Evidence-Based Research

The Interference Window is grounded in well established psychological research that examines how stress, performance, and wellbeing are shaped not by situations themselves, but by how people relate to their thoughts, identity, and internal resistance.

The model draws primarily on decades of empirical research from Steven C. Hayes, Dr Russ Harris and colleagues in the field of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is an evidence based approach that focuses on reducing the impact of unhelpful internal interference and increasing psychological flexibility.

Since the first ACT study was published in 1986, more than 325 randomised controlled trials have been conducted across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Across these studies, ACT has consistently demonstrated positive outcomes, with no known counter indications or iatrogenic effects reported to date.

While ACT originated in clinical and therapeutic contexts, a substantial body of research shows that its core principles translate effectively beyond therapy, including into work, leadership, performance, and everyday decision making. The Interference Window reflects these same underlying mechanisms, expressed as a simple, non clinical way of seeing how clarity returns when internal interference drops.

Research Foundations

ACT aims to reduce suffering and increase wellbeing through six core processes of change, including acceptance, cognitive defusion, present moment awareness, values based action, and reduced identification with self stories (Hayes, Strosahl & Wilson, 2012).

Key findings from the ACT literature relevant to the Interference Window include:

  • Reduced self focused attention and increased self efficacy

  • Decreased anxiety, stress, and experiential avoidance

  • Improved psychological flexibility under pressure

  • Sustained benefits across anxiety, depression, burnout, and performance contexts

Meta analyses spanning more than 12,000 participants confirm ACT’s efficacy across a wide range of conditions and comparison treatments, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

Related Fields and Converging Evidence

The Interference Window also reflects converging insights from adjacent research domains concerned with attention, identity, performance, and engagement.

This includes work by:

  • Daniel Kahneman on cognitive load, judgement, and effort

  • Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow states and reduced internal interference during optimal performance

  • Daniel Goleman on emotional self regulation and leadership effectiveness

  • Jill Bolte Taylor on identity, attention, and hemispheric processing

Across these fields, a consistent pattern appears. Clarity, engagement, and effective action emerge when internal interference is reduced, not when people try harder to control or fix their thoughts.

Evidence in Work and Leadership Contexts

ACT based research in organisational and workplace settings demonstrates measurable benefits aligned with the Interference Window, including:

  • Reduced job stress and burnout

  • Improved engagement and role clarity

  • Increased psychological flexibility under pressure

  • Better emotional regulation and feedback conversations

  • Improved safety culture and leadership effectiveness

These outcomes have been observed across managers, clinicians, educators, corporate leaders, and frontline staff in both individual and group based interventions.

Positioning of the Interference Window

The Interference Window does not present itself as a therapy, treatment, or intervention. It is a reference model that makes visible the same mechanisms identified in this research without requiring clinical language, techniques, or programmes.

It exists to help people notice when identity has gained too much authority, when resistance is increasing interference, and how clarity often returns naturally as that interference eases.

The intention is not to replace existing evidence based approaches, but to provide a simple and portable way of understanding why they work and how those insights apply in everyday, high stakes situations where stepping away is not an option.