Assessment & Functional Analysis Flashcards

In ACT functional analysis, 'stimulus equivalence' helps explain why:

Answer: Neutral stimuli acquire the same psychological functions as aversive experiences through verbal relations

Stimulus equivalence via relational framing means that any stimulus verbally related to a feared event can elicit similar avoidance responses, explaining the spread of avoidance without direct conditioning.

A therapist uses the ACT Matrix tool during assessment. The bottom-left quadrant of the Matrix captures:

Answer: Difficult private experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations) the client moves away from

The bottom-left quadrant of the ACT Matrix identifies the internal experiences (feelings, thoughts, urges) that the client typically moves away from through avoidance behaviors.

When assessing 'self-as-context' deficits, which client statement would be MOST clinically relevant?

Answer: 'I am worthless — that's just who I am and it will never change.'

Total fusion with a self-concept ('I am worthless — that's just who I am') signals deficits in self-as-context, where the client cannot observe thoughts from a transcendent perspective.

The ACT hexaflex process MOST directly assessed by asking a client to describe their experience of completing a meaningful activity despite discomfort is:

Answer: Committed action

Committed action refers to building a pattern of behavior linked to values even in the presence of difficult internal experiences, making it the most directly assessed process in this scenario.

During an ACT assessment intake, a client describes extensive efforts to suppress memories of a traumatic event. Functionally, this is BEST understood as:

Answer: Experiential avoidance that likely maintains trauma-related distress

Thought suppression is a form of experiential avoidance; research consistently shows it paradoxically increases the frequency and distress of unwanted thoughts and memories.

Which principle guides the selection of ACT-specific measures over traditional symptom measures in assessment?

Answer: Process measures assess the psychological flexibility mechanisms that predict treatment outcome in ACT

ACT process measures (e.g., AAQ-II, CFQ, VQ) target the mediators of change — psychological flexibility processes — which are more directly relevant to ACT case formulation and treatment monitoring.

A functional assessment reveals that a client's perfectionistic behavior is reinforced by temporary relief from self-critical thoughts. In ACT terms, this behavior is BEST classified as:

Answer: Negatively reinforced avoidance behavior driven by experiential control

When perfectionistic behavior functions to temporarily quiet self-critical thoughts, it is negatively reinforced avoidance — it reduces aversive internal experiences rather than advancing values.