Kishita, N., Ohtsuki, T., Sakai, M., & Muto, T. (2012). Behavioral assessment methodology for cognitive defusion: Testing the utility of Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (2010). Japanese Journal of Behavior Therapy, 38, 237-246.
The present research is aimed at testing the utility of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure 2010 (IRAP) as the behavioral assessment methodology for the cognitive defusion. To test the validity of the IRAP as a tool for clinical assessment, we focused on a commonly used cognitive defusion technique, word repeating, and examined how the rapid vocal repetition of a one-word affect the response latencies during the IRAP. Thirty-one participants were randomly assigned to either cognitive defusion group (n=15) or control group (n=16). Participants were required to complete the Anxiety IRAP before and after the intervention. The result revealed that the response latencies for consistent and inconsistent trials in the cognitive defusion group were shorter compare to those in the control group. Specifically, the response latencies for inconsistent trials in the cognitive defusion group showed significant decrease following the intervention. The finding will be discussed in terms of the potential therapeutic application of the IRAP.