Follow, Flex, and Flout: A Relational Frame Theory Account of Flexibility in the Context of Rule-Governed Behavior
Being able to change what we are doing when a behavior no longer serves us is important for our health and wellbeing. In the context of rule-governed behavior, changing one’s behavior in line with shifting contingencies is often described as being “flexible”, with many basic laboratory experiments o...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/6/795 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Being able to change what we are doing when a behavior no longer serves us is important for our health and wellbeing. In the context of rule-governed behavior, changing one’s behavior in line with shifting contingencies is often described as being “flexible”, with many basic laboratory experiments operationalizing flexibility as deviations from a given rule that no longer results in reinforcement. And yet flexibility is not just about flouting rules; sometimes, being flexible means persisting. This paper unpacks flexibility in the context of rule-governed behavior from a relational frame theory perspective, outlining applied examples relevant to health behaviors. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2076-328X |