Functional Behavioural Science Laboratory

This lab鈥檚 research is primarily based around six core strands:

Experimental psychopathology: Using Relational Frame Theory and derived stimulus relation we explore how language and cognition function in the development of psychopathology and the underlying processes by which talk therapies and mindfulness-based therapies work.
Utilising relational frame theory to enhance educational attainment, including the SMART intervention programme. This work has been published in the Journal of Behavioural Education with further manuscripts under preparation.
Cognitive psychology research on attention, problem-solving, and decision making. Our cognitive work on attention, attentional bias, and decision making has been published in Consciousness and Cognition, the British Journal of Psychology, and Learning and Behaviour.
The development and application of a behavioural test of implicit cognition and attitudes, the Function Acquisition Speed Test. This work has been published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour and The Psychological Record.
Ostracism/Social exclusion and the application of the psychological flexibility model. This work has been published in the Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science.
Psychometric tests of the psychological flexibility model.

To find out more about this lab please contact Dr. Ian Tyndall at i.tyndall@chi.ac.uk.

Current Projects and Available Participation Opportunities

Analysis of processes underlying the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model of psychological flexibility.
Application of the SMART online intervention programme in primary and secondary schools to enhance educational outcomes.
Attentional Bias and approach-avoidance conflicts in threat and anxiety.
Further development and application of the Function Acquisition Speed Test (FAST) as a new measure of learning history and stimulus relations.
Future projects will include applications of virtual reality software, transcranial direct stimulation (tDCS), and functional near infra-red spectroscopy

Recent Past Projects

Analysis of perceptual load and attentional capacities in Autism Spectrum Conditions and neurotypical samples
Examination of dynamic methods to examine cognition and decision making in the moment (i.e., mouse-tracking analyses)
Analyses of the roles of stimulus function and stimulus familiarity in stimulus equivalence class formation and derived relational responding
Psychological flexibility as a coping mechanism in ostracism

Our Members (including Faculty Staff, PhD Students and Research Volunteers)

Faculty Staff

External Laboratory Partners and Collaborators

Dr. Daniel Waldeck, Coventry University, UK
Dr. Bryan Roche, Maynooth University, Ireland
Dr. Paolo Riva, University of Milano-Biccoca, Italy
Dr. Luca Pancani, University of Milano-Biccoca, Italy
Jamie Cummins, Ghent University, Belgium.
Dr. Denis O鈥橦ora, NUI Galway, Ireland
Professor Robert Whelan, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Dr. David Dawson, University of Lincoln, UK
Dylan Colbert, Maynooth University, Ireland
Dr. Eric Wesselmann, Illinois State University, USA

Our Publications

Recent Publications

Tyndall, I., Vagos, P., del Cano, S., Pinto, H., & Trindade, I. A. (2023). Assessing psychological flexibility in chronic illness.聽The Psychological Record.
Waldeck, D., Smyth, C., Riva, P., Adie, J., Holliman, A. J., & Tyndall, I. (2023). Who is more likely to feel ostracised? A latent class analysis of personality traits.聽Personality and Individual Differences.
Tyndall, I., Woodward, A., & Sexton, T. (2023). Self, consciousness, and non-duality: A case study of post-traumatic growth through lenses of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Transpersonal Psychology.聽The Psychologist.
Marinucci, M., Riva, P., Lezi, M., Lasagna, C., Waldeck, D., Tyndall, I., & Volpato, C. (2023). On the lowest rung of the ladder: How social exclusion, perceived economic inequality, and stigma increase homeless people鈥檚 resignation.聽British Journal of Social Psychology.
Pancani, I., Waldeck., D., Tyndall, I., & Riva, P. (2023). An Ecological Momentary Assessment study to investigate individuals鈥� reactions to perceived social exclusion.聽Personality and Individual Differences.
Waldeck, D., Pancani, L., Morris, E. M., Adie, J., Holliman, A., & Tyndall, I. (2023). Perceived ostracism and paranoia: A test of potential moderating effects of psychological flexibility and psychological inflexibility.聽Current Psychology.
Tyndall, I., Hartland, T., Banerjee, M., Giacomelli, V., Ball, I., 聽Churchill, S., Pereira, A., & Lowry, R. (2022). Tailoring sexual health interventions for middle aged and older adults, including vulnerable populations: A scoping review.聽International Journal of Sexual Health.
Assaz, D., Tyndall, I., Oshiro, C., & Roche, B. (2022). A process-based analysis of cognitive defusion in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.聽Behaviour Therapy.
Trindade, I. A., Vagos, P., Moreira, H., Fernandes, D. V., & Tyndall, I. (2022). Further validation of the 18-item CompACT scale using a multi-sample design. Confirmatory factor analysis and correlates of psychological flexibility.聽Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science.
McLoughlin, S., Tyndall, I., & Pereira, A. (2022). Relational operant skills training increases standardised matrices in adolescents: A stratified active-controlled trial.聽Journal of Behavioural Education,听31, 298-325.
Tyndall, I. (2022). Relational Frame Theory as a promising framework for developing positive interventions in applied settings.聽Assessment and Development Matters.
May, R. J., Tyndall, I, McTiernan, A., Rodriguez, G., & McLoughlin, S. (2022).聽The Impact of the SMART Program on cognitive and academic skills: A systematic review and meta-analysis.聽British Journal of Educational Technology.
Rehfeldt, R. A., & Tyndall, I. (2022). Why we are not acting to save ourselves: ACT, health, and culture.聽Behaviour Analysis in Practice,听15(1), 55-70.
Rehfeldt, R. A., Tyndall, I., & Belisle, J. (2022). Music as a cultural inheritance system: A contextual-behavioural model of the symbolism, meaning, and value of music.聽Behaviour and Social Issues,听30, 749-773.
Lee, J., Waldeck, D., Holliman, A., Banerjee, M., & Tyndall, I. (2022). Feeling socially anxious at university: An interpretative phenomenological analysis.聽The Qualitative Report.
Newell, C., Sandoz, E. K., & Tyndall, I. (2022). A pilot study of the impact of brief exposure to images of breastfeeding mothers on attitudes towards mother鈥檚 breastfeeding in public.聽Health Communication,听37(2), 185-190.
Sandoz, E., Bordieri, M., Boullion, G., & Tyndall, I. (2021).聽An Examination of transformation of evaluative and consequential functions through derived relations with participant-generated values-relevant stimuli.聽Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science,听21, 144-157.
Buckley, C, Farrell, L., & Tyndall, I. (2021). Brief stories of successful female role models in science help counter gender stereotypes regarding intellectual ability among young girls: A pilot study.聽Early Education and Development,听33(4), 555-566.
Waldeck, D., Pancani, L., Holliman, A., Karekla, M., & Tyndall, I. (2021). Adaptability and psychological flexibility: Overlapping constructs?聽Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science, 19,听72-78.
Brandrick, C., Hooper, N., Roche, B., Kanter, J., & Tyndall, I. (2021).聽A comparison of ultra-brief cognitive defusion and positive affirmation interventions on the reduction of public speaking anxiety.聽The Psychological Record,听71(1), 109-117.
Sandoz, E. K., Bordieri, M., Tyndall, I., & Auzenne, J. (2021). A preliminary examination of derived relational responding in the context of body image.聽The Psychological Record,听71, 291-306.
McLoughlin, S., Tyndall, I., & Pereira, A. (2020). Convergence of multiple fields on a relational reasoning approach to cognition.聽Intelligence, 83.
McLoughlin, S., Tyndall, I., Pereira, A., & Mulhern, T. (2020). Non-verbal IQ gains from relational operant training explain variance in educational attainment: An active-controlled feasibility study. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement,听5, 35-50.
Waldeck, D., Bissett, G., & Tyndall, I. (2020). Experiential avoidance as a moderator for coping with a brief episode of ostracism: A pilot study.聽Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science,听17, 68-72.
Waldeck, D., Banerjee, M., Jenks, R., & Tyndall, I. (2020). Cognitive arousal mediates the relationship between perceived ostracism and sleep quality but it is not mediated by experiential avoidance.聽Stress & Health,听36(4), 487-495.
Tyndall, I., Waldeck, D., Pancani, L., Whelan, R., Roche, B., & Pereira, A. (2020). Profiles of psychological flexibility: A latent class analysis of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model.聽Behaviour Modification,听44, 365-393
Waldeck, D., Pancani, L., & Tyndall, I. (2019). An examination of the construct validity of the Generalized Pliance Questionnaire. Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science. doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2018.12.003
Tyndall, I., Waldeck, D., Pancani, L., Whelan, R., Roche, B., & Pereira, A. (2019). Profiles of psychological flexibility: A latent class analysis of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model. Behaviour Modification.
Tyndall, I., Waldeck, D., Pananci, L., Whelan, R., Roche, B., & Dawson, D. L. (2018). The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II): Concerns over discriminant validity. Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science.
McLoughlin, S., Tyndall, I., & Pereira, A. (2018). Piloting a brief relational operant training program: Analyses of response latencies and intelligence test performance. European Journal of Behaviour Analysis. doi: 10.1080/15021149.2018.1507087.
Cummins, J., Tyndall, I., Curtis, A., & Roche, B. (2018). The Function Acquisition Speed Test (FAST) as a measure of verbal stimulus relations in the context of condom use. The Psychological Record. doi: 10.1007/s40732-018-0321-0
Tyndall, I., Ragless, L., & O鈥橦ora, D. (2018). Effects of perceptual load and socially meaningful stimuli on crossmodal selective attention in Autism Spectrum Disorder and neurotypical samples. Consciousness and Cognition, 60, 25-36.
Tyndall, I., Waldeck, D., Riva, P., Wesselmann, E., & Pancani, L. (2018). Psychological flexibility and ostracism: Experiential avoidance rather than cognitive fusion moderates distress from perceived ostracism over time. Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science, 7, 72-80.
Colbert, D., Tyndall, I., Roche, B., & Cassidy, S. (2018). Can SMART training really increase intelligence? A replication study. Journal of Behavioural Education. Doi: 10.1007/s10864-018-9302-2
Cummins, J., Roche, B., Tyndall, I., & Cartwright, A. (2018). The relationship between differential stimulus relatedness and implicit test effect sizes. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour. Doi:10.1002/jeab.437
Gladwin, T. E., Mobius, M., McLoughlin, S., & Tyndall, I. (2018). Anticipatory versus reactive spatial attention to threat. British Journal of Psychology. Doi:10.1111/bjop.12309
Waldeck, D., Tyndall, I., Riva, P., & Chniel, N. (2017). How do we cope with ostracism? Psychological flexibility moderates the relationship between everyday ostracism experiences and psychological distress. Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science, 6, 425-432.
Tyndall, I., Papworth, R., Roche, B., & Bennett, M. (2017). Differential effects of word-repetition rate on cognitive defusion of believability and discomfort of negative self-referential thoughts postintervention and at one-month follow-up. The Psychological Record, 67, 377-386.
Tyndall, I., Howe, B., & Roche, B. T. (2016). Exposure to progressive muscle relaxation leads to enhanced performance on derived relational responding tasks. The Psychological Record, 66, 213-222. doi 10.1007/s40732-016-0163-6
Waldeck, D., Tyndall, I., & Chmiel, N. (2015). Resilience to ostracism: A qualitative inquiry. The Qualitative Report, 20, 1646-1670.
O鈥橦ora, D., Tyndall., I. T., McMorrow, M., Dale, R. A. C. (2013). Using action dynamics to assess competing stimulus control during stimulus equivalence testing. Learning and Behaviour, 41, 256-270. doi 10.3758/s13420-013-0102-1.
Roche, B., O鈥橰eilly, A., Ruiz, M., Tyndall, I., & Gavin, A. (2012). The Function acquisition speed test (FAST): A behavior-analytic implicit test for assessing stimulus relations. The Psychological Record, 62, 507-528.
Tyndall, I. T., Roche, B., & James, J. E. (2009). The interfering effect of emotional stimulus functions on stimulus equivalence class formation: Implications for the understanding and treatment of anxiety. European Journal of Behaviour Analysis, 10, 121-140.
Tyndall, I. T., Roche, B., & James, J. E. (2004). The relationship between stimulus functions and equivalence class formation. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour, 81, 257-266.

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Functional Behavioural Science Laboratory

Current Projects and Available Participation Opportunities

Recent Past Projects

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Our Publications

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