Relational Frame Theory. a Post-Skinnerian Account of Human Language and Cognition

by Steven C. Hayes

Human language and our use of it to communicate or to understand the world requires deriving relations among events: for example, if A=B and A=C, then B=C. Relational frame theory argues that such performances are at the heart of any meaningful psychology of language and cognition. From a very early age, human beings learn relations of similarity, difference, comparison, time, and so on, and modify what they do in a given situation based on its derived relation to others situations and what is known about them. This volume goes beyond theory and gives the empirical and conceptual tools to conduct an experimental analysis of virtually every substantive topic in human language and cognition, both basic and applied. As the term post-Skinnerian' suggests, this volume challenges behavioral psychology to abandon many of the specific theoretical formulations of its most prominent historical leader in the domain of complex human behavior, especially in human language and cognition, and approach the field from a new direction. The need for a pragmatically useful analysis of language and cognition is as enormous and varied as its extensions and applications.; This volume will be of interest not only to behavior theorists but also to cognitive psychologists, therapists, educators, and anyone studying the human condition. A remarkably brilliant book that integrates some of the main theories of radical behaviorism with cognitive behavioral theories and practices of psychotherapy. This book gives more plausible explanations of why people behave the way that they do, and particularly why they are frequently dysfunctional, than any other I can think of.' Albert Ellis, Albert Ellis Institute, New York [An] exciting and innovative book. It indicates that a behavioural account can shed light on many more of the complexities of language and cognition than had previously been supposed...it is abundantly clear from this book that the behavioural approach is alive and kicking, and full of vitality.' W. Eysenck, Royal Holloway University of London This is a truly remarkable book...If Chomsky had seen this work 40 years ago, the history of psychology could have been very different.' Paul M.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

285 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Steven C. Hayes, PhD, is Nevada Foundation Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of thirty-four books and more than 470 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought leads to human suffering, and cofounded ACT, a powerful therapy method that is useful in a wide variety of areas. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy.
He runs the leading Ph.D program in Behavior Analysis, and coined the term Clinical Behavior Analysis. He is known for devising a behavior analysis of human language and cognition called Relational Frame Theory, and its clinical application to various psychological difficulties, such as anxiety.
Hayes has been President of Division 25 of the American Psychological Association, of the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology, the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (now known as the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies), and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. He was the first Secretary-Treasurer of the American Psychological Society (now known as the Association for Psychological Science), which he helped form.
Hayes' work is somewhat controversial, particularly with his coined term "Relational Frame Theory" to describe stimulus equivalent research in relation to an elaborate form of B.F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior (also referred to as verbal operants).
An author of 38 books and 550 articles, in 1992 he was listed by the Institute for Scientific Information as the 30th "highest impact" psychologist in the world during 1986-1990 based on the citation impact of his writings during that period.
According to Time columnist John Cloud, "Steven Hayes is at the top of his field. A past president of the distinguished Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, he has written or co-written some 300 peer-reviewed articles and 27 books. Few psychologists are so well published".

Reviews

[Kevin Roessger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly amazing and thought provoking book. If you have no prior experience with RFT, though, I would suggest reading this book as the fourth in a series: Skinner's Verbal Behavior, Sidman's Equivalence Relations: A Research Story, Torneke's Learning RFT, and then this book. To not first have the preliminary information from these texts would make this book a torturous read.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the most important book published by a behaviorist since 1938.

[Yves Summons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book to help truly understand humans and what makes us human.
I would not recommend it for a layman unless you want to research and read up on certain passages.

Some said this is the most important book about modern behaviourology and I fully endorse that statement.