Association for Behavior Analysis International

Metacontingency is a concept that concerns the unit of selection of cultural things developed by Sigrid Glenn from the 1980s to date. Its defining characteristic is the functional relation between supra-organismic Interlocked Behavioral Contingencies (IBC) and their aggregated product with a selecting event dependent on such a product called Cultural Selecting Consequence (CSC). Studies involving the production, in laboratory, of experimental analogues of metacontingencies began to be conducted only recently and are flourishing. In this symposium it will be presented three different experimental analogs of metacontingecy using laboratory microcultures in which systematic replacement of participants simulates different generations throughout experiments. One study investigated relations between observing behavior and the control of metaconcingency by antecedent environment; the second study evaluated the effect of an uncontrollable cultural event on IBC; the third study used pigeons as subjects to propose an animal model of metacontingencies as a way to control for the effects of verbal behavior over cultural selection.

Experimental analogs are important to refine the concept of metacontingency. Two experiments that comprise an experimental analog of metacontingency were made. Fourteen undergraduate students participated on the first experiment and 13 participated on the second. On both experiments Interlocked Behavioral Contingencies (IBC) were selected by presentation of bonuses contingent on the production of a determined aggregated product in a computer task executed by three participants simultaneously. On the first experiment, after its selection, IBC was put on stimuli control in alternated components of presentation of the cultural selecting consequences and extinction. After stable discriminated occurrence of the IBC an observing procedure was added. Stimuli related to the different outcomes maintained the observing behavior. On the second experiment, after selection of IBC, participants were directly exposed to an analog of the observing response procedure in which discriminated occurrence of IBC have not been achieved. On the second experiment, putative stimuli related to the different outcomes did not maintain observing behavior. Antecedent stimulation to the metacontingency acquired function of conditioned reinforcer to the observing behavior only when it functioned as an analog of discriminative stimuli for metacontingency occurrence.

The study of the uncontrollable cultural events (CE) effects can extend the knowledge about cultural evolution. We evaluated the effect of an uncontrollable CE on interlocking behavioral contingencies (IBC) of laboratory microcultures. The experiment 1 was attended by 30 college students, divided into three microcultures, each with three lineages of participants. The experiment 2 was attended by 23 students, divided into two microcultures. Every twenty cycles, the oldest participant of a microculture was replaced. The task consisted in selecting lines of a matrix. Individual contingent consequences to the choice of odd lines and CE subsequent to aggregate products (AP) were programmed. On experiment 1, the CE was initially presented independently of AP for 60 cycles. It was followed by 30 cycles without the presentation of CE. Then, the return to the first condition was performed. The results indicated operant and IBC selection, and also cultural transmission. Related to experiment 1, the experimental design 2 was different concerning the initial phase, in which the EC was presented contingently to AP. The results indicated that the controllability condition favored the maintenance of cultural practices in further uncontrollable conditions. It suggests that certain cultural practices may be the product of uncontrollable cultural events.

Metacontingency is the functional relation between interlocking behavioral contingencies (IBC), their aggregated product and a selecting event dependent on such a product, called cultural consequence. This study aims to produce an experimental analogue of metacontingency with pigeons. An operant conditioning box split in two chambers by a transparent wall was used. Each chamber contains a feeder and two vertically aligned keys near the wall so that subjects can visualize each other while responding on the keys. Each key on one chamber is aligned to a correspondent key on the other. On each trial, all keys are simultaneously illuminated with red or green lights. Two pigeon were individually trained to produce 3-seconds of food by pecking one key per trial in a 10-s fixed interval, no matter the color presented on the keys (individual contingency). After performances has stabilized, a metacontingency was superimposed to the individual contingency: pigeons can produce additional 6-seconds of food (analogously called cultural consequence) if they coordinately respond at same-height keys on the red lights and at different-height keys on the green lights. This condition will last until coordinated behaviors of pigeons produce the cultural consequence systematically throughout five consecutive sessions. Ongoing results suggest IBC being selected.