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Acceptance: A Research Overview and Application of This Core ACT Process in ABA

  • SI: Acceptance and Commitment Training in Behavior Analysis
  • Published:
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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.

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Author Note

Thank you to Lauren Castor, who assisted with locating definitions and common uses of the term “acceptance” within the literature.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Murray State University, 401c Wells Hall, Murray, KY, 42071, USA

    Michael J. Bordieri

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Bordieri, M.J. Acceptance: A Research Overview and Application of This Core ACT Process in ABA. Behav Analysis Practice 15, 90–103 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00575-7

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