Relational frame
The causal frame
Relating events as cause and effect, if and then.
What it looks like
Causal framing is asymmetric and directional. If rain causes the ground to be wet, wet ground does not cause rain, and learners have to respond to that direction rather than treating the pair as coordinated.
Because rules are causal statements, this frame is the bridge between verbal instruction and behaviour change. A learner who frames causally can be affected by a rule they have never had contingencies for.
Worked example
A learner is taught that pressing the switch causes the light to come on.
They derive that the light being on does not cause the switch to be pressed, and that not pressing the switch means no light. The second derivation is the one worth probing, because it requires responding to the absence of the cause.
How to build a lesson for this frame
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Use observable contingencies first
Begin with cause-effect pairs the learner can produce and observe directly, so the relation has a referent.
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Probe directionality
Test the reverse explicitly and reinforce correct rejection. Direction is what separates causal framing from coordination.
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Move to stated rules
Present the relation verbally without demonstration and test whether behaviour follows the rule.
Common pitfalls
Presenting cause and effect as a co-occurring pair, without ever probing the reverse, produces a learner who has learned an association rather than a directional relation. The reverse probe is the diagnostic trial.
Build a causal lesson
Draft the trial structure in RFT App, then edit it into the program you actually want.
See how it worksOther relational frames
Common questions
- What is a causal frame?
- A relational frame relating events as cause and effect, using relations such as if-then, because, and so.
- Why does causal framing matter in ABA?
- Rules are causal statements. A learner who frames causally can be affected by stated rules without having contacted the contingencies directly.