Student Spotlight Award Recipient - Alison Stapleton

Congratulations to Alison Stapleton on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for October 2020!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.

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Learn more about Alison:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:

Throughout my academic career, I have been involved in CBS research projects. My undergraduate thesis (in press in JCBS) examined the relationships between health values directed behavior and engagement in health-related behaviors. My first PhD study, examining adaptive correlates of adolescents’ generalized pliance, was also recently published in JCBS. I am currently extending this line of research, doing much-needed work to consolidate theoretical perspectives on rule-governed behavior, and using text-based conversational agents (chatbots) to promote flexible rule-following. Beyond my PhD research, I am the lead on a systematic review examining the use of metaphor in ACT and on a project evaluating brief ACT interventions for academic procrastination (funded by the Higher Education Authority). I recently contributed to a paper using the Functional Self-Discrimination Measure with members of the homeless population and I am coordinating a large cross-cultural study with CBS labs around the world. I am passionate about dissemination and making CBS accessible. In addition to publishing manuscripts and presenting CBS research at national and international conferences, I produce CBS videos and blog posts with an abundance of pop culture references to facilitate effective and engaging knowledge transfer. I am also currently contributing to outreach programs that aim to provide the public with CBS skills to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., the #FEELINGBetter initiative and Power of Small Workshops). I truly believe CBS can alleviate human suffering if we strive to collaborate, engage in effective knowledge transfer, and produce high-quality research, all practices I am committed to.

Autobiography:

I’m from Dublin, Ireland, and was the first in my family to attend university, graduating from University College Dublin with a BA in Psychology. I was introduced to CBS by my BA thesis supervisor, Professor Louise McHugh, who then took me on for my PhD. Now in the second year of my PhD, I realize how exceptionally lucky I’ve been. Being able to work and grow within the CBS community, while having an exemplary mentor who truly cares about my development, is an absolute privilege. CBS has completely changed my life, from the philosophical approach I adopt in my research, to the ACT techniques I use to manage everyday living. Through the CBS community, I have met amazing friends and collaborators who have been instrumental in supporting my research. Being able to conduct cross-cultural research within a range of contexts has been invaluable, allowing me to start making a serious contribution to the CBS literature. My main topic of interest is rule-following with regard to cultural context, gender, and socio-economic status. I am currently trying to enhance our understanding of rule-following in accordance with RFT and developing interventions to enhance adolescents’ flexible rule-following. When I am not stressing about my PhD, you can find me crying over the “purple book” and justifying my Netflix binging by saying it facilitates me living in line with my value of “Connection”. I still have a lot to learn, but I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to do so within our CBS community.

Future goals:

I want to continue increasing accessibility to CBS and engaging in collaborative projects alongside CBS labs around the world to stay in academia and make a meaningful contribution to the ACBS community.

Relevant publications:

Stapleton, A. (2020). Choosing not to follow rules that will reduce the spread of COVID-19. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 17, 73-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.07.002

Stapleton, A. & McHugh, L. (2020). Adolescent correlates of the Generalized Pliance Questionnaire – Children. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 131-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.12.006

Stapleton, A., O’Connor, M., Feerick, E., Kerr, J. & McHugh, L. (2020). Testing the relationship between health values consistent living and health-related behavior. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 17, 17-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.05.002

Stapleton, A., Ruiz, F. J., & McHugh, L. (2020). Comparative investigation of adolescents’ generalized pliance and psychological inflexibility across cultural contexts. The Psychological Record. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00412-3

Stapleton, A. & McHugh, L. (2020, February 5). Rule one: No rules! [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://science.abainternational.org/rule-one-no-rules/louise-mchughucd-ie/