Six core ideas from Contextual Behavioural Science that I use every day to help me understand and improve groups

A post in our "Introduction to CBS" Series

Have you ever had one of those moments where you suddenly see the invisible currents shaping your life? I had one recently, sitting on a rock waiting for an overdue phone call in an area with poor reception. Stranded with nothing to do, I began noticing the stream of thoughts and feelings flowing through me: the irritation at being kept waiting, the impulse to find shade, the urge to check my phone despite knowing it was pointless.

In that moment of stillness, I saw clearly: each thought, each emotional response, each impulse wasn't random or simply "who I am." They were eddies in the stream of my life history – patterns shaped by years of consequences, reinforcements, and learning. My annoyance at lateness had been shaped by professional contexts where punctuality was prized. My desire to keep checking my phone had been reinforced through years of dopamine hits from digital connection.

This is the fundamental insight that drives Contextual Behavioural Science: We are not simply "types of people" acting out predetermined scripts. We are dynamic responders to context, our behaviour constantly shaped by the situations that surround us and the consequences that have flowed through our lives.

Traditional psychology asks: "What kind of person would do that?" Contextual Behavioural Science asks: "What kind of situation would lead someone to do that?" This simple shift in perspective changes everything about how we approach relationships, teams, and communities.

If you're new to Contextual Behavioural Science (CBS), you're in exactly the right place. This guide will introduce you to six fundamental ideas that will help you see relationships, teams, organizations, and communities in an entirely new light.

1️⃣ Context Shapes Everything (The ABC Model)

At the heart of CBS is the idea of influence from immediate and past consequences, summarised in the ABC model (Antecedent-Behaviour-Consequence), which illustrates how behaviour occurs within and is shaped by context. Rather than attributing actions solely to internal traits, CBS examines:

• The Antecedents (what happens before behaviour)

• The Behaviour itself

• The Consequences that follow

This framework helps us understand how environmental conditions and learning history trigger and maintain certain behaviours, as I explored in my recent article “How Groups Shape Behaviour”.

When a team is struggling, CBS doesn't focus primarily on personality types or leadership styles. Instead, it examines the conditions that make cooperation difficult—the incentive structures, communication patterns, and power dynamics that shape how people behave regardless of their individual dispositions.

🔎 Look for this: Whenever we discuss changing conditions for collaboration instead of changing people, we're applying this contextual lens.

2️⃣ Behaviour is Both Public and Private

In CBS, "behaviour" extends beyond what's visible to others. It includes both:

• Public behaviour — observable actions like speaking, writing, or gesturing

• Private behaviour — thinking, feeling, remembering, imagining, or taking the perspective of others

This comprehensive view acknowledges that our inner experiences are also behaviours shaped by contexts. When working with groups, CBS recognizes that both public interactions and private responses matter.

The emphasis is not on categorizing people by traits but understanding their dynamic interaction with environments. Research by Jones and Woods (2024) even suggests that coaching interventions can help people shift behaviours in ways that ultimately change their personality traits—highlighting how fluid these supposedly stable characteristics can be.

🔎 Consider for a moment: What in your learning history has shaped the behaviour of being interested in this article?

3️⃣ Beyond Rigid Rules: Developing Context-Sensitive Responding

CBS emphasizes psychological flexibility—the ability to stay present, open, and values-aligned even under stress. This flexibility stands in direct contrast to rule-governed behaviour, where our actions become controlled by more or less tacit verbal rules ("I must always be professional," "Leaders should never show weakness") rather than by what's actually happening in our environment.

When we're governed by rigid verbal rules, we stop noticing nuance. We miss important changes in our context and respond with old patterns that may no longer serve us. We might keep enforcing a policy that's clearly not working because "that's how we've always done it," or maintain an outdated hierarchy because "proper organizations have clear chains of command."

Psychologically flexible groups can hold multiple perspectives, adapt to new information, and maintain purpose while adjusting their approach. They recognize when verbal rules ("we're a consensus-driven team") have become barriers rather than helpful guides. They develop the capacity to notice when contexts have shifted and old responses no longer fit.

This doesn't mean abandoning all structure—it means creating responsive structures that enable adaptation rather than enforce rigid compliance with outdated verbal formulations.

🔎 Look for this: When we talk about "noticing when tacit rules have outlived their usefulness" or "responding to what's actually happening instead of what should be happening," we're applying this principle.

4️⃣ Values Give Direction and Motivation

In CBS, values aren't abstract ideals on a wall plaque—they're qualities of action that guide behaviour even when the path forward is unclear. They answer the question: "How do we want to be together while we pursue our mission?"

Groups need both clear outcomes and process values—self-generated guidance not just on what to achieve but how to behave while achieving it. This values perspective helps groups maintain coherence and purpose even when specific goals need to shift or when the environment becomes unpredictable.

🔎 Look for this: When we discuss "shared purpose" and "values-aligned action," we're applying this principle.

5️⃣ Language Shapes Reality

CBS includes Relational Frame Theory (RFT), which reveals how humans create meaning through language. Learning this aspect of CBS was like penetrating the Matrix for me—suddenly I could see how our identities, stories, and group narratives don't simply describe reality but actively create it.

The way we talk about "us vs. them," "leaders vs. followers," or "success vs. failure" doesn't just reflect existing categories—it creates them. Groups that can notice and question these verbal constructions—instead of just living inside them—can build more inclusive, adaptive ways of working together.

🔎 Look for this: When we discuss "transforming narratives," "challenging rigid frameworks," or "perspective-taking," we're applying this principle.

6️⃣ Trust and Cooperation Can Be Designed

CBS isn't just a theory of individuals—it's the science behind ProSocial, a practical framework for designing conditions where trust, fairness, and cooperation naturally emerge.

Rather than hoping for cooperation or attributing its absence to human nature, CBS offers evidence-based design principles drawn from Nobel Prize-winning research on successful communities worldwide. These principles provide a blueprint for creating contexts where prosocial behaviour becomes the path of least resistance.

🔎 Look for this: When we talk about "designing group processes that work"—from decision-making to conflict resolution—we're applying these principles.

Going Deeper with CBS

There are three levels of scientific thinking that feed into Being Prosocial:

1. Contextual Behavioural Science (CBS) is the foundational philosophy of science that extends classical behavioural thinking to include language.

2. Relational Frame Theory (RFT) is a non-dualistic (i.e. no mind-body split) theory of language and cognition that shows how humans derive meaning through relationships between ideas.

3. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training (ACT) and ProSocial are the applied technologies for individual and collective behaviour change respectively. ACT is supported by thousands of studies across therapeutic and organizational contexts. ProSocial has an emerging evidence base.

If you want to explore these ideas further, here are some accessible starting points:

• Behavioural Thinking: Törneke and Ramnerö's book The ABCs of Human Behavior offers an excellent foundation. The lack of similar resources for facilitators, leaders, and policymakers is one reason I started this newsletter.

• Relational Frame Theory: Niklas Törneke's "Learning RFT" is comprehensive though clinically focused. Joanne Dahl's ACT and RFT in Relationships contains beautiful explanations relevant to our work here. I'm also working on an RFT primer specifically for facilitators and leaders.

• ACT: Steven Hayes's A Liberated Mind remains one of the best introductions.

• ProSocial: Our book ProSocial: Using Evolutionary Science to Build Productive, Equitable, and Collaborative Groups applies these principles to group contexts.

Being Prosocial is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

I'll continue sharing beginner-friendly resources—but don't worry about mastering everything at once. The ideas will become clearer as you see them applied to real-world group challenges.

Welcome to Being Prosocial—I'm glad you're here.

— Paul

Reference:

Jones, R. J., & Woods, S. A. (2024). One-to-one coaching and coachee personality trait change. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 39(6), 664–679. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-01-2023-0044

I'm curious: CBS offers a fundamentally different lens for understanding human behavior compared to traditional approaches. Which idea in this article resonated most strongly with you? Or perhaps, which concept feels challenging or raises questions you'd like to explore further? Your insights and questions help shape this ongoing conversation—I'd love to hear your thoughts.