Self-as-context
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Self-as-context, one of the core principles in
acceptance and commitment therapy Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT, typically pronounced as the word "act") is a form of psychotherapy, as well as a branch of clinical behavior analysis. It is an empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfu ...
(ACT), is the concept that people are not the content of their thoughts or feelings, but rather are the consciousness experiencing or observing the thoughts and feelings. Self-as-context is distinguished from ''self-as-content'', defined in ACT as the social scripts people maintain about who they are and how they operate in the world.


Buddhist influence

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...
practices in conjunction with
functional contextualism Functional contextualism is a modern philosophy of science rooted in philosophical pragmatism and contextualism. It is most actively developed in behavioral science in general and the field of behavior analysis and contextual behavioral science ...
deeply influenced the formation of ACT and its concept of self-as-context. The approach was originally called ''comprehensive distancing'' and was developed in the late 1980s by
Steven C. Hayes Steven C. Hayes (born August 12, 1948) is an American clinical psychologist and Nevada Foundation Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno Department of Psychology, where he is a faculty member in their Ph.D. program in behavior analysis. He is ...
, Kelly G. Wilson, and Kirk Strosahl.


Self-as-context vs. self-as-content

To differentiate self-as-context from self-as-content, ACT presents the conceptual self (participant), the thinking self (participant observer), and the observational self (observer).


Conceptual self

The conceptual self is a person's self-as-content. A personal narrative, the conceptual self includes objective facts (name, age, sex, cultural background, marital status, occupation, etc.), subjective details (likes, dislikes, hopes, fears, and perceived strengths and weaknesses), social roles (friend, spouse, parent, child), and gender roles (mother, father, daughter, son). When a person "holds" their conceptual self lightly then their identity construct is adaptable, however, should a person become unable to differentiate themselves from the rules and restrictions comprising their conceptual self then, according to ACT, they may struggle in different areas of their life. Examples include saying things like "I wish I could, but I'm not the sort of person to _____" or "I'm a strong person, I don't need any help."


Thinking self

The thinking self is the
inner monologue Intrapersonal communication is the process by which an individual communicates within themselves, acting as both sender and receiver of messages, and encompasses the use of unspoken words to consciously engage in self-talk and inner speech. Intr ...
actively assessing, questioning, judging, reasoning, and rationalizing any given moment, situation, or behavior. The relationship between the participant and participant-observer is described in Russ Harris' ''The Happiness Trap'' (2007) as being like that of an actor and director:


Observational self

The observational self is defined in ACT as a transcendent state of self-awareness accessible through mindful expansion of awareness. In ACT cognitive defusion exercises are utilized to demonstrate how thoughts have no literal power over action, thereby increasing mental flexibility. If someone thinks "I am the worst," for example, a cognitive defusion exercise would observe "I am having the thought that I am the worst." Other exercises demonstrating how thoughts have no actual power include saying "I can't walk and talk" while proceeding to walk and talk, or saying "I have to stand up" while remaining seated. Experientially, the observational self is the part of consciousness that hears one's inner voice, and sees images in the mind's eye. ACT presents the idea that the more practiced a person is at accessing their observational self, the easier it is to perceive emotions within their situational context, remain mentally flexible, and commit to value congruent action.


Additions to self-as-content


Somatic self

Self-as-content also includes the nonverbal sense of self experienced through physiological responses, including instinct, attraction, repulsion, and emotional affect. In ''ACT for Gender Identity: The Comprehensive Guide'', Alex Stitt differentiates the somatic self from the thinking self and says that a person's relationship with their body begins to develop before their inner monologue. Since gender is more than just a thought, and identity is often described in "felt" terms, the somatic self accounts for the sense of "resonance" and "dissonance" either attracting or repelling people to certain aspects of
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
and
gender expression Gender expression, or gender presentation, is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender, specifically with the categories of femininity or masculinity. This also includes gender roles. These cat ...
. Unlike the observational self, which is able to step back and see self-as-context, the somatic self can be as unreliable as the thinking self. Examples of this include when a person's physiological fear response is triggered in moments of safety, when a person is in a dissociative state, or when a person's affect is incongruent with their content of speech.


See also

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Metacognitive therapy Metacognitive therapy (MCT) is a psychotherapy focused on modifying metacognitive beliefs that perpetuate states of worry, rumination and attention fixation. It was created by Adrian Wells based on an information processing model by Wells and Ge ...
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Metacognition Metacognition is an awareness of one's thought processes and an understanding of the patterns behind them. The term comes from the root word '' meta'', meaning "beyond", or "on top of".Metcalfe, J., & Shimamura, A. P. (1994). ''Metacognition: knowi ...
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Relational frame theory Relational frame theory (RFT) is a psychological theory of human language, cognition, and behaviour. It was developed originally by Steven C. Hayes of University of Nevada, Reno and has been extended in research, notably by Dermot Barnes-Holmes ...


References


Further reading

* * {{Cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy Mindfulness (psychology)