Theoretical Foundations Flashcards
7 cards from real ACT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Theoretical Foundations flashcards as text
Which philosophical tradition most directly underpins ACT's stance toward language and cognition?
Answer: Functional contextualism
ACT is grounded in functional contextualism, which judges thoughts and behaviors by their function in context rather than their literal truth.
In Relational Frame Theory, 'derived relational responding' refers to:
Answer: Relating stimuli in ways not directly trained but derived from other relations
Derived relational responding occurs when an organism relates stimuli in ways not directly trained, such as inferring A>C after learning A>B and B>C.
The ACT concept of 'experiential avoidance' is best described as:
Answer: Efforts to suppress, escape, or alter unwanted private events
Experiential avoidance is the attempt to suppress, escape from, or avoid unwanted internal experiences such as thoughts, feelings, or sensations.
Which frame type in RFT involves relating stimuli as opposite to each other (e.g., up/down, fast/slow)?
Answer: Frame of opposition
The frame of opposition in RFT involves relating two stimuli as opposites, such that properties of one derive inversely from the other.
ACT's 'cognitive fusion' most closely parallels which concept from traditional CBT?
Answer: Cognitive distortions taken literally
Cognitive fusion, where thoughts are taken literally and as commands, is conceptually similar to how CBT describes cognitive distortions that are believed without question.
In ACT theory, the 'observing self' or 'self-as-context' is characterized by:
Answer: A transcendent perspective that notices experience without being defined by it
Self-as-context refers to a stable, transcendent perspective from which one can observe thoughts and feelings without being fused with or defined by them.
According to RFT, why does telling someone 'don't think about a white bear' typically increase white bear thoughts?
Answer: Because the instruction creates a relational frame linking the suppression rule to white bear, increasing its salience
RFT explains that the suppression instruction itself is relationally framed with the target thought, which paradoxically strengthens the stimulus network involving white bears.