Applied-RFT Language and Cognition Training
Learning to speak with meaning and listen with understanding.
We are fluently deriving all kinds of relations throughout our daily life when we are speaking and thinking without even realizing it (e.g., a nickel is physically bigger than a dime but a dime is worth more than a nickel… purely because that is “the rule”). Without the ability to derive relations quickly, language loses its function, and comprehension is lost. Fortunately, RFT research has shown that the skill of deriving relations can be taught when it is weak or missing, greatly impacting our ability to understand the social world around us.
I only love dark chocolate.
Chocolate is 巧克力 in Chinese.
Blanco is the opposite of black in Spanish.
If you were my friend, would you give me blanco 巧克力 for my birthday?
Training Sample: The relational frame of hierarchy from nonarbitrary to arbitrary responding.
Nonarbitrary Relations
Let’s start with the basics…
Which is the biggest cup? Is RED bigger or smaller than BLUE? You can see that the RED cup is the biggest and contains the BLUE cup (and the BLUE cup is inside the RED cup). Which one contains the GREEN cup? Is GREEN inside YELLOW or does GREEN contain YELLOW? Is PURPLE inside GREEN or does PURPLE contain GREEN? What does YELLOW contain? Which one is smaller, YELLOW or PURPLE?
Arbitrary Relations
But we can’t always see which item contains another or which one is bigger than another
If the BLUE cube contains the RED cube, and the RED cube contains the YELLOW cube, is YELLOW inside RED or does YELLOW contain RED? Which one is bigger, RED or YELLOW? What does BLUE contain?
Language is relational – there is no way around it!
If I told you that Jack was younger than Charlie, and Joey was older than Charlie, you can quickly derive that Joey is the oldest and Jack is the youngest. You might not realize it but when you’re speaking and listening you are deriving relations all the time!
Language Magic
Baby bear ________ bear, bear ________ animals
Animals ________ bear, bear ________ baby bear
Polar bear ________ bear, bear ________ animals
Ferrari ________ cars, cars ________ vehicles
Does BABY BEAR contain BEAR or does BABY BEAR include BEAR? Does BEAR contain ANIMALS or is BEAR a type of ANIMAL? Which one has more examples, ANIMALS or BABY BEARS? Which one is more specific, ANIMALS or BABY BEARS?