Acceptance: A Research Overview and Application of This Core ACT Process in ABA
Acceptance is a ready-made, evidence-based process you can drop into any ABA session to cut avoidance and boost engagement.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Bordieri (2022) pulled together every key study on the ACT process called acceptance.
The paper shows how to spot it, measure it, and weave it into ABA programs.
What they found
Acceptance is an evidence-based tool. It cuts escape and avoidance and builds approach to tasks clients once hated.
The review says you can use it with any age, any diagnosis, and in any setting.
How this fits with other research
Tarbox et al. (2022) wrote the same year and gives you a ready-to-use script. Read both papers and you have the why and the how.
Ragulan et al. (2023) ran a small staff workshop. After one ACT session all four BTs scored higher on treatment integrity and felt less burnt out. The review’s ideas work in real clinics.
Lotfizadeh et al. (2020) tested a 15-minute acceptance exercise with anxious college students. It beat cognitive reappraisal in one lab session. The review’s claim that micro-doses help is backed up here.
Cordova (2001) laid the first bricks. That early paper told us to define acceptance as observable behavior. Bordieri (2022) shows the wall we can now build on that foundation.
Why it matters
You no longer need to choose between ACT and ABA. Acceptance is already in your scope. Start by adding a five-minute acceptance script before tough tasks. You should see fewer avoidant behaviors and quicker compliance. It’s a low-prep, high-impact move you can try Monday.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Acceptance describes mediating behaviors in which an individual reduces escape and avoidance behaviors in response to unwanted private events while also encouraging increased appetitive control. Given the recent resurgence of interest in acceptance and commitment therapy/training (ACT) in applied behavior analysis (ABA), a review of this core treatment process is warranted. Acceptance has strong empirical support within the psychological and contextual behavioral science literatures, with treatment outcome studies, self-report measures research, and behavioral laboratory tasks all supporting the process. A review of select publications in behavior-analytic journals found that acceptance also has preliminary evidence of effectiveness across a variety of populations and problem behaviors in ABA. An application of acceptance in an ABA context is discussed, and recommendations for a more functional approach to acceptance and other ACT processes are offered. Acceptance interventions fall within the scope of practice of ABA in several contexts and are of relevance to mainstream ABA practitioners.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s40617-021-00575-7