The Flexible Self Dr. Louise McHugh University College Dublin

1. The Flexible SelfDr. Louise McHughUniversity College Dublin

2. Where is your ‘self’?

3. YOU ARE HERE! Ferrari et al 2008

4. Then who were you? I was so stressed yesterday, I wasn’t myself!

5. Social animals…

6. A sense of self? • Only humans have a sense of self • Why? • Humans have language 

7. Symbolic relationships between things… • Is what allows us to make sounds that other people understand rather than simply pointing and grunting at things ‘HAT’ ‘Kelly’

8. Physical Relationships Relationships based on cues = ??? CONTEXTUAL CUE

9. = CONTEXTUAL CUE Nic Nic IS SAME AS BAD ??? BAD OK GOOD CONTEXTUAL CUE

10. Language Just as we learn to manipulate the environment with our body and hands We also learn to manipulate it through sound and symbols Milk Please!

11. Same as (‘Jumjaw is the same as dog’) Opposite (‘Day is opposite to Night’) Different (‘Boys are different from Girls’) Comparison (‘£1 is more than 10p’) Perspective (‘I am here and you are there’) We can relate in many ways

12. Transformation of Functions If someone has a fear of dogs, and they are told that ‘jumjaw’ is another word for dog, then fear may be elicited upon hearing ‘Here comes a jumjaw!’ Psychological Function is a ‘DOG’ is a Psychological Function ‘Jumjaw’

13. So language is responding to abstract relations • So what does that have to do with the ‘self’? ‘I think therefore I am’ No Rene – you learn to verbally discriminate your own behavior from others behavior - therefore you are

14. What did YOU have for breakfast? I had a banana for breakfast No silly I had a banana for breakfast

15. I feel happy I feel sad As a child begins to relate more and more of their own behavior… I am happier than you! …and to compare it with that of others… I am not as happy as you I am a happy person! I am a depressed person! …they begin to have a concept of self

16. Understanding others? ‘The key to a happier world is the growth of compassion’ Dalai Lama

17. Theory of Mind Module I Know what you are thinking! I have a ‘module’ in my brain that tells me!

18. CBS Approach to Perspective-Taking • Perspectiverelations specify a relation in terms of the perspective of the speaker Consider the three relations of: I versus YOU HERE versus THERE NOW versus THEN

19. CBS Approach to Perspective-Taking Each time a child is asked or answers questions such as: “What are you doing here?” “What was I doing then?” “What amI doing now?” “What were youdoing there?” the physical environment will likely be different… The only constant across such questions are the relational properties of: I versus You Here versus There Nowversus Then

20. CBS Approach to Perspective-Taking Two important variables: Relation Type • I / YOU • HERE / THERE • NOW / THEN • Complexity • Simple Relations • Reversed Relations • Double Reversed Relations McHugh, et al.,(2004)

21. A Simple Relation Task I have a white brick and you have a red brick Which brick do you have? Which brick do I have?

22. A Reversed Relation Task I am sitting here on the blue chair and you are sitting there on the black chair Here: There: If I was YOU and YOU were ME Where would I be sitting? Where would you be sitting?

23. A Double Reversed Relation Task Yesterday I was sitting there on the black chair, today I am sitting here on the blue chair There: Here: Now: Then: If HERE was THERE and THERE was HERE and NOW was THEN and THEN was NOW Where would I be sitting now? Where would I be sitting then?

25. 3-5 year olds perform worst If I was YOU where would I be sitting? I don’t know! McHugh, et al., 2004

26. Weil et al., (2010) • Figure 2. Within subject analysis for Aladdin. Multiple baseline across levels of Complexity includes data series for each deictic relational frame. The lower panel represents Theory of Mind probe percentages. It can be trained Simple Reversed Double Reversed

27. More relating on tasks about others? Example of Self Belief task If I put the pencils in the smarties box and you are not there I would think the smarties box contains SMARTIES (F) Example of Other’s Belief task If you put the pencils in the smarties box and I am not there You would think the smarties box contains PENCILS (T) McHugh, et al., (2007)

28. SIGNIFICANT* Self belief tasks involve less relating Response Times OTHER SELF Trial-Type * There were significant differences in response times between Self versus Other tasks (p <.05)*

29. Autism-related and schizophrenia spectrum disorders

30. ASD: Rehfeldt, et al., 2007 Children with high-functioning autism or asperger syndrome performed worse on the RFT PT protocol than their age-matched typically developing counterparts Children diagnosed with ASD do worse

31. Villatte, et al. (2009): Patients withSchizophrenia Controlled for IQ Reversed Simple Double Reversed Patients do worse on reversed and double reversed

32. 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 Proportion of participants scoring over 0.67 0,2 0 Self/True belief Self/False belief Other/True belief Other/False belief Controls Trial type Patients Villatte, et al. (2010): Patients withSchizophrenia Patients do worse on other and false belief

33. Villatte, et al. (2010) Non-clinicalpts high social anhedonia SA do worse on double reversed

34. 1 0,9 0,8 Mean rate of accuracy 0,7 0,6 0,5 Self Other Control Attribution type Experimental Belief attribution SA do worse on other belief

35. So how does this link to ACT?

36. Double Edged Sword Verbal self-knowledge is a two-edged sword It can be important and beneficial to human beings while it can also be a cause of pain and suffering

37. ‘I wish I…’ Comparison is a bitch Were as good at presenting as Robyn Were as young as I am in this photo! Were as smart as Dermot Had great hair like Russ

38. Even if you are a mega star… 1969 I am not good enough as I am. In order to be good enough I need to look a certain way

39. 1979

40. 1989

41. 2009

42. 3Selves in ACT • Self as content  Story • Self as process  Contacting the present • Self as context  Flexible Perspective Taking

43. SELF AS CONTENT I’m not good enough. I am too anxious SELF AS PROCESS I HERE NOW notice my thoughts and feelings and what I can see, hear, touch taste and smell SELF AS CONTEXT SELF COMPASSION I HERE NOW notice my pain and respond with kindness EMPATHY I HERE NOW notice that you are feeling sad TRANSCENDENT SELF I HERE NOW am the observer of my thoughts and feelings

44. Training Flexible Perspective Taking Vilardaga & Hayes, 2009

45. Informing intervention?

46. More on this…

47. Thank you!

48. I get anxious I like to read I watch TV I hear my friends calling I eat pizza I have sweaty hands I remember being in Italy I like facebook I smell perfume I go to the shop I I think the glee is great I am stubborn I close to my sister I am silly I am honest I believe in choice I hate beans I love RFT I travel regularly

49. McHugh, Barnes-Holmes, & Barnes-Holmes (2004) 3-5 year olds struggle

50. The conceptualized self trap • I slept all day. I am a lazy person. • Result: The only way to change your • future is to change your past. You’re Stuck!