The Progression of Programmatic Research in Contextual Behavioral Science: Response to O’Donohue, Snipes, and Soto

Abstract

The criticisms of the target article are examined and discussed in the context of the larger goals of contextual behavioral science. The central claims of “Overselling” findings from a published dissertation to a peer-reviewed article and a self-help book are examined point-by-point. After clarifying the posited concerns, we find that they are dominantly based on misunderstandings of the assessment data used or improved data analytic methods employed. Criticisms of the larger literature of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) are examined, and the larger scientific strategy employed by the contextual behavioral science movement is described with an emphasis on replications in the area of processes of change for ACT (and modification of these processes) in order to improve diabetes as well as other health behaviors.