Sampaio AAS, Haydu VB. Cultural Milieu and Group-Rules in an Elaborated Account of Metacontingencies: Conceptual Analysis and an Illustration in a COVID-19 Psychological Support Project.
BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL ISSUES 2023;
32:1-19. [PMID:
38625129 PMCID:
PMC10033179 DOI:
10.1007/s42822-023-00126-5]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
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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