Targets of Intervention in Cultural and Behavioral Change

Discussion and Conceptual Analysis of Four Group Contingencies for Behavioral Process Improvement in an ABA Service Delivery Quality Framework

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) organizations that provide services to children with autism can apply contingencies to improve employee performance or behavioral processes. Such contingencies may be especially important for maximizing ABA service delivery quality (ASDQ). For some behavioral processes, group contingencies applied to the behavior of individuals within the process may be more appropriate than individualized contingencies. In the history of the profession, behavior analysts have used group contingencies at the operant level of selection, such as independent, interdependent, and dependent group contingencies. However, recent experimental work in culturo-behavioral science suggests the metacontingency, an analogue of the operant contingency at the cultural level of selection, can also control the behavior of individuals in a group. This article discusses how such group-oriented contingencies could be used by managers in organizations in behavioral process improvement efforts to target key performance indicators of quality in an ASDQ framework. The paper ends with a discussion of limitations and future research.

A Pilot Study Exploring Practices that Support the Longevity of Community Gardens Supported by Religious Organizations

Current food production methods in the United States (US) contribute to environmental degradation as well as food insecurity. Food production by means of community gardens has the potential to reduce the deleterious effects of current production methods. However, many community gardens face challenges that hinder their longevity, thereby reducing the likelihood of the support they might provide for environmentally sustainable food production and decreased food insecurity for community members. Researchers conducted a literature review regarding best practices for community gardens, and used ethnographic research methods to inform a culturo-behavioral systems analysis using the Total Performance System and matrix (systems interdependency) analysis to better understand the cultural practices of two established community gardens in the southwest region of the US. The results of the analyses are presented in terms of recommendations to support each community garden's sustainability. Recommendations regarding future research include environmental manipulations to identify functional relations and potential outcome measures for improving the longevity of community gardens.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42822-023-00124-7.

Measuring the Dissemination Impact of Culturo-Behavioral Science

Culturo-behavior science addresses many of the world's most significant problems and therefore has potential to create world-changing outcomes. Before systems level changes that improve the world can be implemented, however, it is first necessary for the public to know about and take interest in the accomplishments of culturo-behavior science. Measurable evidence that this kind of influence is being achieved is a component of "dissemination impact," an important but often overlooked form of accountability on sciences that target real-world problems. We describe a method for quantifying some aspects of dissemination impact and present data on how much of this impact has been earned by articles published in Behavior and Social Issues. The results provide considerable food for thought about how culturo-behavior science can proceed toward making the strategic pursuit of dissemination impact a component of its evidence-based practices.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42822-022-00120-3.

Humble Behaviorism Redux

The need to bring behavior analysis to scale is no more obvious or urgent than now. Collaboration between behavior analysts and healthcare workers, educators, policymakers, mental health clinicians, social workers, and so many other professionals is critical to reaching under-resourced and traditionally marginalized populations. First, however, interprofessional collaboration must be adopted widely and reinforced within the behavior analytic community. Disciplinary centrism and hubris pose barriers to effective interprofessional collaboration, leading one to assume the position that practitioners of the same discipline are better trained and smarter than those of a different field. However, cultural humility (Wright, Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12(4), 805-809, 2019) is an alternative to disciplinary centrism that allows professionals to retain identities born of cultural histories and training (Pecukonis, Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 40(3), 211-220, 2020). Furthermore, cultural reciprocity is a process of self-observation and collaborative inquiry that involves questioning one's own assumptions and forces individuals (and professions) to confront the contradictions between their values and their practices (Kalyanpur & Harry, 1999). In this paper, we revisit the call for Humble Behaviorism first made by Alan Neuringer in 1991 and the recommendations of fellow behavior analysts since. Specifically, we introduce a framework of cultural reciprocity to guide humble behaviorists as they acquire behaviors necessary to establish and maintain productive interprofessional relationships. We encourage them to act on their ethical and moral duties to address social problems of global concern and bring behavior analysis to scale.

Research and Training in Culturo-Behavior Science

Culturo-behavior science (CBS) is a developing area and recently formalized specialization in behavior science that brings together principles and techniques from behavior analysis (e.g., Skinner, 1953), behavioral systems analysis (e.g., Brethower, 2008), cultural analysis (e.g., Glenn et al., 2016), and cultural systems analysis (Mattaini, 2020). Culturo-behavior scientists typically work within a selectionist and/or (ecological) systems perspective to advance our understanding of how cultural phenomena develop and change over time and how more effective cultures and systems can be designed (Cihon & Mattaini, 2019, 2020b). The purpose of the current article is to describe CBS, to introduce the recently formulated Association for Behavior Analysis International verified course sequence (VCS) and certificate program in CBS, and to present different pathways to training in CBS. We do this through the presentation of examples from the literature and from four universities that have adopted the CBS VCS and certificate program that are illustrative of how different programs may approach research and training in CBS.

Initiatives to Address Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Within a Higher Education ABA Department

Recent events have highlighted the need for behavior analysis to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in service provision and in higher education. There has been a call to action issued, noting the need for cultural humility and cultural responsiveness. An opportunity exists within training programs to ensure that students of behavior analysis are instructed in ways that promote cultural responsiveness and that equip them to serve diverse populations. Additionally, more needs to be done to engineer environments where students of behavior analysis are treated with respect and compassion, and to ensure that educational environments promote the comfort and success of all students. This article outlines the initiatives of an applied behavior analysis department to gather information about DEI on the local level, identify goals, implement change, and evaluate progress toward these goals.

A Behavioral Perspective on Community Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Paraisópolis in São Paulo, Brazil

The present article discusses the emergence and dynamics of community resilience by empirically investigating the case of the favela of Paraisópolis in São Paulo, Brazil. The emergence of innovative practices that initially contributed to significantly lower rates of COVID-19 infection and mortality when compared to the city average is described. The analytical framework combines two conceptual perspectives in the study of complex systems. First, resilience in socio-ecological systems highlights the adaptation processes characterized by an interplay of previous experience and emerging new knowledge. Second, the metacontingency framework describes the interplay between a cultural milieu, as a context for cultural practices; an aggregate product; and a selecting environment that embed the acquisition and continuity of interlocking behavioral contingencies. Research methods that combine elements of the descriptive analysis and an exploratory basic qualitative study are employed to understand how the community has self-organized during this period. The findings demonstrate how previous experience with social challenges facilitated self-organization and the emergence of innovative practices in the context of uncoordinated public health measures during the pandemic in Brazil. Furthermore, findings from interviews indicate the existence of positive feedback loops at the community level that facilitated the emergence of innovative practices. This study aims at contributing to the understanding of community resilience by identifying the geographic, psychological, and ecological factors (contextual variables) that facilitate responses to the pandemic.

Cultural Survival in B. F. Skinner: Possibilities for Conceptual Refinement

The concept of cultural survival is fundamental when describing the selection processes involved in cultural evolution. However, its application by Skinner was inconsistent. As a result, distinct and sometimes contradictory interpretations regarding what it means for a culture to survive occasionally emerge in the behavior-analytic literature. In this article, we aim to identify the stimuli that prompted Skinner to emit the verbal response "cultural survival." Our analysis suggests two problems: (a) the concept of cultural survival is used by Skinner to identify both the effects of cultural practices on the physical survival ofmembers of the culture and their effects on the survival of specific sets of social reinforcement contingencies via operant reinforcement, and (b) the concept is applied to two different phenomena-namely, first, the relation between the complete range of social reinforcement contingencies maintained by the human species and the physical survival of humankind, and, second, the relation between specific sets of these contingencies and the physical survival of particular groups. Finally, we argue for the importance of the precise identification of the groups and social contingencies that compose any "culture" submitted to a behavioral analysis.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42822-020-00044-w.

The PAX Good Behavior Game: One Model for Evolving a More Nurturing Society

This paper describes the culture and components of the PAX Good Behavior Game and offers it as one model for how to enhance the well-being of populations through the diffusion of nurturing practices into several venues of society. The PAX components, also known as evidence-based kernels, are proposed to be useful in classrooms, families, organizations, criminal justice, and in improving public discussion and government. Kernels affect behavior in the short- and long-term through combinations of antecedents, reinforcers, relational networks, and physiological effects. Identifying common strategies, tools, and clear targets of change is suggested as a way to work towards evolving freely available evidence-based tools that can be combined to improve social conditions in multiple contexts.

Organizational Silos: A Scoping Review Informed by a Behavioral Perspective on Systems and Networks

In recent years, several organizations have implemented interventions aimed at integrating work processes and bridging network clusters. These are often permeated by different assumptions regarding clusters in organizational settings. There are concerns about the formation of silos and structural barriers to communication across the formal and informal network structures. Conversely, network clusters are regarded as spaces of local social reinforcement from which innovation ideas may emerge. Although terminologically and functionally different, they share some common features insofar as organizational behavior is concerned and the production of artifacts that fulfill organizational goals. The present scoping review presents an analysis of the literature on organizational silos while investigating attempts to bridge network clusters. Based on the search results, 40 studies were included in the analysis of the findings; of these, 20 were empirical studies and were included in a further quantitative analysis of methods and findings. We identified patterns of definitions of silos and variation in terms of aims, variables, and methods used to evaluate interventions among the heterogeneous studies. Special attention was dedicated to the role of consequences of siloed organizational behavior. We conclude that silos comprise barriers to achieving organizational goals insofar as they pose a threat to internal cooperation.

Units of Analysis for Corruption Experiments: Operant, Culturobehavioral Lineage, Culturant, and Macrobehavior

To comprehensively understand the processes involved in social issues such as corruption, a behavior science has to rely on rigorous experimentation, interdisciplinary dialogue, and the use of diverse units of analysis. The present article proposes a behavioral analysis of corruption, highlighting how different units of analysis (operant behavior, culturobehavioral lineage, culturant, and macrobehavior) account for different facets of this social phenomenon. We propose that corrupt behavior involves relations in which there is a conflict between consequences for the individual and effects for the group-a concept similar to that of an ethical self-controlled response. This response can occur independently or in coordination with responses by other individuals. In addition, verbal control, as well as social reinforcement and punishment, plays an important role in the maintenance and transmission of this behavioral pattern. After presenting examples of how the theme has been experimentally studied in recent years, we conclude by suggesting that experimental studies on ethical self-control may fruitfully contribute to a behavioral analysis of corruption in its multiple dimensions.

How a Few Individuals Brought about a Cultural Cusp: From a Mexican Mural Program to a Movement

Significant cultural change often results from the interlocking behavior of a few individuals. The phenomenon is nonreplicable because a considerable portion of the major players' interactions are nonrecurring and driven by unique circumstances. Yet, these interactions can be analyzed from a behavioral science perspective. As an example, I describe how five individuals made possible the cultural cusp that created an unprecedented social revolution through public murals in Mexico. I analyze how their repertoires complemented each other, the circumstances that brought them together, and the values that united them. Their unique interactions coalesced with recurring interlocking behavioral contingencies that created the movement. The example could shed light on the understanding of other cultural phenomenon with similar properties.

Models of Cognition and Their Applications in Behavioral Economics: A Conceptual Framework for Nudging Derived From Behavior Analysis and Relational Frame Theory

This paper puts forward a rounder conceptual model for interpreting short- and long-term effects of choice behavior. As a further development of dual-process theory, Kahneman (2003) distinguished between intuition and reasoning, which served as the respective precursors of the cognitive processing systems 1 and 2. We maintain that they reflect the more rigorous distinction between brief and immediate and extended and elaborated relational responding, which may be reinterpreted through an analysis of their functional properties. Repertoires of relational responding are offered by the multi-dimensional multi-level model. Specifically, we provide a conceptual account of how nudging, or the manipulation of environmental contingencies, works on the creation and modification of relational framing. Educative nudges, or boosts, are a subset of nudges that may more easily maintain target choice behavior in the future. The central role of verbal behavior is essential toward formulating rules, which inform and guide choice behavior over time. Although nudges are traditionally regarded as System 1-steered aspects, they are herein regarded as cues for responding to relational frames, which may induce System 2-steered aspects. We suggest adopting the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) to inform how coherent and immediate responding to novel relational responding may occur in the presence of choice behavior. Several examples are included to support the claim of encompassing relational responding and choice behavior. We address the instances of consumer behavior, stereotypy and prejudices, eating behavior, and overcoming cognitive biases. The conclusions depict a promising way forward for the study of choice: an improved model for interpreting and overcoming human errors, due to changes in the contingencies of behavior.

What Studying Leadership Can Teach Us About the Science of Behavior

Throughout history, individuals have changed the world in significant ways, forging new paths; demonstrating remarkable capacity to inspire others to follow; and repeatedly showing independence, resilience, consistency, and commitment to principle. However, significant cultural change is rarely accomplished single-handedly; instead, it results from the complex and dynamic interaction of groups of individuals. To illustrate how leaders participate in cultural phenomena, I describe how a few individuals helped to establish the Cold War. In this analysis, I distinguish two types of cultural phenomena: metacontingencies, involving lineages of interlocking behavioral contingencies, and cultural cusps, involving complicated, unique, and nonreplicable interrelations between individuals and circumstances. I conclude that by analyzing leaders' actions and their results, we can appreciate that cultural and behavioral phenomena are different, and although cultural phenomena are inherently complex and in many cases do not lend themselves to replication, not only should the science of behavior account for them, cultural phenomena should also constitute a major area of behavior analysis study and application.

Metacontingências de Autocontrole Ético: Efeitos do Aumento da Magnitude de Reforço

RESUMO Este trabalho objetivou avaliar os efeitos da progressão da magnitude da consequência individual concorrente com a consequência cultural sobre a recorrência de um entrelaçamento previamente selecionado por consequências culturais em um arranjo de metacontingências de autocontrole ético. Estudantes universitários compuseram duas microculturas de laboratório, as quais foram expostas a um delineamento ABACDC, em que, nas condições A e B, havia concorrência entre metacontingências e contingências operantes e, nas condições C e D, tal concorrência foi suspensa. Adicionalmente, houve progressão da magnitude da consequência individual para as respostas impulsivas (que beneficiam apenas o indivíduo) nas condições B e D. Os resultados indicaram seleção de práticas culturais de autocontrole ético tanto nas condições sem concorrência, quanto nas condições com concorrência.