approval from others
Pliance is rule-governed behavior controlled by socially mediated consequences (approval/disapproval), which can conflict with authentic, values-based action in ACT.
Question 2: Which of the following questions is most consistent with ACT values clarification work?
- 'What do you think you should want out of life?'
- 'What does your therapist recommend you work toward?'
- 'In the life you want to live, what kind of person do you want to be?' (Correct answer)
- 'What goals have you failed to achieve so far?'
Correct answer: 'In the life you want to live, what kind of person do you want to be?'
ACT values clarification focuses on freely chosen life directions and personal identity, asking clients to reflect on who they want to be rather than what they should do or have failed at.
Question 3: When a client identifies 'being healthy' as a value, an ACT consultant would most likely:
- Accept it as a clear value and move to committed action planning
- Explore what specific qualities and actions 'being healthy' involves for that client (Correct answer)
- Point out that health is a goal, not a value
- Assign the client a health tracking worksheet
Correct answer: Explore what specific qualities and actions 'being healthy' involves for that client
ACT consultants help clients operationalize broad values by exploring what they mean in behavioral terms—what does 'being healthy' look and feel like in daily life for this specific individual.
Question 4: The ACT concept of 'willingness' in relation to committed action means:
- Being happy about having difficult experiences
- Being free of anxiety before taking valued action
- Choosing to act on values even when uncomfortable inner experiences are present (Correct answer)
- Waiting until the client is motivated to change
Correct answer: Choosing to act on values even when uncomfortable inner experiences are present
Willingness in ACT is the active choice to experience discomfort in service of values-based action, not passive acceptance or absence of distress.
Question 5: Which statement about the relationship between values and committed action in ACT is most accurate?
- Values must be fully clarified before committed action can begin
- Committed action and values clarification are mutually reinforcing processes (Correct answer)
- Committed action replaces values work in advanced stages of therapy
- Values are philosophical concepts; committed action is the practical component of ACT
Correct answer: Committed action and values clarification are mutually reinforcing processes
In ACT, values and committed action inform each other reciprocally—taking action clarifies values, and clarified values guide further action, making them iterative rather than sequential.
Question 6: An ACT consultant working with a client on committed action would BEST respond to client setbacks by:
- Reducing the difficulty of homework assignments to build confidence
- Exploring what values were at stake and what barriers arose, then reorienting to the next small step (Correct answer)
- Interpreting the setback as resistance to therapy
- Switching to motivational interviewing techniques
Correct answer: Exploring what values were at stake and what barriers arose, then reorienting to the next small step
ACT responds to setbacks with compassionate curiosity—exploring values and barriers—and flexibly redirects toward the next workable values-based step rather than retreating or pathologizing.
ACT ACT Values Clarification & Committed Action 3
In ACT, 'pliance' refers to a form of rule-governed behavior where clients act primarily to: