Holding on to our functional roots when exploring new intellectual islands: A voyage through implicit cognition research

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThroughout much of the past two decades, contextual behavioral science has been applied to a diverse spectrum of psychological phenomena. This intellectual voyage into uncharted waters has brought with it exciting new developments at the methodological and theoretical levels as well as increased contact with other philosophical frameworks such as mechanism. This expansion into new territories requires that the researcher carefully walk a tight-rope between different intellectual traditions-an activity that is subject to several challenges and dangers. In the following paper we provide a detailed map on how to navigate such pitfalls in the study of implicit cognition. We open with a comprehensive overview of the core assumptions and analytic strategies upon which the cognitive (mechanistic) and functional (contextual) traditions have been built. As we shall see, both traditions have sought to understand, predict, and in some cases influence, behavior using radically different conceptual, theoretical and methodological tools. The Relational Elaboration and Coherence (REC) model as well as the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) are offered as examples of how researchers can explore the domain of implicit cognition from a purely functional perspective. Finally, we examine the possibility that although the cognitive and functional frameworks operate at two independent levels of analysis each may be mutually informed by the work of the other, to the benefit of both.

Transformação do significado de palavras sem sentido via relações arbitrárias de comparação com faces alegres

“…Isso explicaria as respostas rápidas na opção "Verdadeiro", visto que ambos estímu-los foram relacionados às faces expressando alegria. Outra interpretação possível para os dados do IRAP é a de que o treino relacional não foi suficiente para estabelecer as relações de comparação de tal modo que afetassem diferencialmente a probabilidade das respostas implícitas (como abordado no parágrafo anterior) -ou Respostas Relacionais Breves e Imediatas (BIRRs) (Hughes, Barnes-Holmes, & Vahey, 2012). Um fato que pode ter contribuído com esse efeito é a duração do procedimento.…”

The malleability of stigmatizing attitudes: Combining imagined social contact with implicit attitude feedback

“…These results are in accordance with similar research into the malleability of ageist (Cullen et al, 2009) and political attitudes (Power et al, 2009), and may be explained by re-visiting the REC model (Hayes et al, 2001). This model posits that divergent implicit and explicit attitudes occur when brief and immediate relational responses (i.e., implicit attitudes) are contaminated to a lesser extent by extended and elaborated relational responses (i.e., explicit attitudes; Hughes, Barnes-Holmes, & Vahey, 2012). This is thought to occur when the behavioral response system is put under time pressure (Barnes-Holmes et al 2010a), as is the case in the IRAP.…”

Exploring the Reliability and Convergent Validity of Implicit Racial Evaluations

“…Recently, a functional account of IRAP performance called the Relational Elaboration and Coherence (REC) model has appeared (Hughes, Barnes-Holmes, & Vahey, 2012). According to the REC model, the IRAP measures Brief and Immediate Relational Responses (BIRRs) and Extended and Elaborated Relational Responses (EERRs).…”