Aecio Borba

University of North Texas, Behavior Analysis, Faculty Member

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ESTABLISHING THE MACROBEHAVIOR OF ETHICAL SELF-CONTROL IN AN ARRANGEMENT OF MACROCONTINGENCIES IN TWO MICROCULTURES

A particular type of self-control is exercised when the conflict between immediate and delayed co... more A particular type of self-control is exercised when the conflict between immediate and delayed consequences is associated with consequences that are more favorable either for the individual or for the group. In such cases, responding under the control of delayed consequences that are favorable for the group is characteristic of ethical self-control. This study investigated the selection, maintenance and transmission of ethical self-control in an arrangement depicting a macrocontingency. Participants in two microcultures were exposed to an ABAB design in which individuals repeatedly chose a row in a colored 10 x 10 matrix. In all conditions, choosing odd-numbered rows produced three tokens that could be exchanged for money, and choosing even-numbered rows produced only one token. In B conditions, even row responses had a second effect, which was to add one item to a cumulative effect comprising school items to be donated later to a public school. Thus, in B conditions, choosing an even row exemplified ethical self control. Microcultures comprised 16-18 generations of three participants as one participant was replaced after every 20th cycle. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of cumulative effect in the implementation and maintenance of ethical self-control responses, but only after a long exposure to the macrocontingency. The change in participants across generations may have also contributed to a longer exposure to the contingencies being required for the selection of ethical self-control responses.

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Instrumentalidade e Coerência do Conceito de Eventos Privados

Instrumentality and coherence of the concept of private events

Behavior analysis distinguishes itself from other behaviorist approaches in the treatment it offe... more Behavior analysis distinguishes itself from other behaviorist approaches in the treatment it offers to the issue of subjectivity, which includes the use of the concept of private events. Since behavior analysis has been related to pragmatism, on the basis of the criteria used to validate scientifi c concepts and propositions, this paper discusses the scientifi c character of the concept of private events in the light of those criteria. The paper presents James’s and Rorty’s statements concerning the relation between instrumentality and coherence in the validation of concepts and propositions. Those statements are used as a reference to the analysis of the validity of the concept of private events in the treatment of problems related to subjectivity, considering
on two problems: a) the lack of a consensus about the concept’s coherence with the behavior-analytic explanatory system; and b) the functions of the concept. We argue that behavior analysts have used the concept of private events under the control of phenomena of variable complexity, which might explain the lack of
consensus about its coherence with the behavior-analytic explanatory system. When some sort of consensus about its coherence is reached, it lacks about its instrumentality. Thus, the recognition of coherence and instrumentality of the concept is dependent on the emission of the verbal response “private events” under the control of specifi c classes of events

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Contributions of Contingencies in Modern Societies to ''Privacy'' in the Behavioral Relations of Cognition and Emotion

The Behavior Analyst

The aim of this paper is to examine specific features of modern individualistic societies that co... more The aim of this paper is to examine specific features of modern individualistic societies that contribute to ‘‘emotions’’ and ‘‘cognitions’’ becoming a matter of privacy. Although some
behavior analysts identify emotions and cognitions as ‘‘private events,’’ we argue with Skinner (1945) that cognitions and emotions are relations among events and that their origin is in public events in the contingencies of reinforcement maintained by other people. Guided by Elias (1939/ 1996), we suggest that the shift from feudal economies to market economies involved the
increasing individualization of society’s members. This individualizing process includes the socially maintained contingencies that bring some verbal responses under control of private stimulation and reduce the magnitude of some verbal responses to a covert level. Behavioral relations in which either stimuli or responses (or both) cannot be observed by others set the stage for a concept of ‘‘privacy.’’ Changes in societal contingencies that gave rise to individualization
and the attribution of privacy to cognitions and emotions are suggested to include the following:
(a) increasing frequency of individual consequences that have no apparent or direct relevance to the group; (b) increasing numbers of concurrent contingencies and choice requirements; (c) conflicts between immediate and delayed consequences for the individual; and (d) conflicts between consequences for the individual and for the group.

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EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO MACROCONTINGENCIES IN ISOLATION AND SOCIAL SITUATIONS IN THE PRODUCTION OF ETHICAL SELF-CONTROL

Ethical self-control is conceived of as self-controlled responding under concurrent contingencies... more Ethical self-control is conceived of as self-controlled responding under concurrent contingencies involving (conflicts of) consequences for the individual, and consequences for the group. The study assessed the production of ethical self-control repertoires in laboratory microcultures under four different macrocontingency arrangements. The experiment was held with eleven groups of four college students each. They were exposed to a task that required a choice of odd or even rows in an 8x8 matrix. Odd rows produced higher individual reinforcements and delayed aversive consequences for the group, thus being labeled impulsive selfish choices; even rows produced lower reinforcements for the individual participant, but positive delayed consequences for the group, thus labeled ethical selfcontrolled choices. Each group was exposed to only one condition. In the first condition, each participant was exposed alone to the task, producing high rates of impulsive selfish choices. In the second condition, the four participants were exposed to the task together, with access to one another's choices and being allowed to talk. The result was a high rate of ethical self-controlled choices. In the third condition, participants were exposed to the task together, could talk, but had no direct access to each other´s choices, which also resulted in a high rate of ethical self-controlled choices. In the fourth condition, participants were exposed to the task together, but could not talk, and had no access to each other´s choices. Results from this experiment show a higher rate of impulsive selfish choices. The data on the four conditions suggest that the possibility of verbal interaction has more effect on the emergence of ethical selfcontrolled responses than access to each other´s responses.

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Uses of the concept of private events from the standpoint of pragmatist assumptions

The concept of private events has been used in behavior-analytic literature as a major topic to t... more The concept of private events has been used in behavior-analytic literature as a major topic to the treatment phenomena related to subjectivity, in the context of adopting instrumentality as a criterion of truth. This paper aims to discuss uses of the concept of private events from the standpoint of Pragmatism, a philosophy in which that criterion of truth has been consistently identified. It is particularly examined the focus on verbal relations in the analysis of contents related to privacy, and also how that focus reflects a rejection on mentalism and organicism. The paper continues to discuss the importance of the verbal community in the production of an individual "inside world". In the end, the paper points out that some authors depart from functionalist/instrumentalist reference when working on the problem of imprecision of private events.

Uma discussão dos usos do termo eventos privados na análise do comportamento à luz de proposições do pragmatismo

A Análise do Comportamento distingue-se de outras modalidades de behaviorismo por seu tratamento ... more

Algumas contribuições das teorias dos tempos sociais para refletir a temporalidade laborial; Some contributions of the social times theories for a reflection on the …

Rev. psicol, Jan 1, 2005

... 1 / 1, LILACS, seleciona. para imprimir. Fotocópia. experimental, Documentos relacionados. Id... more

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