Acceptance in behavior therapy: Understanding the process of change.
Acceptance is just another response class—define it, count it, and then you can change it.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Cordova (2001) wrote a theory paper. The author asked, "What does acceptance look like in behavior therapy?" No clients were tested. Instead, the paper built a map. It showed how to turn the fuzzy word "acceptance" into clear, watchable actions.
What they found
The map has three steps. First, list the escape or avoidance moves you see. Second, list the approach or contact moves you see. Third, count which type happens more. When contact wins, acceptance is happening.
How this fits with other research
Tarbox et al. (2022) took the map and added roads. They showed how ACT fits ABA by linking each ACT move to a verbal function. The 2001 frame became a ready-to-use protocol.
Bordieri (2022) looked back at twenty years of studies and put Cordova (2001) inside the big ACT story. The review says the 2001 paper is the seed that grew into today’s acceptance training.
Luciano et al. (2010) tested the seed in a lab. They ran short acceptance vs. avoidance scripts and measured discomfort. Acceptance won, giving the first clean data point for the 2001 idea.
Why it matters
Before you say "work on acceptance" in a plan, define the exact actions that count. Watch for body lean-ins, staying with tasks, or saying "yes" to hard trials. Tally them like any other response. When you can see it, you can shape it, reinforce it, and show the team the numbers.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Acceptance is integral to several cutting-edge behavior therapies. However, several questions about acceptance remain to be clearly answered. First, what does acceptance look like, and can it be observed and measured? Second, what are the behavioral principles involved in the promotion of acceptance? Third, when is acceptance indicated or contraindicated as a therapeutic goal? The current paper attempts to clarify answers to these questions. The goal is to provide a conceptualization of the what, how, and when of acceptance that is accessible to behavior analysts, both to promote our understanding of acceptance as a behavioral phenomenon and to facilitate its empirical study and therapeutic utility.
The Behavior analyst, 2001 · doi:10.1007/BF03392032