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Effects of Exposure to Macrocontingencies in Isolation and Social Situations in the Production of Ethical Self-Control

Behavior and Social Issues

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Field Value
 
Title Effects of Exposure to Macrocontingencies in Isolation and Social Situations in the Production of Ethical Self-Control
 
Creator Borba, Aécio
Silva, Bruno Rodrigues da
Cabral, Pedro Augusto dos Anjos
Souza, Lívia Bentes de
Leite, Felipe Lustosa
Tourinho, Emmanuel Zagury
 
Subject Behavior Analysis
macrocontingencies, cultural practices, ethical self-control, laboratory microcultures
 
Description 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 self-controlled 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 self-controlled responses than access to each other's responses.
 
Publisher University of Illinois at Chicago Library
 
Contributor CAPES and CNPq, Brasil
 
Date 2014-02-22
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Peer-reviewed Article
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/bsi/article/view/4237
10.5210/bsi.v23i0.4237
 
Source Behavior and Social Issues; Vol 23 (2014); 5-19
1064-9506
 
Language eng
 
Relation https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/bsi/article/view/4237/3841