The theory of the relational frames of Hayes
Language is one of the most important capacities for the human being. It is part of our way of communicating and even of our thought processes (after all, when we reason we usually do it through subvocal speech). This skill has been studied from very different points of view and theoretical currents. How do we acquire it? How is it possible for us to establish relationships between the symbol and reality, or between constructs or concepts?
Some of the currents that have been asked these questions are behaviorism and its derivatives, and in this sense have developed different theories that can explain it. One of them is the theory of the relational frames of Hayes .
- Related article: "Behaviorism: history, concepts and main authors"
A theory based on behaviorism
The Steven C. Hayes theory of relational frames is an attempt to offer an explanation of why we are capable of making the different associations between language and reality, affecting both communicational and cognitive processes. It is therefore a theory that explores and tries to explain language, cognition and the relationship between both.
Be part of a conception derived from operant conditioning and behavioral analysis , with the challenge of trying to explain the complexity of language and thought as a result of the association between our behaviors and the consequences of these. Unlike classical behaviorism and the first versions of the operant, this theory is based on the idea that every word, acquisition of meaning, thought or cognitive process is considered an act or behavior acquired through learning throughout our lives.
- Related article: "Paul Watzlawick's theory of human communication"
This is Hayes' theory of relational frames
For Hayes' theory of relational frames, our cognitive and linguistic capacity start from the existence of relational behavior , that is to say of mental acts in which we put in relation diverse information or stimuli. Relational behavior is what allows us to generate networks of mental contents, known as relational frames.
Generation of relational frames
The start of these networks is in the conditioning. We learn to associate a word or a set of sounds to an element, such as the word ball to a ball. This fact is simple and allows us to establish a relationship between both stimuli. In this relationship, an equivalence between both stimuli is established. The word is equivalent to the meaning, and this to the word.
This property is known as mutual bonding. In addition, these same stimuli can be coupled with others and from this relationship extract the possible relationship between the previously associated stimuli, also known as combinatorial linkage. In turn, the capture of these relationships can cause changes and variations in the use and meaning of the stimulus in question, causing a transformation of functions of it as more and more examples of different relationships between stimuli are acquired.
During our development we are learning little by little to respond to the different equivalences observed throughout our growth, and over time the human being is able to establish a relationship network or relational framework, the basis that allows us to learn, enhance and make more and more elaborate our language and cognition .
For example, we learn that a specific word has a consequence at a given moment and over time we observe that in other places it has others, so that we associate associations and generate new interpretations and functions of language and thought.
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Where do relational frames come from?
The relational framework would therefore be a network of relationships established and reinforced from contextual clues. These relationships are arbitrary, not always depending on the stimulus itself and its characteristics but on the relationships we have made between it and other stimuli.
The relational framework does not appear from nothing but is generated through the processing of information from the environment and the social context. We learn the different keys that allow us to establish these relationships in a way that we grasp if we are facing similar, different or comparable stimuli.
For example can be based on the use of hierarchies, of spatio-temporal links , of the work, family or social environment or of the observation of the effects of their own or others' behaviors. But not only the medium participates, but there is also influence on the part of aspects such as our will or the intention we have to do, say or think something.
So we can talk about relational context as the set of keys that indicate the meaning and type of relationship between stimuli. We also have a functional context, which starts from the psyche itself and which causes that from our mind we can select the meaning we want to give it independently of the medium itself.
Properties of relational frames
Although we have discussed the set of properties that allow establishing a relational framework, these frames also have interesting properties to take into account.
As a result of conditioning and learning processes , it is worth noting that relational frames are constructs that are acquired throughout the development and that also develop over time as new relationships and associations are added.
In this sense, it also highlights the fact that it is very flexible and modifiable networks . After all, the transformation of functions of stimuli acts continuously and can introduce changes.
Finally, the relational framework can be controlled both before and after its emergence, depending on whether the subject is exposed to different stimulations whose consequences are manipulated or established. This last aspect is a great advantage when carrying out different types of treatment, as for example in psychological therapy in cases of subjects with mental disorders.
- Maybe you are interested: "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): principles and characteristics"
Operating standards are generated
The establishment of relational frames allows the human being to add and link the different meanings and signifiers that appear in his life. The different relationship frames are also linked together so that an understanding of the stimulation is established, so that our thinking and language are becoming increasingly complex .
From this language and the relationships established between stimuli, we generate invariants and rules of behavior from which we can regulate our behavior and adapt to the environment in the best possible way. And not only our behavior, but also generate our identity, personality and way of seeing ourselves and the world.
Linking with psychopathology
However, it must be borne in mind that the links between words and stimuli can give rise to relational frames that are harmful to the subject itself or that excessively lax or rigid rules of behavior are generated that can degenerate in the suffering from different psychic disorders , being this the explanation that the theory gives to the diverse upheavals and the origin of therapies of remarkable success at present like the one of acceptance and commitment.
And it is that during the emergence it is possible to generate through the functional context a network of associations that cause the patient to suffer, such as the consideration that the behavior itself has no effect on the environment, that the environment is an inhospitable place and harmful or that the subject himself has bad consideration towards himself.
They can also be generated Negative categorizations that provoke aspects such as stereotypes or the lack of feeling of belonging. Also generate the need to control the environment or the struggle to maintain the equivalences and norms generated by the language itself through the relational frameworks and the behavior itself. All this can generate that we evaluate the world or ourselves in an adaptive and dysfunctional way.
Bibliographic references:
- Barnes-Holmes, D .; Rodríguez, M. and Whelan, R. (2005). The theory of relational frames and the experimental analysis of language and cognition. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, 37 (2); 225-275.
- Hayes, S.C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Roche, B. (Eds.). (2001). Relational Frame Theory: A Post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition. New York: Plenum Press.
- Gómez-Martin, S .; López-Ríos, F .; Mesa-Manjón, H. (2007). Theory of relational frames: some implications for psychopathology and psychotherapy. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 7 (2); 491-507. Spanish Association of Behavioral Psychology. Granada, Spain.
