Behavioral Analysis of Self-Control and Third-Generation Therapy Practices

Abstract

This article explores the concept of self-control in light of behavior analysis and articulates experimental findings in the field with intervention proposals aimed at controlling impulsive behavior in the face of aversive contingencies. Under these conditions, impulsive behavior is characterized by the choice of immediate, less aversive consequences, while self-controlled behavior results in greater aversive consequences after a delay. Although frequent and observed among non-human subjects and human participants, impulsive choices in aversive conditions are considered undesirable because they hinder the ability to deal with situations that, although initially uncomfortable, could yield benefits or prevent future losses. For a conceptual analysis of self-control behavior, we revisit the Skinnerian proposal, which: 1) explores the contingency that distinguishes self-control behavior from other forms of action in which the individual manipulates the conditions determining their behavior; 2) highlights the role that the community plays in establishing this behavior; and 3) evaluates the transformations that may allow this behavior to be established and maintained. The importance of various strategies for producing self-control is discussed, such as: a) elaborating distracting responses that compete with impulsive behaviors; b) self-observation regarding external and internal stimuli that evoke avoidance responses; c) self-evaluation by describing the different conflicting consequences generated by the involved behaviors; d) control by rules to manage responses that compete with an impulsive pattern; and e) delaying contact with aversives, as evidenced by empirical investigations of delay discounting studies. Empirical studies are cited to illustrate the proposed discussions, aiming to clarify the processes involved in self-control and the strategies adopted to reduce impulsive behavior in the face of aversive stimulation, which competes with the maintenance of desirable behavioral patterns. The concept of delay discounting and the competing contingencies involved in impulsive behavior are discussed, along with an explanation of the variables manipulated to revert this behavior. This analysis recognizes how the basic principles of behavior analysis can explain the construction of self-controlled behavior, as well as reinterpret the procedures involved in the interventions of third-generation behavioral therapies, such as mindfulness, acceptance, cognitive defusion, creative hopelessness, and value establishment. The importance of understanding how self-control behavior is established and describing the processes that sustain it is explored and justified in the conceptual discussion of different intervention proposals.