Language is one of the most important abilities for human beings. It is part of our way of communicating and even of our thought processes (after all, when we reason we usually do it through sub-vocal speech). This ability has been studied from very different points of view and theoretical currents. How do we acquire it? How is it possible for us to establish relationships between the symbol and reality, or between constructs or concepts?

Some of the currents that have been asked these questions are behaviorism and its derivatives, and in this sense different theories have been developed that can explain it. One of them is Hayes’ theory of relational frameworks .

A theory based on behaviorism

Steven C. Hayes’ theory of relational frameworks is an attempt to offer an explanation of why we are able to make the different associations between language and reality, affecting both communicative and cognitive processes. It is therefore a theory that explores and attempts to explain language, cognition and the relationship between the two.

We start from a conception derived from operant conditioning and behavioural analysis , with the challenge of trying to explain the complexity of language and thought as a result of the association between our behaviours and their consequences. Unlike classical behaviorism and the first versions of the operant, this theory starts from the idea that every word, acquisition of meaning, thought or cognitive process is considered an act or behavior acquired through learning throughout our lives.

This is Hayes’ theory of relational frameworks

According to Hayes’ theory of relational frameworks , our cognitive and linguistic capacity is based on the existence of relational behaviours , i.e. mental acts in which we relate different information or stimuli. Relational behaviour is that which allows us to generate networks of mental contents, known as relational frameworks.

Generation of the relational frames

The beginning of these networks is found in the conditioning. We learn to associate a word or a set of sounds to an element, such as the word ball to a ball. This fact is simple and allows us to establish a relationship between both stimuli. In this relationship an equivalence is established between both stimuli. The word is equivalent to the meaning, and the meaning is equivalent to the word.

This property is known as mutual bonding. In addition, these same stimuli can be paired with others and from this relationship extract the possible relationship between the previously associated stimuli, also known as combinatorial bonding. In turn, the capture of these relationships can cause changes and variations in the use and meaning of the stimulus in question, provoking a transformation of its functions as more and more examples of different relationships between stimuli are acquired.

During our development we are learning little by little to respond to the different equivalences observed throughout our growth, and with time the human being is capable of establishing a network of relationships or relational framework, the basis that allows us to learn, strengthen and make our language and cognition more and more elaborate .

For example, we learn that a particular word has a consequence at a given moment and over time we observe that elsewhere it has others, so we associate associations and generate new interpretations and functions of language and thought.

Where do relational frameworks come from?

The relational framework would therefore be a network of relationships established and reinforced on the basis of contextual keys. These relationships are arbitrary, not always depending on the stimulus itself and its characteristics but on the relationships we have made between this stimulus and other stimuli.

The relational framework does not appear out of thin air but is generated by processing information from the environment and social context. We learn the different keys that allow us to establish these relationships in such a way that we capture whether we are facing similar, different or comparable stimuli.

For example can be based on the use of hierarchies, spatial-temporal links , the work, family or social environment or the observation of the effects of one’s own or other people’s behaviour. But not only the environment participates, but there is also influence from aspects such as our will or the intention we have to do, say or think something.

So we can talk about relational context as the set of keys that indicate the meaning and type of relationship between stimuli. We also have a functional context, which starts from the psyche itself and which causes us to select from our mind the meaning we want to give it, independently of the environment itself.

Properties of relational frames

Although we have talked about the set of properties that allow establishing a relational framework, these frameworks also have their own interesting properties to take into account.

As a result of conditioning and learning processes , it should be noted that relational frameworks are constructions that are acquired throughout development and that also develop over time as new relationships and associations are added.

In this regard, it is also worth noting that are very flexible and modifiable networks . After all, the transformation of stimulus functions acts continuously and can introduce changes.

Finally, the relational framework can be controlled both before and after its emergence, depending on whether the subject is exposed to different stimuli whose consequences are manipulated or established. This last aspect is a great advantage when carrying out different types of treatment, as for example in psychological therapy in cases of subjects with mental disorders.

Operating rules are generated

The establishment of the relational frameworks allows the human being to add and link the different meanings and signifiers that appear in his life. The different relational frameworks are also linked together in such a way that an understanding of the stimulation is established, so that our thinking and language become increasingly complex .

From this language and the relationships established between stimuli, we generate invariants and norms of behavior from which we can regulate our behavior and adapt to the environment in the best possible way. And not only our behaviour, but we also generate our identity, personality and way of seeing ourselves and the world.

Link with psychopathology

However, it must be taken into account that the links between words and stimuli can give rise to harmful relational frameworks for the subject himself or generate excessively lax or rigid rules of behaviour that can degenerate into the suffering of different psychic disorders , this being the explanation that the theory gives to the various disorders and the origin of therapies of notable success at present such as acceptance and commitment.

This is because during the emergence, it is possible that through the functional context, a network of associations is generated that cause the patient to suffer, such as the consideration that one’s own behavior does not have an effect on the environment, that the environment is an inhospitable and harmful place or that the subject himself has a bad consideration towards himself.

Negative categorizations can also be generated that lead to aspects such as stereotypes or a lack of sense of belonging. It also generates the need to control the environment or the struggle to maintain the equivalences and norms generated by the language itself through the relational frameworks and the behaviour itself. All of this may generate that we evaluate the world or ourselves in a non-adaptive and dysfunctional way.

Bibliographic references:

  • Barnes-Holmes, D.; Rodríguez, M. and Whelan, R. (2005). The theory of relational frameworks and the experimental analysis of language and cognition. Latin American Journal of Psychology, 37 (2); 225-275.
  • Hayes, S. C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Roche, B. (Eds.). (2001). Relational Frame Theory: A Post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition. New York: Plenum Press.
  • Gómez-Martin, S.; López-Ríos, F.; Mesa-Manjón, H. (2007). Theory of relational frameworks: some implications for psychopathology and psychotherapy. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 7 (2); 491-507. Spanish Association of Behavioral Psychology. Granada, Spain.