Researchers investigated how the contingent delivery of a cultural consequence on target culturants in an asymmetric iterated prisoner's dilemma game (IPDG) affected players' choices. The asymmetric IPDG creates an analogue to income disparities created by wage gaps and other cultural practices that create wealth inequalities between different members of the population and allows researchers to explore how these inequalities affect cooperation between players. Six undergraduate students divided into three dyads participated in an ABABCDCD reversal design. An asymmetric IPDG was arranged in Condition A and C such that one player received a greater number of points regardless of the second participants' selections - analogue to contingencies that produce income inequalities from wage gaps. In Condition B and D, a metacontingency was arranged such that delivery of a cultural consequence (CC; bonus points equally distributed among the dyad) was contingent on the oscillating production of target aggregate products (AP) across two consecutive cycles. When participants' coordinated responding and contacted the target AP→ CC relation, the wage gap was reduced. However, individual contingencies are in direct competition for the "wealthier" player, reducing the probability of cooperative responding. Results showed the CC selected certain oscillations between target APs resulting in a decrease of a point disparity between the players while also establishing equal points between the players during certain conditions.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:18:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Joao Mariano Cenacchi Pereira.pdf: 2410314 bytes, checksum: f2e1a9fed4288eb1aaabb7838274f5e7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-04-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The present study s aim was to build an experimental analog of metacontingencies. The experiment started with on adult (P1) working on a computer. At each trial 4 numbers were presented on a row and the participant would type 4 numbers on a row underneath. If the sum on each column (which was not showed) was an odd number, points (exchanged by money at the end of the session) were added on a counter on the screen. Points would be subtracted for each column with an even number as the sum. A second participant was introduced when P1 s behavior was stable. Both participants worked under the same contingencies, sharing the computer screen (each side showed one of the participant s trial) and mouse. Once their behavior stabilized, experimental manipulations were added to answer the following questions: Interlocking behavioral contingencies involving both participants and their aggregate product would be selected if a consequence was made contingent on the aggregate product? What would happen when new generations of participants were introduced? The following experimental contingency was introduced: when the sum of the 4 numbers typed by one participant was larger than the sum of the numbers typed by the other, bonus points were added (in a box on the screen) for both participants. Bonuses were added independently of the points added or subtracted. A new participant substituted the oldest one when a stability criterion was met. All experimental contingencies remained the same when new generations were added. Two experiments were conducted. Results of Experiment 1, with 6 participants (6 generations) suggested the selection of a metacontingency: The dyads P3/P4, P4/P5, and P5/P6 systematically behaved producing the aggregate product and consequent bonuses. But the exam of these participant s response topographies indicated that another possible interpretation was that the behavior of one participant alone (who typed the same high numbers on every trial), independent of the other, produced the aggregate product. Minor changes on the screen to make the bonuses more salient and an increase on the magnitude of bonus points were introduced on Experiment 2. Once again results suggested that selection of metacontingencies occurred for 3 (of 7) dyads whose behavior consistently produced bonuses. The analysis of these participants response topographies added to this interpretation. Discussion of the present experiment emphasizes the feasibility of building experimental analogs of metacontingencies / O presente estudo teve como objetivo construir um análogo experimental de metacontingências. O experimento foi iniciado com um participante que trabalhava em um computador. . Em cada tenativa, 4 númertos eram apresnetados na tela em uma fileira e o particpante digitava outros 4 números em uma fileira imediatamente abaixo. Se a soma de cada coluna (número apresentado pelo computador + número digitado pelo participante) fosse um número ímpar, eram acrescentados pontos (trocáveis por dinheiro no final da sessão) a um contador na tela. Cada cluna que smasse um número par produzia a retorada de pontos. Estas somas não eram visíveis para o participante. Quando o comportamento de P1 se estabilizou, um segundo participante foi introduzido e as mesmas contingências mantiveram-se para os dois participantes, trabalhando lado a lado diante de uma mesma tela de computador, produzindo comportamentos independentes. Para responder às perguntas: (a) haveria seleção de contingências entrelaçadas e seu produto agregado, se tal produto produzisse conseqüências para ambos os participantes e (b) tal seleção teria efeitos sobre sucessivas gerações de participantes, as seguinte manipulações foram intoduzidas: (a) quando a soma dos 4 números digitados por um particpante era maior/ menor que a soma dos números digitados pelo outro, ambos os participantes recebiam bônus (trocados por dinheiro), independente dos pontos contingentes às colunas; (b) quando a dupla atingia critério de estabilidade um dos participantes era substituído por um participante ingênuo. Dois experimentos com estas características fora conduzidos. Os resultados do Experimento 1, do qual participaram 6 adultos (formando 6 gerações) sugeriram a ocorrência da seleção do produto agregado, uma vez que 3 duplas sistematicamente produziram bônius. No entanto, o exame das topografias de respostas (números digitados) mostrou que um participante sistematicamente escolheu apenas certos números, indicando a possibilidade de ausência de contingências entrelaçadas. No segundo experimento, do qual participaram 7 adultos (7 gerações) foram feitas pequenas mudanças no aparato para tornar a liberação de bônus mais saliente e aumentou-se a mangnitiude dos bônus. Os resultados mais uma vez sugeriram a seleção de contingências entrelaçadas e seu produto agregado, uma vez que as duplas de 3 gerações sistematicamente produziram bônus. O exame das topografias de respostas individuais fortaleceu esta interpretação. A discussão enfatiza que o modelo experimental utilizado parece útil para esse tipo de investigação e pesquisas futuras que utilizem variações dele podem produzir resultados experimentais sobre análogos de metacontingências