Four Self-Related IRAPs: Analyzing and Interpreting Effects in Light of the DAARRE Model

Abstract

Two studies are presented that involved exploring four different versions of the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) to target self-relevant stimulus relations. Experiment 1 employed stimuli from previous research that used the IRAP to target stimulus relations pertaining to self, and self-esteem in particular. Experiment 2 aimed to explore the use of different types of stimuli (i.e., pictures as well as words), that again focused on self-related stimulus relations, and their potential correlations with measures of self-esteem and psychological distress. Experiment 1 yielded broadly similar findings to those reported previously. Experiment 2 showed that only one trial type from the IRAP using pictures depicting success versus failure correlated with the measures of self-esteem and psychological distress; none of the remaining 11 trial types across the three IRAPs yielded any significant correlations. The current findings may be seen as relatively progressive when presented in the context of a theoretical model that may be used, albeit in a post-hoc manner, to interpret the specific IRAP response patterns obtained in the current and previously published research. In particular, an in-depth RFT conceptual analysis of the findings using a recently proposed model of IRAP effects is presented.