Psychol Rec
DOI 10.1007/s40732-017-0231-6
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Effects of Cultural Consequences on the Interlocking Behavioral
Contingencies of Ethical Self-Control
Aécio Borba 1 & Emmanuel Zagury Tourinho 1 & Sigrid S. Glenn 2
# Association for Behavior Analysis International 2017
Abstract A particular type of self-control occurs when the
conflict between immediate and delayed consequences is as-
sociated with consequences that are more favorable to either
the individual or the group. In such cases, responding under
the control of delayed consequences more favorable to the
group can be considered an instance of ethical self-control.
The literature shows that the selection of self-control and eth-
ical self-control depends on contingencies arranged by group
members, indicating that these phenomena are cultural prod-
ucts. This study proposes a procedure to investigate the selec-
tion, maintenance, and transmission of ethical self-control in
an arrangement similar to a metacontingency. Two microcul-
tures were exposed to a task in which each participant had to
choose a row in a colored 10 × 10 matrix. There were individ-
ual contingencies in all conditions: choosing odd-numbered
rows produced 3 tokens that could be exchanged for money,
and choosing even-numbered rows produced only 1 token. In
This research was partially supported by the Coordenação de
Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brasil) and by
the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
(CNPq, Brasil). It reproduces part of the first author’s doctoral thesis.
The authors would also like to thank the support of PROPESP/UFPA.
* Aécio Borba
aecioborba@gmail.com
Emmanuel Zagury Tourinho
eztourinho@gmail.com
Sigrid S. Glenn
sglenn@unt.edu
1
Núcleo de Teoria e Pesquisa do Comportamento, Universidade
Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil
2
Department of Behavior Analysis, University of North Texas,
Denton, TX, USA
some conditions, there were also cultural contingencies that
enabled the production of school items to be subsequently
donated to public schools. This study aimed at assessing
whether the interlocking behavioral contingencies (IBCs) as-
sociated with aggregate products could be selected by cultural
consequences of a different nature from individual conse-
quences in situations in which the production of cultural con-
sequences competed with the production of individual conse-
quences of a greater magnitude. The production of school
items was contingent on the occurrence of IBCs + Aggregate
Products (AP) that involved choosing 3 even rows of different
colors. The results showed that cultural consequences had an
effect on the selection of IBCs + AP that involved ethical self-
controlled responses. The procedure here presented showed
promising to study the phenomena of ethical self-control.
Keywords Ethical self-control . Metacontingencies .
Laboratory microcultures . Cultural practices
Behavior analysts have approached cultural selection using
the metacontingency concept proposed by Glenn (1986,
1991, 2003, 2004) to describe a unit of analysis of cultural
behavioral phenomena. In this study, we adopted the defini-
tion of a metacontingency as “a contingent relation between
(1) recurring interlocking behavioral contingencies having an
aggregate product and (2) selecting environmental events or
conditions” (Glenn et al., 2016, p. 13). Research on this topic
has raised the debate about the relevance of looking at the
selection of cultural contingencies, and contributes to the ef-
fort of discussing the third level of selection (Tourinho, 2013).
The definition of a metacontingency involves the concept
of interlocking behavioral contingencies (IBCs). IBCs are
present when at least two operant reinforcement contingencies
are related such that stimuli and/or responses of one

contingency function as environment for events in the other
(Glenn, 1988, 2004). For example, when a person answers a
phone call, the person’s behavior is under control of the re-
sponse product of another person. The concept of IBCs serves
“to call attention to the dual roles that each person’s behavior
plays in social processes—the role of action and the role of
behavioral environment for the action of others” (Glenn,
1991, p. 56). IBCs are essentially what Skinner called social
behavior (Skinner, 1953/1965). The use of the term
interlocking behavioral contingencies, however, draws atten-
tion to a fact that is not always observed in social behavior—
the possibility that IBCs come to be a cultural unit that can be
selected by its own consequences (Glenn, 1988, 1989, 2004),
rather than just the operant behaviors that constitute them.
IBCs sometimes generate an aggregate product or result
that could not be produced in the absence of IBCs. That is,
IBCs can give rise to effects that are different than and in
addition to the operant consequences of individuals’ re-
sponses. Glenn (2004) illustrates this phenomenon with the
example of an organization such as a restaurant, which de-
pends on the coordinated behaviors of different individuals
(waiters, cooks, cashiers, etc.) to provide food services to con-
sumers. The behaviors of each individual produce reinforcers
for those behaviors, but the food service is an aggregate prod-
uct of the behaviors of all participants functioning as part of a
recurring integrated pattern of IBCs. If the integrated pattern
of IBCs is generated and maintained by consequences contin-
gent on its recurrences, those consequences are deemed as
cultural consequences. The contingency between interlocked
behavioral contingencies and its aggregate product (IBCs +
APs) and cultural consequence is a metacontingency, as de-
fined by Glenn et al. (2016). A metacontingency, thus, is a
conceptual tool (Todorov, 2006) that helps the behavior ana-
lyst to look at the third (cultural) level of selection (cf. Skinner,
1981/1987). In the cultural level, what is selected is the
coordination of a group that recurs over time.
Research using analogues of metacontingencies has
searched to identify the variables that can increase or decrease
the probability of this coordination to recur, as well as partic-
ularities of the selection process in the third level (Tourinho,
2013). The selection of IBCs that produced an aggregate prod-
uct when contingent consequences to the coordination were
applied was shown by literature in different preparations
(Hunter, 2012; Ortu, Becker, Woelz, & Glenn, 2012;
Saconatto & Andery, 2013; Tadaiesky & Tourinho 2012;
Vichi, Andery, & Glenn, 2009). The selection was possible
even when there was a difference in nature among individual
consequences and cultural consequences (e.g., Cavalcanti,
Leite, & Tourinho, 2014). These findings also have been con-
firmed by the low occurrence of specific patterns of IBC’s in
situations where there was no contingency between the pre-
sentation of a cultural event and IBC’s (e.g., Marques &
Tourinho, 2015; also Experiment 4 in Ortu et al., 2012).
Psychol Rec
Finally, selection of IBCs + APs was found even in situations
where the participants were progressively substituted, creating
generations of participants exposed to the experiments (e.g.,
Pavaneli, Leite, & Tourinho, 2014; Saconatto & Andery,
2013).
Tourinho and Vichi (2012) suggested that one condition
that leads to greater complexity of cultural phenomena is the
emission of a type of learned behavior designated as ethical
self-control. Such behavior occurs when individuals are faced
with a conflict in contingencies wherein one behavior pro-
duces consequences beneficial to the individual and an alter-
native behavior contributes to cultural consequences that ben-
efit a community or society, with perhaps no direct benefit at
all for the individual.
In a context where are at least two possible alternate re-
sponses, behavior labeled ethical self-control would be the
one that (1) produces lower gains for the individual (lesser
magnitude or less preferred reinforcers, aversive stimuli, or a
higher cost of response) while producing (2) higher gains for
the group as a whole (avoiding aversive stimuli that would
affect the whole group or producing higher magnitude rein-
forcers). These consequences for the group are, usually, de-
layed (cf. Borba et al. 2014a, 2014b; Tourinho, Borba, Vichi,
& Leite, 2011; Tourinho & Vichi, 2012). Skinner (1968/2003)
called this phenomenon ethical self-management, while
Rachlin (2002) called it altruism and social cooperation
(Rachlin, 2000). We use the concept of ethical self-control to
emphasize that the phenomenon is similar to that treated in the
behavior analytic literature as self-control: Skinner
(1963/1965) used that concept to point to responses that
would change the probability of the individual’s own future
behavior. Rachlin (1974, 2000) further elaborated on this topic
emphasizing that to behave in a self-controlled way is to be-
have under control of delayed consequences in situations
competing with immediate consequences of a lower magni-
tude. In the cases described as ethical self-control, the delayed
consequences produced affect a group, and not (only) the
behaving individual. The word ethical, thus, does not imply
any moral or correct way of behaving in a cultural context but
does imply that the behavior affects the group.
In some cases, ethical self-control may be required to pro-
duce cultural consequences. In these phenomena observed
outside the laboratory, there is often a difference in nature
between immediate individual consequences and delayed cul-
tural consequences. For example, the traffic flow of a large
city generally requires self-controlled drivers. Impulsive be-
havior in traffic can result in a shorter travel time for the
individual but greater risk of injuring pedestrians or causing
accidents for many other people.
The competition between cultural and individual conse-
quences was investigated by Ortu et al. (2012), who assessed
the effect of a cultural consequence on response patterns in an
iterated prisoner’s dilemma game (IPDG). Borba et al. 2014b
Psychol Rec
and Borba, Tourinho, et al. (2014) also studied effects of the
concurrence of individual consequences and cultural events.
In these last two studies, the dependent variable was the se-
lection of operant behavior by a cultural event that was not
contingent to any IBC's, thus not addressing selection in the
third level.
The present study presents a procedure to investigate the
selection of interlocking behavioral contingencies having an
aggregate product that require ethical self-control responses.
Thus, the study seeks to assess whether interlocking behav-
ioral contingencies can be selected by cultural consequences
of a different nature from individual consequences in situa-
tions where the production of a cultural consequence com-
petes with the production of individual consequences.
Specifically, the interlocking behavioral contingencies that
produced the cultural consequence required participants to
forego greater magnitude operant consequences.
Method
Participants and Recruitment
A total of 36 undergraduate students from various majors
other than psychology participated in this experiment, recruit-
ed in campus by the experimenters. Students were invited and,
upon acceptance, they were introduced to the setting. The
participants formed two microcultures, the first with 19 par-
ticipants and the second with 17. Each microculture consisted
of three cultural-behavioral lineages (called L1, L2, and L3)
whose participants were replaced according to the design de-
scribed below. The two microcultures were exposed to the
same experimental conditions.
Experimental Environment and Materials
The experimental environment was a 3 m × 2.4 m room,
which contained a 2 m × 0.8 m meeting table with four chairs.
During the session, three participants were seated around the
table, and the experimenter stood inside the room.
The materials used included a camcorder with tripod to
record the sessions; a 42-in. LCD television connected to a
server computer; a data collection laptop, equipped with a
Microsoft Excel 2011 spreadsheet, to record the participants’
responses; plastic tokens; plastic bowls for the tokens; sheets
of paper and pens for the participants’ notes; and school items
for donation (pens, pencils, colored pencils, glue, scissors,
rulers, notebooks, boxes of crayons, erasers, and sharpeners).
During the session, the participants who were waiting to
enter the experiment remained in the room next to the labora-
tory, where snacks and computers with Internet access were
made available.
Matrix
A 10 × 10 matrix was displayed on the television throughout
the entire study (see Fig. 1). The rows were marked with
numbers from 1 to 10, and the columns with the letters A
through H. The matrix rows were of alternating colors, with
two rows each of five colors (yellow, green, red, blue, and
purple); there was one even row and one odd row for each
color. Each cell of the matrix contained a solid circle or an
open circle.
The Task
Three participants, one each assigned to lineages L1, L2, and
L3, were escorted to the experimental room where they were
exposed to repeated cycles of a sequence of steps involving
behavior of both participants and experimenter. The sequence
of steps was as follows:
a. The experimenter asked the participant assigned to L1 to
choose a row.
b. The L1 participant chose a row.
c. The experimenter chose a column, saying “You chose
row___. This row is colored___. The result was column
___ with a (full or empty) circle. You earned ___ tokens.”
The participant then received tokens in accordance with
the operant contingencies programmed (as explained be-
low). Steps A through C constituted a trial.
d. The experimenter then called on the L2 participant and
repeated Steps A through C, and then called on the L3
participant. The order L1, L2, and L3 was the same
throughout the experiment.
e. If the experimental condition included the possibility of
producing cultural consequences (school items, explained
below), the experimenter indicated at the end of each
three-trial cycle how many school items had been pro-
duced in that cycle and stamped a sheet recording the
items for the school kit (as explained in the next session).
Steps A through E constituted a cycle. When a cycle end-
ed, a new cycle began immediately.
Operant Contingencies and Metacontingencies
Operant contingencies and metacontingencies were pro-
grammed so that production consequences by operant re-
sponses was functionally independent of production of cultur-
al consequences by IBCs. Operant contingencies were in ef-
fect in all conditions; metacontingencies were in effect only in
certain study conditions.
The operant consequences were plastic chips that could be
exchanged for money, deposited in a plastic bowl (placed in
front of the participant) immediately after each individual trial.

Fig. 1 Matrix used in the experiment. Rows 1 and 8 are yellow, 2 and 7
are green, 3 and 6 are red, 5 and 9 are blue, and 5 and 10 are purple. Thus,
there is an odd and an even row for each color (Color figure online)
In all conditions, choosing odd rows earned three chips, and
choosing even rows earned one chip.
In addition to the operant consequences, in some condi-
tions there were cultural consequences contingent on
interlocking behavioral contingencies that produced a specific
aggregate product. The aggregate product was combination of
three even-numbered rows of differing colors. The cultural
consequences for producing that aggregate product were three
stamps on a donation sheet. The participants were told that
each stamp would be traded at the end of the study for a school
item that would be part of a kit donated to a public school.
Note that production of the cultural consequence required that
all of the participants’ responses in that cycle produced low-
magnitude operant consequences; moreover, each individual’s
response had to be under the control of the others’ responses
because each participant had to choose a color that had not yet
been chosen by another participant during the same cycle. In
these conditions, it was only possible to produce three school
items or produce none at all in a given cycle.
Replacing Participants
The experiment began with three participants (P1, P2, and
P3). After 20 cycles, participant P1 was replaced with a new
participant, who sat in the same place. This new participant
was named P4. P1 and P4 were representatives of L1 lineage
because they occupied a single place and function successive-
ly in the interlocking contingencies. Twenty cycles after re-
placing of P1, P2 was replaced by P5, and so on. Thus, there
were three lineages (L1, L2, and L3). Each set of three partic-
ipants constituted a generation and a new generation was con-
stituted every 20 cycles. Each generation had two experienced
participants and one novice, and each participant was part of
three generations (for a total of 60 cycles).
Psychol Rec
Experimental Design
The experiment consisted of two conditions in an ABAB de-
sign. The two microcultures (each comprising three lineages)
were exposed to the same sequence of conditions.
Under Condition A, only the operant contingencies were in
effect, and the participants were unable to produce school
items. At the beginning of the experiment, the experimenter
read the following statement to the members of the first
generation:
You will participate in a study on group problem solv-
ing. In this game, one at a time, you must choose a row
in the matrix that is displayed on the monitor behind me,
stating the chosen number aloud. After making your
choice, the computer will select a column for this at-
tempt according to a predefined system. At the intersec-
tion between the row chosen by you and the column
chosen by the computer, there will be a full circle or
an empty circle. Depending on which symbol is gener-
ated, you could win one or three tokens that will be
deposited in these containers in front of you [points to
the containers]. At the end of your participation, each of
you may exchange each token for 5 cents. You may use
the sheets in front of you to make notes and converse
freely. After a certain period of time has passed, there
will be a change of participants. Eventually, the comput-
er will ask one of you to be replaced by a new partici-
pant, who will enter the group in your place. At this
time, the participant who is leaving will exchange the
tokens in front of him or her for money and terminate his
or her participation in the study.
With every change in generation, the new participant re-
ceived only the following minimal instructions: “You will
participate in a group problem solving game. All the instruc-
tions will be provided by your colleagues present here.”
The criteria to end Condition A were as follows:
a. A minimum of 50 and a maximum of 100 cycles.
b. A percentage of even rows equal to or greater than 80% or
less than or equal to 20% in the previous 60 trials (20 cy-
cles). Less than 20% even rows meant more than 80% odd
rows chosen.
Condition A was followed immediately by Condition B,
operant contingency versus metacontingency. Under this con-
dition, there was competition between the production of re-
sponses that generated individual consequences of greater
magnitude (choosing odd rows) and responses that generated
individual consequences of lesser magnitude associated with
the production of cultural consequences (choosing even rows
of differing colors). At the beginning of the first cycle in
Psychol Rec
Condition B, the participants received the following instruc-
tions that were read by the experimenter:
Now the study has reached a new stage. At some
points, you may earn, in addition to tokens that can
be exchanged for money, school items that will make
up a kit to be donated to a public school. These items
are represented by stamps on the page in front of me
[shows page], and each stamp is equal to one item or a
set of school items valued at approximately BRL 0.50
each. Remember that the tokens produced and depos-
ited in the plastic containers will be exchanged for
money that will be paid to each of you individually
at the end of your participation in the study. At the end
of the session, we will schedule a day to deliver the
school kit, and you can participate in this delivery if
you want.
The criteria for ending Condition B were the same as for
Condition A. After the end of the first Condition B,
Condition A2, operant contingency, began immediately
and without any comment by the experimenter, which was
identical to the first condition, except that, at the end of each
cycle, the experimenter continued to give feedback that no
school items had been produced (because the condition did
not provide for such production). The criteria for ending this
condition were the same as for the prior conditions. At the
end of Condition A2, Condition B2, operant contingency
versus metacontingency, began. The criteria for ending this
condition were the same as for the prior conditions. At the
end of B2, the experiment was terminated.
To avoid any overlap between a generation change and a
condition change, if the criteria for ending a condition were
reached within a period either five cycles before or after a
generation change, a minimum of five cycles had to pass fol-
lowing that change before the condition could be altered.
Table 1 summarizes the experimental design.
Table 1 Experimental Design
and Programmed Contingencies Condition
A1: Operant contingency
B1: Operant contingency vs.
metacontingency
A2: Operant contingency
B2: Operant contingency vs.
metacontingency
Note. R = ; Sr = ; IBC + AP = interlocking behavioral contingencies + aggregate product
Results
The results for Microculture 1 can be seen in Fig. 2 through 5.
Figure 2 plots the frequencies of even-row choices of partici-
pants in each of the three lineages as well as occurrences IBCs
and their aggregate product (even rows of different colors).
Figure 3 shows cycle-by-cycle row choices and color combi-
nations for each successive generation; concentration in each
line means the same pattern of responses. Figure 4 shows per-
centage of the previous 20 cycles having a combination of
participant choices that met aggregate product criterion that
show a pattern of behavior recurring and was the criteria for
ending the conditions. Figure 5 shows the percentage of occur-
rences of impulsive, self-controlled and of the aggregate prod-
uct in each condition, with the lines presenting the probability
the aggregate product and the choice in either even or odd rows
happening by chance (5% and 50% chance, respectively).
Condition A1 was ended by the maximum number of cycles
(100 cycles) without the participants reaching the criterion of
80% odd- or even-row responses. The combination that defined
the aggregate product in B conditions occurred in only three
cycles in the A1 condition. As seen in Fig. 3, there was great
variability in terms of color combinations; there appeared to be
no pattern. There is also great variability in the odd and even
responses, with approximately 40% even rows chosen (Fig. 5).
Because a participant P5 was replaced by P8 in cycle 100, the
condition was terminated in cycle 105 to avoid exchanging the
participant and changing the condition simultaneously.
Condition B1 (operant contingency vs. metacontingency) be-
gan in cycle 106. No school item was produced during the first
cycles of this condition; IBC + AP occurred for the first time in
cycle 132 (Fig. 2). From that point on, IBC + AP occurred con-
sistently, reaching 28 successive occurrences by the end of the
condition. Figure 3 shows the cycle-by-cycle combinations pro-
duced by successive generations. The first production of the
designated IBC + AP, at cycle 130 in Condition B1, was follow-
ed by a high frequency of such productions. This is seen in the
Reinforcement Metacontingency
contingency
R Sr IBC + AP Cultural consequence
Odd 3 – –
Even 1 – –
Odd 3 3 even rows of different colors 3 school Items
Even 1
Odd 3 – –
Even 1 – –
Odd 3 3 even rows of different colors 3 school Items
Even 1
 Psychol Rec

Fig. 2 Cumulative frequency of even rows chosen by participants (P) and aggregate product (AP) occurrences throughout the cycles in Microculture 1.
IBC = interlocking behavioral contingencies

Fig. 3 Dispersion of even and odd rows chosen for the cycles in combination included only different colors, the same color, or the 2
Microculture 1. The y-axis shows the possible combinations of the rows chosen had different colors
participants’ (P) even or odd choices; the symbols mark whether the
Psychol Rec
Fig. 4 Percentage of interlocking behavioral contingencies + aggregate product (IBC + AP) production in the 20 preceding cycles in each of
Microculture 1’s cycles. P = participant
concentration of responses to three even rows of different
colors, shown by black squares in the top row. There were
occasionally other combinations, but the metacontingency
seems to have been effective for coordinating the partici-
pants’ behavior in three successive generations after the ini-
tial production of the designated aggregate product. The con-
dition ended in cycle 177 (after 72 cycles, involving a total of
four generations). Figure 5 shows that 54% of the choices in
that condition were self-controlled, and that the IBC + AP
have occurred in 40% of the cycles.
Condition A2 (operant contingency) began with great var-
iability, as seen in Fig. 3. Responses in a variety of color
combinations and even-odd combinations increased.
Figure 2 shows a progressive decrease in the number of even
responses over the generations. Even so, Fig. 4 does show a
slight recovery of the IBC + AP. The condition ended with the
maximum number of 100 cycles. There was a counting error
in the cycles, such that the generation formed by P12, P13,
and P14, lasted a total of 21 cycles rather than 20.
Condition B2 (operant contingency vs. metacontingency)
began in cycle 276. In this phase, Fig. 2 shows that the cultural
consequence promoted a rapid and steady increase in the fre-
quency of IBC + AP. Figure 3 shows that IBC + AP occurred
in most cycles, as seen by the almost continuous line of square
symbols (depicting three different colors) in the top row
(showing three even row choices). Figure 5 shows that 90%
of the choices in this condition were self-controlled, and that
the IBC+ A P occurred 83% of the cycles.
Criterion was met for ending the phase in cycle 326, when
100% of responses in 20 consecutive cycles were IBC + AP
(see Fig. 4). As the L1 participant had been replaced in cycle
321, the experiment was terminated after the end of that gen-
eration. The experiment ended with 80% IBC + AP occur-
rences between cycles 321 and 341.
The results for Microculture 2 can be seen in Fig. 6 through
9. The microculture had 17 participants who completed the
four conditions in 291 cycles.
Condition A1 (operant contingency) lasted the minimum
number of 50 cycles. The condition ended with 92% odd rows
chosen between Cycles 31 and 50, without any IBC + AP
occurrence, as seen in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. Only 16% of the
choices were in even rows, of a total of 150 individual re-
sponses, which included three generations.
In Condition B1 (operant contingency vs. metacontingency),
the cultural consequence was introduced midway through the
third generation and was followed by an abrupt increase in
IBC + AP required by the metacontingency (see Fig. 5). The
steep slope of the IBC + AP curve continued through the fourth
generation, as did the curves showing L1, L2, and L3 re-
sponses. At cycle 81, P4 was replaced by P7 (shown in the
L1 data path). In the remaining generations of this condition,
IBC + AP data path decelerates and shows considerable
 Psychol Rec

Fig. 5 Rate of choices and aggregate products in each condition in Microculture 1. IBC + AP = interlocking behavioral contingencies + aggregate
product. (Color figure online)

Fig. 6 Cumulative frequency of even rows chosen and aggregate product occurrences throughout the cycles in Microculture 2. IBC + AP = interlocking
behavioral contingencies + aggregate product
Psychol Rec

Fig. 7 Dispersion of even and odd rows chosen for the cycles in Microculture 2. P = participant

Fig. 8 Percentage of the interlocking behavioral contingencies + aggregate product (IBC + AP) production in the 20 preceding cycles in each cycle in
Microculture 2. P = participant

Fig. 9 Rate of choices and aggregate products in each condition in Microculture 2
variability. L1, L2, and L3 lineages all show more variability
than they did earlier in this condition. The final 10 cycles show
no IBC + AP occurrences.
Figure 7 shows that from Cycle 81 on, variations in response
combinations occurred with increasing frequency as P8 (in L2)
and P9 (in L3) were introduced. When these participants were
introduced in cycles 101 and 121, the participants had already
described the contingencies responsible for producing school
items, such that at each trial they decided whether or not they
would produce the cultural consequence. Condition B1 ended
in Cycle 150 due to the maximum cycle number criteria. Only
5% of the responses were IBC + AP between cycles 131 and
150, after reaching 85% between Cycles 81 and 86.
Condition A2 (operant contingency) began immediately.
As with Condition A2 for Microculture 1, this condition was
marked by variability, with different aggregate products oc-
curring. This can be observed most clearly in Fig. 7, which
shows a high frequency of different combinations between
even-row and odd-row choices.
The result of this variability was an increase in even-row
responses throughout the condition, as seen in Figs. 7 and 8,
with the IBC + AP production rate reaching 50% in the
20 cycles preceding Cycle 170. After Cycle 225, there was
a new increase in the frequency of even-row responses.
Note that, in this phase, no school items were produced—
Psychol Rec
when they chose only even rows, the participants were only
producing low-magnitude reinforcing consequences for
themselves. This increase meant that, at Cycle 236, the per-
centage of even-row choices between Cycles 216 and 236
was 82%, leading to the phase’s termination. As seen in
Fig. 9, Condition A2 ended with a little higher percentage
of self-controlled choices and the same frequency of the
target aggregate product happening, due to rules and ethical
sanctions delivered by the participants while trying to pro-
duce the cultural consequences.
Condition B2 (operant contingency vs. metacontingency),
the last phase of the experiment, began at Cycle 237.
Throughout the condition, the participants produced almost
exclusively self-controlled responses, as seen in Figs. 7, 8,
and 9. Only in two cycles was an aggregate product not pro-
duced: In Cycle 260, participants attempted to produce impul-
sive responses of different colors, and in Cycle 287, they pro-
duced three self-controlled responses, which were two of the
same row.
When this condition reached 50 cycles, the experiment had
95% IBC + AP occurrences in the 20 preceding cycles. The
experiment would then be terminated at the end of that gener-
ation, in Cycle 300. However, in Cycle 291, participant P17 of
L2 asked to leave the experiment, and the experiment was
then terminated.
Psychol Rec
Discussion
This study assessed the effects of a cultural consequence (stamps
exchangeable for school items) contingent on interlocking be-
havioral contingencies (IBCs) and their aggregate products, in a
condition of concurrence between metacontingencies and oper-
ant contingencies. The target IBCs were sequences of three even-
row choices of different colors. Operant consequences for indi-
vidual choices of even-rows were one token, concurrent to indi-
vidual choices of odd rows which produced three tokens.
Throughout the experiment, the operant contingencies were ac-
tive in Conditions A and B, while the metacontingency was
introduced only in B conditions of an ABAB design.
The cultural consequences were contingent on interlocks (not
only individual responses), and might affect the culture as a
whole (e.g., contributing to better educational results), probably
in a delayed time (both the items were delivered to schools later
than the individual gains were paid to participants, and possible
educational gains might come much later). To produce that cul-
tural consequence, participants were required to engage in re-
sponses that produced the lower magnitude operant consequence
(one, as opposed to three tokens exchangeable for money). Thus,
more money contingent on individual responses competed with
less money plus school items contingent on IBC + AP. Because
of that concurrency, responding under the control of the cultural
consequence was here called an instance of ethical self-control.
Cultural behavioral units that require ethical self-control
illustrate some outstanding challenges that cultures face in
contemporary societies (e.g., pollution, littering, corruption).
Understanding the circumstances under which cultural contin-
gencies may be effective in producing self-controlled
interlocking behaviors may, thus, be of relevance to those
interested in the development of social technologies.
Saconatto and Andery (2013), Cavalcanti et al. (2014), Ortu
et al. (2012), Tadaiesky and Tourinho (2012), and Vichi et al.
(2009) have already demonstrated the selection of IBCs and their
aggregate products by cultural consequences, in circumstances in
which there was no concurrency between metacontingencies and
operant contingencies. The results reported here show that the
cultural consequences may also be effective in selecting IBCs
and their aggregate products, under concurrency between
metacontingencies and operant contingencies.
In both Microcultures 1 and 2, the rate of IBCs increased
after the first exposure to the metacontingency (Condition
B1). Although the rate of individual choices of even rows
were unexpectedly high in Condition A in Microculture 1, in
both microcultures the rate of IBCs was unequivocally low
(below the probability by chance) in Condition A1, before the
introduction of the metacontingency, and reached high rates
(above the probability by chance) in B conditions.
The results also suggest that continuing exposure to the
metacontingency, alternating with the removal of the
metacontingency, result in higher rates of IBCs. One might argue
that the results do not allow to conclude whether higher rates of
IBCs are a function of the continuing exposure to the
metacontingency, or the alternation of concurrency/
nonconcurrency conditions. However, in both microcultures,
the rate of IBCs in Condition A2 was the same (Microculture
2) or lower (Microculture 1) than in Condition B1, and was much
higher in Condition B2, when the metacontingency was again
introduced. Thus, it is more probable that the higher rate of IBCs
is a function of the continuing exposure to the metacontingency.
In addition to competing with operant selection, cultural
selection occurred with an experimental preparation that made
use of a cultural consequence of a different nature from the
individual consequence. This feature grants greater generality
to the results obtained in previous studies (e.g., Ortu et al,
2012; Saconatto & Andery, 2013; Vichi et. al, 2009), and it
challenges the explanation of the observed interlocking con-
tingencies as a merely result of possible operant relations
(programmed or not programmed; Tourinho, 2013).
When emphasizing the occurrence of cultural selection, it
is important to stress that this process is additional to operant
selection rather than alternative to it. The operant processes
continue to occur; for example, the participants were
instructing their peers on the rules they had described (some-
times in accordance with the programmed contingencies,
sometimes not), punishing impulsive responses through ethi-
cal sanctions, and delivering operant reinforcement of a social
nature among themselves. Those elements, however, are se-
lected and maintained throughout generations of participants.
As pointed out by Tourinho (2013), the selection of a pattern
of interlocks may depend on additional individual conse-
quences, especially in situations of conflict between individu-
al and cultural consequences. Previous research (e.g., Borba
et al. 2014a; Costa, Nogueira, & Vasoncelos, 2012) has shown
the importance of verbal behavior for the selection of IBC’s
under conflicting contingencies. In this experiment, the impor-
tance of the cultural consequence can be seen as IBC’s started
to happen, were selected and transmitted when the microcul-
tures were exposed to the metacontingency in Conditions B
and not in Conditions A1. Those interlocks (including, here,
rule giving, punishment of impulsive responses, and so on)
were not maintained in Condition A2 for Microculture 1 and
were less frequent in the same condition for Microculture 2.
The cultural level selection is seen here as explaining why
these patterns in operant level are selected and maintained.
For both microcultures, removal of the cultural conse-
quence did not immediately produce a decrease in the
interlocking’s rates, compared to the pattern before the partic-
ipants were exposed to the metacontingency. Although both
microcultures showed some variability, selected interlocking
behaviors survived longer than operant units when the conse-
quences were removed. These data are in accordance with
those found by Vichi (2012) and Caldas (2009), on the diffi-
culty of extinguishing interlocking behavioral contingencies

once they have been selected. As seen particularly in
Microculture 2, however, generational shifts tend to decrease
the probability of recurrence of interlocking contingencies af-
ter the cultural consequence is removed.
Previous studies (e.g., Cavalcanti et al, 2014; Marques &
Tourinho, 2015; Vichi et al. 2009) have suggested that the
(“matrix”) experimental preparation described above is useful
in investigating cultural selection. We suggest that this prepara-
tion is also useful to address the concurrency between
metacontingencies and operant contingencies. Once the possi-
bility of cultural selection has been established under concur-
rency between metacontingencies and operant contingencies, it
is important to identify dimensions of the investigated processes
that may modulate the observed results. The preparation here
adopted offers a number of possible parameters to be adjusted
to further study of ethical self-control under metacontingencies:
the amount of exposure to the metacontingency; the duration of
the generations (although we used 20 cycles, that was arbi-
trary); and the magnitude of the consequences produced by
individual and/or interlocked behaviors.
Finally, although our intended independent variable was the
recurrence of the target IBC + AP, it is important and instruc-
tive to describe further nonprogrammed operant contingencies
possibly in action along the experiments, related to social re-
inforcement of self-controlled responses, and punishment (eth-
ical sanctions) of impulsive choices. Nonprogrammed
intragroup verbal contingencies may have played a role in
selection of observed (interlocked) patterns. Thus, the higher
rate of recurrence of IBC + AP under B conditions may not
have been (solely) a function of the programmed cultural con-
sequences. In order to further investigate this point, we suggest
that future studies manipulate verbal and nonverbal conse-
quences, contingent on (a) individual responses that are con-
sistent with the target IBCs and (b) the IBCs themselves. So
far, the data here presented provides evidence that under
metacontingencies IBCs recur in higher rates, even when the
metacontingencies concurs operant contingencies.
Compliance With Ethical Standards:
Funding This research was partially supported by the Coordenação de
Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brasil) and by
the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
(CNPq, Brasil). The authors would also like to thanks the support of
PROPESP/UFPA.
Conflict of interests All three authors declare that they have no con-
flicts of interest.
Ethical approval All procedures performed in studies involving hu-
man participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the
institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964
Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical
standards.
Psychol Rec
Informed consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual
participants included in the study.
References
Borba, A., Silva, B. R., Cabral, P. A. A., Souza, L. B., Leite, F. L., &
Tou rin ho , E. Z. ( 20 14 a). Effect s o f th e ex po su re to
macrocontingencies in isolation and social situations in the produc-
tion of ethical self-control responses. Behavior and Social Issues,
23, 5–19.
Borba, A., Tourinho, E. Z., & Glenn, S. S. (2014b). Establishing the
macrobehavior of ethical self-control in an arrangement of
macrocontingencies in two microcultures. Behavior and Social
Issues, 23, 68–86. doi:10.5210/bsi.v23i0.5354.
Caldas, R. A. (2009). Análogos experimentais de seleção e extinção de
metacontingências [Experimental analogs of the selection and ex-
tinction of metacontingencies] (Master’s thesis, Pontifical Catholic
University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil).
Cavalcanti, D. E., Leite, F. L., & Tourinho, E. Z. (2014). Seleção de
práticas culturais complexas: Avaliação experimental de um
análogo do procedimento de aproximação sucessiva [Selecting com-
plex cultural practices: Experimental evaluation of an analog of the
successive approximation procedure]. Psicologia e Saber Social, 3,
2–21.
Costa, D., Nogueira, C. P. V., & Vasconcelos, L. A. (2012). Effects of
communication and cultural consequences on choices combination
INPDG with four participants. Revista Latinoamericana de
Psicologia, 44, 121–131.
Glenn, S. S. (1986). Metacontingencies in Walden Two. Behavior
Analysis and Social Action, 6, 2–8.
Glenn, S. S. (1988). Contingencies and metacontingencies: Toward a
synthesis of behavior analysis and cultural materialism. The
Behavior Analyst, 11, 161–179.
Glenn, S. S. (1991). Contingencies and metacontingencies: Relations
among behavioral, cultural, and biological evolution. In P. A.
Lamal (Ed.), Behavior analysis of societies and cultural practices
(pp. 39–76). New York, NY: Hemisphere.
Glenn, S. S. (2003). Operant contingencies and the origin of cultures. In
K. A. Lattal & P. N. Chase (Eds.), Behavior theory and philosophy
(pp. 223–242). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum
Publishers.
Glenn, S. S. (2004). Individual behavior, culture and social change. The
Behavior Analyst, 27, 133–151.
Glenn, S. S., & Malott, M. E. (2004). Complexity and selection:
Implications for organizational change. Behavior and Social
Issues, 13, 89–106. doi:10.5210/bsi.v13i2.378.
Glenn, S. S., Malott, M. E., Andery, M. A. P. A., Benvenuti, M.,
Houmanfar, R. A., Sandaker, I., & Vasconcelos, L. A. (2016).
Toward a consistent terminology in a behaviorist approach to cul-
tural analysis. Behavior and Social issues, 25, 11–27. doi:10.5210/
bsi.v.25i0.6634.
Hunter, C. S. (2012). Analyzing behavioral and cultural selection contin-
gencies. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, 44(1), 43–54.
Malott, M. E., & Glenn, S. S. (2006). Targets of intervention in cultural
and behavioral change. Behavior and Social Issues, 15, 31–56. doi:
10.5210/bsi.v15i1.344.
Marques, N. S., & Tourinho, E. Z. (2015). The selection of cultural units
by non-contingent cultural events. Behavior and Social Issues, 24,
126–140. doi:10.5210/bsi.v.22i0.4283.
Ortu, D., Becker, A. M., Woelz, T. A. R., & Glenn, S. S. (2012). An
iterated four-player Prisoner’s Dilemma game with an external
selecting agent: A metacontingency experiment. Revista
Latinoamericana de Psicología, 44, 111–120.
Psychol Rec
Pavanelli, S., Leite, F. L., & Tourinho, E. Z. (2014). A “modelagem” de
contingências comportamentais entrelaçadas complexas. [The
Shaping of complex interlocking behavioral contingencies]. Acta
Comportamentalia: Revista Latina de Análisis del
Comportamiento, 22(4), 425–440.
Rachlin, H. (1974). Self-control. Behaviorism, 2, 94–107.
Rachlin, H. (2000). The science of self-control. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Rachlin, H. (2002). Altruism and selfishness. Behavioral and Brain
Sciences, 25, 239–296. doi:10.1017/S0140525X02000055.
Saconatto, A. T., & Andery, M. A. P. A. (2013). Seleção por
metacontingências: Um análogo experimental de reforçamento
negativo [Selection by Metcontingencies: An Experimental Analog
of Negative Reinforcement]. Interação em Psicologia (Online), 17,
1–10.
Skinner, B. F. (1965). Science and human behavior. New York, NY: The
Free Press (Original work published 1953)
Skinner, B. F. (1987). Selection by consequences. In B. F. Skinner (Ed.),
Upon further reflection (pp. 51–64). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall (Original work published 1981).
Skinner, B. F. (2003). The technology of teaching. Acton, MA: Copley
Publishing Group (Original work published 1968).
Tadaiesky, L. T., & Tourinho, E. Z. (2012). Effects of support conse-
quences and cultural consequences on the selection of interlocking
behavioral contingencies. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicologia,
44, 133–147.
Todorov, J. C. (2006). The metacontingency as a conceptual tool.
Behavior and Social Issues, 15, 92–94.
Tourinho, E. Z. (2013). Cultural consequences and interlocking behav-
ioral contingencies: Selection at the cultural level. Behavior and
Philosophy, 41, 60–69.
Tourinho, E. Z., Borba, A., Vichi, C., & Leite, F. L. (2011). Contributions
of contingencies in modern societies to “privacy” in the behavioral
relations of cognition and emotion. The Behavior Analyst, 34, 171–
180.
Tourinho, E. Z., & Vichi, C. (2012). Behavioral-analytic research of cul-
tural selection and the complexity of cultural phenomena. Revista
Latinoamericana de Psicologia, 44, 169–179.
Vichi, C. (2012). Efeitos da apresentação intermitente das
consequências culturais sobre contingências comportamentais
entrelaçadas e seus produtos agregados [The effects of inter-
mittent presentation of cultural consequences on interlocking
behavioral contingencies and their aggregate products]
(Doctoral dissertation, Federal University of Pará, Belém-PA,
Brazil).
Vichi, C., Andery, M. A. P. A., & Glenn, S. S. (2009). A metacontingency
experiment: The effects of contingent consequences on patterns of
interlocking contingencies of reinforcement. Behavior and Social
Issues, 18, 41–57. doi:10.5210/bsi.v18i1.2292.