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The Metacontingency as a Conceptual Tool

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Joao CLAUDIO Todorov at University of Brasília
Joao CLAUDIO Todorov
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Abstract

A new concept is justifiable when it enlarges our understanding of the phenomena under investigation. Sigrid Glenn's definition and refinements of the concept opened the field of investigation on the third level of selection: the cultural level. It is a new road for behavior analysis, with new and unknown difficulties. Objections to the concept as unnecessary usually are advanced by researchers who have specialized in the experimental investigation of individual behavior, either basic or applied. More general objections come from those who consider individual behavior as irrelevant for the theories of the social sciences.
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Behavior and Social Issues, 15, 92-94 (2006). © João Claudio Todorov. Readers of this
article may copy it without the copyright owner’s permission, if the author and publisher are
acknowledged in the copy and the copy is used for educational, not-for-profit purposes.
92
THE METACONTINGENCY AS A CONCEPTUAL TOOL
João Claudio Todorov1
Universidade Católica de Goiás e
Instituto de Educação Superior de Brasília (IESB)
ABSTRACT: A new concept is justifiable when it enlarges our understanding of the phenomena
under investigation. Sigrid Glenn’s definition and refinements of the concept opened the field of
investigation on the third level of selection: the cultural level. It is a new road for behavior
analysis, with new and unknown difficulties. Objections to the concept as unnecessary usually are
advanced by researchers who have specialized in the experimental investigation of individual
behavior, either basic or applied. More general objections come from those who consider
individual behavior as irrelevant for the theories of the social sciences.
KEYWORDS: Metacontingency, cultural analysis, transdisciplinary work
Sigrid Glenn’s (1986, 1988, 1991, 2004) definition and refinements of the
concept of metacontingency opened the field of investigation on the third level of
selection (Skinner, 1981; Glenn, 2003) the cultural level. It is a new road for
behavior analysis, with new and unknown difficulties. One major contribution of
Glenn’s approach to cultural practices is in the innovation of treating group
behavior outside of the traditional conflict—“individual” versus “society”—of the
social sciences (e.g., Giddens, 1995). Now we deal with behavior and
contingencies only, advancing in the Skinnerian way of thinking. This makes it
possible to talk about cultural affairs without the need to recur to a different level
of language. We may refer to social issues in terms that relate directly to
behavioral contingencies. The concept of metacontingency is a new tool, a new
concept that may enlarge our understanding of cultural practices.
The objections to the behavior analysis of cultural practices should be
expected. Behavior analysts often are so enthusiastic with the practical advances
in the field that we tend to minimize the deleterious actions of the opposition. The
fact is, as Sidman (2004) so well points out, that our view of man in the world is a
threat to the typical western-hemisphere way of thinking. In a way, our position
goes against centuries of glorification of man as the measure of all things; we are
in a post-Renaissance position. There is no way to avoid the objections to
behavior analysis posted by those who believe in man as different in essence from
1 This manuscript was prepared thanks to the support of CNPq (Brazil). Address: João Claudio
Todorov, SHIN, QI 01, Conjunto 09, Casa 11, 71505-090, Brasilia, DF, Brazil.
THE METACONTINGENCY AS A CONCEPTUAL TOOL
93
nature; the best one can do is to explain that we should not be put in the same
category of those who defend the medical model in psychopathology, for
instance. It may be a lost effort; in most cases the other side is advocating a
holistic approach to the person and the word behavior is seen as anathema. Instead
of entering in an endless discussion, I believe that the best we can do is to show
new data, useful data for those concerned with social action, that only behavior
analysis can produce. A better mousetrap always convinces more than logical
argumentation.
In that sense, what we should be doing is to apply new concepts to practical
problems and show that they can be useful to those interested in the analysis and
modification of cultural practices. We need more works like those of Sigrid
Glenn, Maria Malott, Joel Greenspoon, Richard Rakos, Mark Mattaini, just to
mention some memorable work. We will be entering into the realm of Education,
Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Economy, in some cases, but in other
cases the work will be new, opening up new fields of investigation. On the other
hand, we could recognize that in the past behavior analysts have already crossed
borders as Jack Michael and Teodoro Ayllon working in a mental hospital
(Ayllon & Michael, 1959), and Fred Keller trying to change education with
behavior analytic methods (Keller, 1968). The untested supposition was that you
can change the group by controlling the contingencies for individual behavior;
maybe we could profit from a new look at similar attempts, examining especially
those that failed.
By not worrying much with crossing borders we certainly will provoke some
negative reactions from colleagues, psychologists or not, but that is not new for
behavior analysis. Some positive reactions probably will come along. The
displeasure with the compartmentalization of scientific disciplines is widespread.
A recent effort of the Ministry of Education of France involved intellectuals
concerned about the gap separating the natural sciences from the human sciences
(Morin, 1999a). The work toward the reunion and reconciliation of knowledge is
inspired by Plato, Pascal, and Marx, among others (Morin, 1999, Prologue).
Morin argues that we should take into consideration Pascal’s observation that
knowledge of the whole needs knowledge of its component parts, which in turn
depends upon knowledge of the whole; following Marx, Morin believes that in
the 21st Century the natural sciences will include the human sciences, and the
human sciences will include the natural sciences (Morin, 1999).
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TODOROV
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analysis and cultural materialism. The Behavior Analyst, 11, 161-169.
Glenn, S. S. (1991).
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Chase (Eds.), Behavior theory and philosophy (pp. 223-242). New York: Klewer
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Glenn, S. S. (2004). Individual behavior, culture, and social change. The Behavior Analyst, 27,
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Morin, E. (1999). Relier les connaissances. Paris, France: Éditions du Soleil. (a)
Skinner, B. F. (1981). Selection by consequences. Science, 213, 501-504.
... It should also be highlighted that metacontingencies do not control the behavior of individuals, but the contingencies that control such behavior. The concept of metacontingency has contributed to a treatment of cultural phenomena under a behavioral-analytic standpoint without being necessary to call upon theoretical constructions of other fields (Todorov, 2006). ...
... Even though Skinner himself had written about cultural phenomena (e.g., , it was after the 1981 article that many other behavior analysts systematically approached cultural and social phenomena (e.g., Andery, 2001;Malott & Glenn, 2006;Todorov, 1987Todorov, , 2005Todorov, , 2006Todorov, , 2009Vichi, Andery & Glenn, 2009). Behavior Analysts have been studying social behavior for two main reasons: first, the importance to the understanding and control of individual behavior, since the major part of the environment that controls human behavior is made of other people (cf. ...
Efeitos de antecedentes sociais sobre a seleção de práticas culturais de complexidade progressiva
Thesis
Full-text available
  • May 2014
Metacontingências descrevem relações funcionais entre (a) contingências comportamentais entrelaçadas (CCEs), (b) seu produto agregado e (c) uma mudança ambiental contingente à relação entre CCE e produto agregado – consequência cultural (CC). Visando analisar as possibilidades da inclusão de elementos antecedentes em metacontingências, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo aferir os efeitos da concorrência entre sistemas culturais sobre a evolução de CCEs mais complexas. O Experimento 1 investigou os efeitos do contexto de concorrência na evolução de entrelaçamentos mais complexos. Seus resultados indicaram que o contexto de concorrência influenciou seleção de CCEs mais complexas, com ênfase destacada para o papel da interação verbal vocal entre os membros de diferentes sistemas culturais. O Experimento 2 aferiu os efeitos da interação verbal entre membros de sistemas culturais diferentes sobre a evolução de entrelaçamentos mais complexos. O Experimento 3 investigou os efeitos de consequências culturais de magnitudes variadas e proporcionais ao grau de complexidade do entrelaçamento na evolução de entrelaçamentos mais complexos. Os resultados apontam que o procedimento foi efetivo na seleção de CCEs com maiores graus de complexidade. Os dados deste estudo sugerem que antecedentes culturais de caráter social influem na evolução de práticas culturais e necessitam de mais investigações experimentais.
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... An aggregate product is the result of interlocked behavioral contingencies involving at least two persons. The term metacontingency has been used to refer to rules that specify what consequences a given aggregate product will bring to the group of persons, to the organization, etc. Todorov, 2006. ...
... Todorov, J. C. (2006). The metacontingency as a conceptual tool.Behavior and Social Issues, 15,94. ...
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... Inspired by Skinner's work, Glenn (1986) proposed the concept of metacontingency to account in a more detailed and explicit way for some processes of cultural evolution, maintaining consistency with how behavior scientists talk about individual behavior. Since, the concept has been extensively debated, researched, and refined (e.g., Glenn, 1988Glenn, , 2003Glenn, , 2004Glenn & Malagodi, 1991;Glenn & Malott, 2004;Krispin, 2016;Todorov, 2006;Tourinho & Vichi, 2012; for a review of the experimental literature, see Cihon et al., 2020). In that context, Glenn et al. (2016) proposed a minimal consensual definition of the concept as "a contingent relation between (1) recurring interlocking behavioral contingencies having an aggregate product and (2) selecting environmental events or conditions" (p. ...
Cultural Milieu and Group-Rules in an Elaborated Account of Metacontingencies: Conceptual Analysis and an Illustration in a COVID-19 Psychological Support Project
Article
  • Mar 2023
The elaborated account of the metacontingency explicitly incorporated the role of antecedent events (with the concept of cultural milieu or cultural-organizational milieu) and verbal behavior (clearly related to what was termed group-rule generation). We argue that the cultural milieu encompasses two functionally distinct entities: antecedent environmental variables affecting the culturant (the organization members’ activities)—what we termed cultural antecedents; and variables affecting the selecting environment or the consumer practices (members external to the organization responsible for producing cultural consequences)—what we termed selecting environment variables. Besides that, we propose that group-rule generation is not an element of a metacontingency distinct from the culturant, but that it describes verbal components of the interlocking behavioral contingencies; and that these verbal components are not present in all culturants but are especially important in more complex ones. We illustrate this conceptual analysis with reference to a COVID-19 psychological support project undertaken at a public university in Brazil and conclude by suggesting theoretical and methodological implications.
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... Como o próprio conceito sugere, essa unidade de análise vai além do que pode ser explicado pela contingência de reforçamento. O conceito apresentado pela Glenn (1986;1988;1991; contribuiu para o tratamento de fenômenos culturais sob um enfoque da análise do comportamento sem que fosse necessário recorrer a construções teóricas de outras áreas de conhecimento (Todorov, 2006 Um problema encontrado pelos estudiosos da análise cultural (cf. Mattaini, 2006) sob o prisma da análise do comportamento tem sido a dificuldade de estudos de natureza experimental. ...
Efeitos de instruções e história experimental sobre a transmissão de práticas de escolha em microculturas de laboratório
Thesis
Full-text available
  • Sep 2009
The selection of cultural practices has been a subject matter of increasing object of interest in Behavior Analysis, majorly after the formulation of the concept of metacontingency by S. S. Glenn. One of the themes approached has been the relation between rule-governed behavior and the transmission of cultural practices. The present study had the objective of evaluating the effects of verbal instructions on the transmission of a choice practice in small groups. Forty-three undergraduate students participated in the study, divided into four groups. The participants, in groups of three, had to collectively solve a problem in a condition which could lead to two possible gains: one more advantageous in the long term (choice of black lines) and another one less advantageous (choice of white lines). At each 12 minutes one participant would leave the group and a new one would be introduced in it, being the responsibility of the older participants to teach the new one on how to proceed in the task. In some groups, participants called confederates were instructed to teach the task wrongly, inducing the group to choose white lines, leading to less a advantageous result. The confederates instructed the participants with two categories of instructions: false descriptive and prescriptive. With the participant change cycle, the confederates gave place to naïve or experienced participants. The results indicate that when confederates took part in groups constituted by naïve participants, the choices less advantageous for the group were predominant, in which Group 2 maintained the choice pattern instructed by the confederates for one additional generation and Group 4 maintained it for two additional generations. When the confederates took part in groups with participants previously exposed to the task (Groups 1 and 3), both groups returned to choices according to the pattern established in a baseline session (approximately 80% of black choices for Group 1 and 60% for Group 3). As for the type of instruction employed by the confederates, when participants were instructed with false descriptive instructions the choice pattern instructed by the confederates was maintained for fewer generations than when they were instructed with prescriptive instructions. It is concluded that a previous experience to a task can enable the group to suffer less effects of verbal manipulation which lead to a less advantageous choice practice and that instructions which do not describe contingency relations between events are less effective to verbally control choice practices.
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... A metacontingency is a conceptual tool (Todorov, 2006) that comprises a contingency of cultural selection (Glenn, 2004). It made its first appearance in an account by Glenn (1986) of social contingencies described in Walden Two (Skinner, 1976) and it describes a functional relationship between a culturant and a selector (Glenn et al., 2016). ...
Tutorial. A Behavioral Analysis of Rationality, Nudging, and Boosting: Implications for Policymaking
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2022
As recent trends in policymaking call for increased contributions from behavioral science, nudging and boosting represent two effective and relatively economic approaches for influencing choice behavior. They utilize concepts from behavioral economics to affect agents’ concurrent suboptimal choices: in principle, without applying coercion. However, most choice situations involve some coercive elements. This study features a functional analysis of rationality, nudging, and boosting applied to public policy. The relationship between behavior and environmental variables is termed a “behavioral contingency,” and the analysis can include social and cultural phenomena by applying a selectionist perspective. Principles of behavioral control, whether tight or loose, may be exerted by policymakers or regulators who subscribe to paternalistic principles and may be met with demands of libertarianism among their recipients. This warrants discussion of the legitimacy and likelihood of behavioral control and influence on choices. Cases and examples are provided for extending the unit of analysis of choice behavior to achieve outcomes regulated by policies at the individual and group levels, including health, climate, and education. Further research and intervention comprise the study of macrocontingencies and metacontingencies. Advancing the understanding and application of behavioral science to policymaking may, therefore, benefit from moving from the relatively independent contributions of behavioral economics and behavior analysis to an inclusive selectionist approach for addressing choice behavior and cultural practices.
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... history of psychology . history of science Behavior analysts have considered the metacontingency and related concepts to be useful tools to describe relations that are part of a culture (Glenn, 1986;Todorov, 2006b). A metacontingency is a conditional relation between the interlocked behavioral contingencies of at least two people that result in an aggregate product (culturant) and a consequence presented by a selecting environment (Glenn et al., 2016). ...
A Brief History of the Behavioral Analysis of Culture in Brazil
Article
  • Oct 2021
In this article, a history of behavior-analytic studies on culture in Brazil is presented, beginning with the pioneering work of Fred S. Keller and following its development through different phases, starting with PhD dissertations supervised by Carolina Bori in the 1970s at the University of São Paulo, and later continuing with the work by João Cláudio Todorov at the Universidade de Brasília and by Maria Amalia Andery at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo in the 1990s. We describe how meetings— from Think Tank 1 (2003) in São Paulo to Think Tank 6 (2019) in Brasília and other symposia (at national events) —were important in bringing together national and international investigators, who contributed to the development of the area called behavioral analysis of culture (BAC) in Brazil. We also highlight how the institutionalization of BAC in Brazil occurred through the establishment of lines of research in graduate programs, and how the graduate students of these programs accepted positions at other universities, spreading BAC throughout the country and helping to increase interest in the subject. In addition, we describe other relevant facts such as special issues of scientific journals and books published in Portuguese. Finally, we point out some current directions and future perspectives such as the development of courses verified by the Association for Behavior Analysis International for the certification of behavior analysts interested in culturo-behavior science.
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Todorov, João Claudio
Chapter
  • Nov 2022
The book provides a comprehensive reference point on pioneers in the field from Latin America, facilitates the further growth of international perspectives in psychology, and demonstrates the significant and particular contribution of Latin American psychology. This chapter is about João Claudio Todorov, his contributions to psychology in Brazil, his research on basic psychological processes and to dissemination of behavior analysis. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-38726-6_349-1
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Behavior Theory and Philosophy
Chapter
Full-text available
  • Jan 2003
Writers from a variety of disciplines recognize that culture is composed of or depends on behavior, but is also somehow more than an unorganized collection of behavioral events. Biologist Bonner (1980) defined culture as “behavior transmitted from one individual to another by teaching and learning” (p. 17). Cultural anthropologist Harris (1964) stated, “human behavior constitutes the cultural field of inquiry” (p. 20). However, human responses “are definitely not cultural things,” (Harris, p. 22) but rather are the empirical events to which scientific operations must be applied to arrive at cultural classifications. Behavior analyst Baum (2000) stated, “culture consists of behavior andchrw(133) cultural change constitutes an evolutionary process” (p. 182).
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Operant Contingencies and the Origin of Cultures Selectionist Approaches to the Evolution of Complexity
Chapter
Full-text available
  • Jan 2003
Writers from a variety of disciplines recognize that culture is composed of or depends on behavior, but is also somehow more than an unorganized collection of behavioral events. Biologist Bonner (1980) defined culture as "behavior transmitted from one individual to another by teaching and learning" (p. 17). Cultural anthropologist Harris (1964) stated, "human behavior constitutes the cultural field of inquiry" (p. 20). However, hu­ man responses "are definitely not cultural things," (Harris, p. 22) but rather are the empirical events to which scientific operations must be applied to arrive at cultural classifications. Behavior analyst Baum (2000) stated, "culture consists of behavior and ... cultural change constitutes an evolu­ tionary process" (p. 182). In this paper I take as a starting point that cultures are nothing more than learned behavior and its physical products, in the same sense as liv­ ing organisms are nothing more than chemical elements. But the origins and evolution of biological phenomena cannot be explained without re­ course to principles in addition to the laws describing physical and chem­ ical processes. Nor can learned behavior be explained without recourse to principles in addition to those of biological evolution. In the same vein, an explanation of the origin and evolution of cultures requires going be­ yond the evolutionary and behavioral principles that account for species characteristics and the learned behavior of individual organisms. Analysis at another level is required, but where to begin? Skinner (1981) provided a clue when he pointed out that, in addition to natural selection and operant selection, human behavior was also due to "the special contingencies maintained by an evolved social environ­ ment" (p. 502). One interpretation of Skinner's statement is that the con­ tingencies of an evolved social environment function differently than the contingencies maintained by the nonsocial environment. In responding to commentary on his article, however, Skinner (1988) made clear that he was proposing "no new behavioral process," (p. 38) but rather "a different kind of selection" (p. 38). In short, the behavior acquired by each individual dur­ ing his or her lifetime is explained by behavioral level processes, whether the concrete particulars of the behavior-environment contingencies are ma­ terial or social, and whether they are human-made or the products of other natural processes. The particulars, of the behavior-environment relations that come to exist in cultures (i.e., the particulars of an evolved social en­ vironment), however, require "a third kind of selection" (Skinner, 1981, p. 502) to explain their existence. Skinner's suggestion that three different kinds of selection bear di­ rectly or indirectly on human behavior has led to behavior-analytic examinations of selectionist perspectives as they pertain to learned behav­ ior and to cultural evolution (e.g., Baum, 2000; Catania, 1995; Donahoe, 1984, this volume; Glenn, 1991; Glenn, Ellis, & Greenspoon, 1992). From the present perspective, the ultimate value of selectionist theories is their success in accounting for complexity without appealing to prior design.
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Metacontingencies in Walden Two
Article
Full-text available
  • May 1986
  • Behav Anal Soc Action
A distinction is made between contingencies of reinforcement (contingent relations between a class of responses and a common consequence) and metacontingencies (contingent relations between a class of operants and a long-term cultural outcome). The fictional utopia portrayed in Walden Two is examined in terms of the kinds of metacontingencies characteristic ofthat culture. It is suggested that if a culture is to approximate utopia, attention must be paid to the metacontingencies and to their supporting contingencies of reinforcement.
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Individual behavior, culture, and social change
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2004
The principle of operant selection is examined as a prototype of cultural selection, and the role of the social environment is suggested as the critical element in the emergence of cultural phenomena. Operant contingencies are compared to cultural selection contingencies, designated as metacontingencies. Both of these types of contingency relations result in evolving lineages of recurrences that can become increasingly complex in the number and organization of their elements. In addition to its role in the recurring interlocking behavioral contingencies that constitute cultural organization, operant behavior plays another role in cultures. Although the operants of individuals are functionally independent of one another, the behavior of each person may contribute to a cumulative effect that is relevant to the well-being of many people. Similarly, the outcomes of metacontingencies may also contribute to a cumulative effect. The relation between independently evolving operant lineages, or between independently evolving cultural lineages, and their cumulative effect is identified as a macrocontingency. Macrocontingencies do not involve cultural-level selection per se. Effective cultural engineering requires identifying the macrocontingencies that produce less than desirable effects and altering the relevant operant contingencies or metacontingencies to produce change in the cumulative effects.
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Contingencies and Metacontingencies: Toward a Synthesis of Behavior Analysis and Cultural Materialism
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 1988
A synthesis of cultural materialism and behavior analysis might increase the scientific and technological value of both fields. Conceptual and substantive relations between the two fields show important similarities, particularly with regard to the causal role of the environment in behavioral and cultural evolution. Key concepts in Marvin Harris's cultural materialist theories are outlined. A distinction is made between contingencies at the behavioral level of analysis (contingencies of reinforcement) and contingencies at the cultural level of analysis (metacontingencies). Relations between the two kinds of contingencies are explored in cultural practices from paleolithic to industrial sociocultural systems. A synthesis of these two fields may offer the opportunity to resolve serious problems currently facing modern cultures.
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Selection by Consequences
Article
  • Aug 1981
Selection by consequences is a causal mode found only in living things, or in machines made by living things. It was first recognized in natural selection, but it also accounts for the shaping and maintenance of the behavior of the individual and the evolution of cultures. In al three of these fields, it replaces explanations based on the causal modes of classical mechanics. The replacement is strongly resisted. Natural selection has now made its case, but similar delays in recognizing the role of selection in the other fields could deprive us of valuable help in solving the problems which confront us.
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Relier les connaissances. Paris, France: Éditions du Soleil Selection by consequences
  • 501-504
  • E Morin
  • B F Skinner
Morin, E. (1999). Relier les connaissances. Paris, France: Éditions du Soleil. (a) Skinner, B. F. (1981). Selection by consequences. Science, 213, 501-504.
Politics, sociology and social theory
  • Jan 1995
  • A Giddens
Giddens, A. (1995). Politics, sociology and social theory. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Selection by consequences
  • Jan 1981
  • 501-504
  • E Morin
Morin, E. (1999). Relier les connaissances. Paris, France: Éditions du Soleil. (a) Skinner, B. F. (1981). Selection by consequences. Science, 213, 501-504.