Seleção de culturantes por dois tipos de metacontingências / Culturant's selection by two types of metacontingency

A programação de um tipo de metacontingência envolve reforçamento direto de respostas individuais envolvidas nas contingências comportamentais entrelaçadas (CCEs), já que os culturantes são selecionados por consequências culturais (CC). Outro tipo de programação de metacontingências envolve situações nas quais (CC) exercem um duplo papel, selecionando tanto respostas quanto culturantes. Este estudo verificou se a programação de diferentes tipos de metacontingências produziria diferentes padrões de respostas ou culturantes. Participaram duas tríades de universitários. Na condição A, vigoraram metacontingências com programação de reforçamento direto de respostas. Na condição B, vigoraram metacontingências na qual CC exerce a função de selecionar tanto respostas quanto culturantes. A Tríade 1 foi exposta ao delineamento ABAB. Já enquanto a Tríade 2, ao delineamento BABA. Na condição A, participantes emitiram respostas que eforam reforçadas diretamente e engajaram em culturantes que produziram consequências. Na condição B, houve queda na frequência de respostas e manutenção dos culturantes. Conclui-se que a programação de diferentes tipos de metacontingências produz diferentes efeitos sobre respostas individuais mas não sobre culturantes. Discutem-se ainda potenciais contribuições e limitações do procedimento adotado neste estudo.

The arrangement of a type of metacontingency involves direct reinforcement for individual responses that compound interlocking behavioral contingencies (IBCs) since culturants are selected by cultural consequences (CC). Another type of arrangement involves situations in which CC has a dual role, selecting both responses and culturants. Therefore, there isn't IC. This paper aimed to verify if the arrangement of different types of metacontingencies would produce different patterns of responses or culturants. Two triads of undergraduate students participated in this study. In condition A, metacontingencies that involved direct reinforcement to responses and CC for culturants prevailed. In condition B, the CC selected responses as well as culturants. Triad 1 was exposed to the ABAB design while triad 2 was exposed to the BABA design. In condition A, participants emitted responses and engaged in culturants that produced consequences. In condition B, the frequency of responses decreased and culturants were maintained. We conclude that the arrangement of different types of metacontingencies produces different effects upon individual responses but not upon culturants. We did not see exposition order effects throw conditions. Furthermore, we discuss potential contributions and limitations of the procedure used in this study.

Culturo-behavioral Hypercycles and the Metacontingency: Incorporating Self-Organizing Dynamics into an Expanded Model of Cultural Change.

Selection by consequences is a causal mode that operates across multiple levels of analysis including in biological organisms via natural selection, and at the levels of individual (via operant contingencies) and cultural behaviors (Skinner, 1953, Science, 213, 501-504, 1981, 1988, 1989; Glenn in The Behavior Analyst, 11(2), 161-179, 1988, The Behavior Analyst, 27(2), 133-151, 2004). The common dynamics of systems within which selection by consequences operates has led to attempts to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of adaptation. The metacontingency (Glenn in The Behavior Analyst, 11(2), 161-179, 1988, The Behavior Analyst, 27(2), 133-151, 2004) has been proposed as a process of cultural-level selection, but this proposal has been challenged in several critiques. First, several theorists have suggested that the metacontingency addresses within-groups processes of selection that have already been addressed by more parsimonious theories. Second, principles of self-organizing systems, should they apply within cultural settings, may significantly limit the efficacy of the metacontingency as a construct of cultural analysis. More recently, additional processes of selection, the selection of cultures and cultural selection (Couto & Sandaker in Behavior & Social Issues, 25, 54-60, 2016) have been suggested as between-groups processes of selection, operating at a level higher than operant selection, and fulfilling the role of cultural-level selection as proposed by Skinner. In the present article, these new processes will be considered in light of principles of self-organization and the conditions within which self-organization may occur. The culturant hypercycle, the operant hypercycle, and interactions between the two (culturo-behavioral hypercycles) are defined as self-organizing processes that help to explain how the selection of cultures and cultural selection may occur. Further, the theory of self-organizing systems is used to explain how self-organizing dynamics may emerge via metacontingencies, reintegrating the culturant and metacontingent selection into an expanded model explaining processes of cultural evolution.

What Studying Leadership Can Teach Us About the Science of Behavior.

Throughout history, individuals have changed the world in significant ways, forging new paths; demonstrating remarkable capacity to inspire others to follow; and repeatedly showing independence, resilience, consistency, and commitment to principle. However, significant cultural change is rarely accomplished single-handedly; instead, it results from the complex and dynamic interaction of groups of individuals. To illustrate how leaders participate in cultural phenomena, I describe how a few individuals helped to establish the Cold War. In this analysis, I distinguish two types of cultural phenomena: metacontingencies, involving lineages of interlocking behavioral contingencies, and cultural cusps, involving complicated, unique, and nonreplicable interrelations between individuals and circumstances. I conclude that by analyzing leaders' actions and their results, we can appreciate that cultural and behavioral phenomena are different, and although cultural phenomena are inherently complex and in many cases do not lend themselves to replication, not only should the science of behavior account for them, cultural phenomena should also constitute a major area of behavior analysis study and application.

Efeitos de dois procedimentos de suspensão da dependência entre contingências comportamentais entrelaçadas e eventos culturais / Effects of two procedures of dependency suspension between interlocked behavioral contingencies and cultural events

O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar o papel da dependência/contingência entre um efeito programado no ambiente (EC) e um padrão coordenado de espaçamento entre as respostas de três participantes (CCE), em um procedimento de culturante livre e delineamento experimental intrassujeito. Foram realizados 3 experimentos, dos quais participaram 24 estudantes universitários, divididos em 8 tríades. A tarefa consistiu no clique sobre uma imagem apresentada em uma tela de computador. Foram programados ECs para um dado espaçamento entre os cliques dos participantes. Nos Experimentos 1 e 2, adicionalmente, foram programadas consequências individuais para o clicar, e as manipulações na relação de dependência entre CCEs e ECs foram avaliadas a partir de uma linha de base operante. O Experimento 1 isolou os efeitos da dependência do EC dos efeitos de sua intermitência, frequência e distribuição, comparando condições de apresentação contingente do EC (em intervalos variados - VI) e condições de apresentação não contingente desse evento (em intervalos de tempo variado - VT). O Experimento 2, por sua vez, comparou os efeitos da apresentação de ECs em VT com os efeitos da suspensão da apresentação desse evento (extinção convencional EXT). O Experimento 3, finalmente, comparou os efeitos de EXT e VT, sem que houvesse outra contingência programada, adicionalmente à contingência CCE-EC (metacontingência). Os resultados dos três experimentos evidenciaram o estabelecimento e manutenção de CCEs em função dos esquemas de apresentação do EC. Comparações entre esquemas contingentes e não contingentes demonstraram a importância da dependência/contingência do EC para o estabelecimento e manutenção sistemática de CCEs. Comparações entre EXT e VT evidenciaram que a apresentação não contingente de ECs gera efeitos assistemáticos na manutenção de CCEs. Enquanto as condições de EXT geraram rápida extinção das CCEs, as condições de VT geraram efeitos diversos: ora extinção... (AU)

This study aimed to investigate the role of dependency/contingency between a programmed environmental effect (CE) and a coordinated pattern of spacing between responses of three participants (IBC), in a free culturant procedure and a single-subject experimental design. Were performed three experiments, participated 24 undergraduate students divided into 8 tryads. The task consisted in clicking on an image presented on a computer screen. Were programmed CEs contingent to a specific spacing pattern between participants clicks. Also, in experiments 1 and 2 were programmed individual consequences to clicking, so the manipulations in the dependency relation between CEs and IBCs were analyzed upon an operant baseline. Experiment 1 isolated the effects of CE dependency from its intermittency, frequency, and distribution effects, comparing conditions of contingent CEs presentations (in variable intervals VI) and noncontingent CEs presentations (in variable time VT). Experiment 2, in turn, compared the effects of CEs presentations in VT, and CEs suspension effects (conventional extinction EXT). Experiment 3, finally, compared effects of EXT and VT, with no other programmed contingency besides the CCE-EC contingency. The results of the three experiments showed establishment and maintenance of IBCs as a function of CEs schedules. Comparison between contingent and noncontingent schedules of CEs presentations demonstrated the importance of dependency/contingency of CE for establishment and systematic maintenance of IBCs. Comparison between EXT and VT demonstrated that noncontingent presentation of CEs generates unsystematic effects in IBCs maintenance. While EXT conditions generated rapid extinction effects, VT conditions generated diverse effects: sometimes extinction, sometimes maintenance of IBCs for long periods. Similarities were observed between the processes of selection, maintenance, and extinction of operants and culturants. As a whole, these results... (AU)

Analyzing Behavioral and Cultural Selection Contingencies / Analizando las contingencias de selección conductual y cultural

Se utilizó un paradigma de elección para evaluar la distribución del comportamiento entrelazado de dos grupos de dos participantes entre respuestas que tenían solo consecuencias operantes y respuestas con consecuencias culturales. En un diseño BABABAB de ensayo discreto, cada participante podría seleccionar una de tres opciones, que entregaba 3 o 5 puntos. En las condiciones B (consecuencia cultural), dos de las opciones tenían efectos adicionales: la opción de tres puntos también sumaba 3 puntos a las ganancias del otro participante, y una de las opciones de 5 puntos quitaba esa cantidad de las ganancias del otro participante. La tercera opción era igual en ambas condiciones y le entregaba 5 puntos al participante que la elegía. Los resultados indicaron que los participantes en ambos grupos inicialmente produjeron combinaciones de respuestas que ganaban 8 puntos para un individuo u otro frecuentemente (y 0 o 3 para el otro), pero la distribución de respuesta cambió hacia combinaciones de 6 puntos para cada individuo. Este paso de refuerzo máximo individual hacia máximo refuerzo grupal indica que las contingencias culturales no actuaron de acuerdo con las contingencias operantes, lo que sugiere la presencia de diferentes mecanismos de selección.

A choice paradigm was used to evaluate allocation of interlocking behavior of two groups of two participants between responses having operant consequences only, and responses having cultural consequences. In a discrete trial BABABAB design, each participant could select one of three options, which delivered either 3 or 5 points. In B (cultural consequence) condition, two of the options had additional effects: the 3-point option also added 3 points to the other participant's earnings, and one of the 5-point options also subtracted 5 points from the other participant's earnings. The third option was unchanged in both conditions and delivered 5 points to the participant who selected it. Results indicated that participants in both groups initially frequently produced response combinations that earned 8 points for one or the other individual (and 0 or 3 points for the other), but allocation of responding increasingly changed to combinations that produced 6 points for each individual. This shift in performances away from maximum individual reinforcement towards maximum group reinforcement indicates cultural contingencies did not act in concert with operant contingencies, suggesting they are different mechanisms of selection.