Efeitos de análogos de punição negativa sobre culturantes

Abstract

In the Behavioral Analysis of Culture, studies have shown that it is difficult to maintain culturants that require interlocking of ethical self-control using positive reinforcement under the concurrency between operant contingencies and metacontingencies. Negative punishment may be a variable to be tested in experimental settings like those of studies of ethical selfcontrol in metacontingencies. The present research aimed to test variations of the application of negative punishment contingent on impulsive culturants and impulsive responses, on the selection of self-controlled culturants and ethical self-control responses in a situation of concurrency between operant contingencies and metacontingencies. Four studies were performed using the Matrix research protocol adapted. Microcultures (MC) with three participants performed the task of this protocol, in which an operant contingency predicted that choosing odd-line produced greater magnitude immediate individual consequence (IC) and choosing even-line produced lower magnitude immediate IC (these operant contingencies were in effect in all experimental designs of the Studies). Programmed metacontingencies predicted that coordination of higher even-row choices (class of self-controlled culturants – Self-contr Cult) produced cultural consequences (CCs) under positive reinforcement. Other programmed metacontingencies with coordination of higher odd-row emission (class of impulsive culturants – Imp Cult) predicted the application of the variation of programmed negative punishment for each Study. In all Studies in experimental conditions 'A', all the classes of culturants were under positive reinforcement (any combination of three rows produced a CC) and in 'C' there was a CC suspension for any culturant. Study 1, with three MCs and the ABCABC design (cultural punishment in 'B'), showed that cultural punishment helped in the selection and maintenance of self-controlled culturants, except in MC2. Study 2, with two MCs and the ABCADC design (cultural punishment in 'B' and cultural punishment associated with external operant punishment in 'D'), showed that the occurrence of Self-Contr Cult was more systematic in the condition of cultural punishment associated with external operant punishment. Study 3, with two microcultures and the ABCADC design (cultural punishment in 'B' and cultural punishment associated with internal operant punishment in 'D'), showed that in MC1, unlike MC2, cultural punishment showed greater help in the selection and maintenance of self controlled culturants than cultural punishment associated with internal operant punishment, and there was less occurrence of self-punishment. Study 4, with ABCADC (MC1 and MC2) and ADCABC (MC3 and MC4) designs (cultural punishment associated with external operant punishment in 'B' and cultural punishment associated with internal operant punishment in 'D'), showed that cultural punishment associated with internal operant punishment showed relatively greater help than cultural punishment associated with external operant punishment on selection and maintenance of self-controlled culturants and ethical self-control responses in all MCs. There was a systematic occurrence of self-punishment in the conditions of cultural punishment associated with internal operant punishment in all MCs. Overall, Studies showed that the help effect of negative punishment was greater according to its progressive manipulation between experimental designs.