How do the dimensions of arbitrarily applicable relational responding affect scores on the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP)?

• Grant number: 23/12136-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: William Ferreira Perez
• Grantee: William Ferreira Perez
• Host Institution: Associação Paradigma Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia do Comportamento. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Colin Harte ; Dermot Barnes-Holmes ; João Henrique de Almeida ; Júlio César Coelho de Rose ; Renato Bortoloti

Abstract

According to the Relational Frame Theory (RFT), the Arbitrarily Applicable Relational Responding (RRAA) is the basic unit of analysis of language and cognition. The AARR can be defined as a purely functional operant behavior (generalized operant), under the control of arbitrary relationships between stimuli. Recently, it was proposed that the AARR can be evaluated at different levels of complexity considering different dimensions: complexity, coherence, derivation and flexibility. The present study aims to investigate how three of the dimensions of the RAAA, namely (a) coherence, (b) derivation and (c) flexibility affect the transformation of function of stimuli measured by the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP). Thus, a sequence of three experiments will have the common objective of evaluating how the IRAP scores can be modulated by different aspects of the AARR, with a view to understanding more precisely how this measure, widely used in the analysis of symbolic behavior, can be interpreted based on specific manipulations of RRAA dimensions. (AU)